The train that goes 'Zoom!' at 700miles per hour will finally see initial testing by January 2016. Hyperloop, as it is more formally named, will be given its first run on a half-mile test track in Las Vegas. While the actual passenger pod is still under construction, the test will only use the pod base that will have sufficient room for two passengers.
Hyperloop Technologies stresses that this test is obviously not going to focus on either passenger comfort. CTO and co-founder Brogan BamBrogan says: "That's not the kind of Hyperloop you want to ride. We're really just testing our ability to dump that much power into our coils that quickly."
During the test, the basic Hyperloop is expected to go from 0mph to 336mph in just a span of two seconds. The track will have several hundreds of meters of electric coils. Power generation trucks will be on hand for the test.
American inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk first brought the Hyperloop to public attention in 2013. It has a propulsion system that operates on the reaction between active stator coils in the track and magnets in the passenger capsules. The pods will be propelled through a tube that has the low air pressure level required for these to be able to speed through the route. Oerlikon, which produced the particle accelerators for CERN, is producing Hyperloop's vacuum pumps.
In its full regalia, the Hyperloop will slow down significantly from its test speed given the completed capsule, and considering the added weight of passengers and cargos. The first Hyperloop prototype will be built for the Los Angeles - San Francisco route and is targeted to ferry 3,400 passengers per hour. It is expected to eventually go global with the route between London and Glasgo as its targeted second site.
