Hyperloop travel grabs construction expo’s attention in Las Vegas
A convention dedicated to the future of construction might have given its audience a glimpse into the future of transportation for passengers and cargo alike.
On Friday, a representative with transportation technology company Hyperloop One updated the ConExpo crowd at the Las Vegas Convention Center on his company’s test track near North Las Vegas.
In a separate presentation, a group of college students discussed their work with the emerging technology and what hyperloop means for casual and commercial travel.
Bruce Upbin told a crowd that his company’s goal is to reach 671 mph with his company’s version of the hyperloop technology explained in a white paper by Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX.
At that speed, it would take a hyperloop pod less than 30 minutes to travel from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
On Thursday, he had released new photos from the Hyperloop One test track on the company’s website and said a new test will be conducted before the end of June.
The company tested its propulsion technology for the public in May.
Company representatives have said they want hyperloop operational for freight use by 2020.
The private sector is not alone in exploring hyperloop technology. Three college students who competed in a SpaceX-hosted hyperloop competition discussed their experiences from design to execution.
The technology is all there, said Nathan Pitzer, who is pursuing a business degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Companies like Hyperloop One are just finally putting it all together.
“This is not some fairytale we’re trying to achieve,” Pitzer said.
Shayan Malik with Virginia Tech said he expects cargo to make a full hyperloop trip sometime in 2022.
Hyperloop technology will help create longer commute distances and allow workers to live farther away from the office if they desire, Sebastian Quesada of University of Florida said.
His advice to construction representatives in the crowd: Once the technology is mastered, the engineers will need help creating the infrastructure for hyperloop, whether it is above highways or underground.
“I always wanted to be part of something that changes the world,” he said.
The technology has even earned the attention of President Donald Trump, who asked about hyperloop during a meeting this week to discuss how to implement his proposal for a $1 trillion infrastructure project funded by private and public money, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4602. Follow @wademillward on Twitter.
