Moscow considers Hyperloop transportation

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By Larry Banks

On Tuesday Moscow signed an agreement with L.A. firm Hyperloop One to explore building its high speed transportation system called a Hyperloop in the Russian capital.

The system uses magnets to levitate special pods in an airless tube, which allows the pods to travel at up to 750 miles per hour (1,200 kilometres per hour).

“Hyperloop can improve life dramatically for the 16 million people in the greater Moscow area, cutting their commute to a fraction of what it is today”, said Shervin Pishevar, co-founder of Hyperloop One.

“Our longer term vision is to work with Russia to implement a transformative new Silk Road: a cargo Hyperloop that whisks freight containers from China to Europe in a day”, he said.

The firm’s Chief Executive Officer Rob Lloyd said it’s currently unknown how much it would cost to build the system in Moscow, and it may not travel at its top speed in a metropolitan area.

A memorandum of understanding was signed at the International Economic Forum at St. Petersburg by Hyperloop One, the city of Moscow, and Russian firm The Summa Group.

Hyperloop One now has studies under way in Finland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Dubai, L.A. and the UK, says Pishevar.

The concept originated from a paper by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in 2013, who said it could take passengers from L.A. to San Francisco in thirty minutes.

Hyperloop One said last month the company will build a system capable of transporting cargo by 2019 and passengers by 2021.

SOURCE: Reuters.

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