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Title: Hyperloop study: Pittsburgh to Chicago in 56 minutes for $93 is feasible
Source:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
URL Source: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/t ... ommission/stories/202005200125
Published: May 21, 2020
Author: Ed Blazina
Post Date: 2020-05-21 11:36:40 by Willie Green
Keywords: None
Views: 2017
Comments: 22
It’s feasible to build a high-speed hyperloop system to carry passengers from Pittsburgh to Columbus in about 20 minutes at a cost of $33 and to Chicago in about 56 minutes at a cost of $93. That’s the conclusion of a feasibility study released Wednesday by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, one of two groups studying the new transportation mode that moves pods through low-pressure tubes at speeds of more than 500 miles an hour. The other group, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, said in December a route connecting Pittsburgh to Cleveland also would be feasible. “It’s basically the cost of gas or less,” said Thea Ewing, director of transportation for the Mid-Ohio group. “That’s one of the reasons we like working with [Virgin Hyperloop One]. Their strategy all along is we have to keep the cost below the cost of flying.” The best path for a hyperloop system would be on flat, straight ground using existing railroad corridors, but the 19-page study by engineering firm AECOM determined that could only be done on parts of the route. In other places, the system would involve building tunnels where there are hills and using rights of way along existing highways. “The hyperloop route is not feasible to be built entirely on existing rail corridors for optimal hyperloop speeds of 500+ mph,” the study said. “The mainline alignment proposed in this study is a combination of existing rail and road/highway corridors, as well as some tunneling and greenfield portions for which right-of-way will need to be acquired.” The study proposes portals or stations for loading passengers or freight in the three main cities as well as Lima, Dublin and Marysville, Ohio, and Gary and Fort Wayne, Ind. The system would be built in segments, likely beginning from Columbus, and probably wouldn’t be finished until about 2050, Ms. Ewing said. A hyperloop system is able to reach such high speeds by creating a vacuum in a tube to remove almost all air resistance and propel pods on a magnetic field. Pods likely would hold 20 to 40 passengers or tons of freight. In addition to saving time and money for riders, the study estimates other substantial benefits from hyperloop travel. Over 30 years, the study said, 1.9 billion passengers would shift from driving to hyperloop, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 2.4 million tons, and 450 million hours driven in commercial trucks would be eliminated. The Cleveland route promises similar benefits, but there are differences in the approaches the two groups are taking. The Columbus-based proposal is working with developer Virgin Hyperloop One, which solicited proposals from around the country and is proceeding with 10 of them. That project has projected the fare for passengers, but Ms. Ewing said the group is “still trying to nail down” the cost of construction. The Cleveland group is working with developer Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. Their feasibility study estimated the cost of building a system at about $50 billion but estimated it would turn a profit of $30 billion for private investors over 25 years. Both groups say the projects likely would involve a combination of public and private funds to build the system. Ms. Ewing said she believes the next big step will involve construction of a certification facility where hyperloop technology can be proven and government standards would be established. Virgin Hyperloop requested proposals to build the facility and Mid-Ohio is among about 10 finalists, including a West Virginia proposal based at West Virginia University. Virgin One is expected to choose a site by next year for the facility, which is expected to cost several hundred million dollars and draw substantial ancillary economic development. Ms. Ewing said her agency is “working on the financial pieces” of its proposal such as issuing bonds or offering financial incentives to firms that would participate in the project. “[A certification facility] would be a help to the industry that’s pursuing this,” Ms. Ewing said, even if it isn’t built in Ohio. “That would give us what we need to determine what this corridor would cost.”
Poster Comment: Hmmmmmm... Cool..... This is new... I haven't heard anything about high-speed passenger transport in Pittsburgh since f*ckin George W Bush axed the Maglev project 20 years ago & cackled like a masterbating monkey while he exported all our high tech infrastructure to China... I'm going to have to look into this further... I wonder if they've considered that the fuckin' oil frackers may have destabilized much of the underground in this region? Right now, I'm still thinking that maglev, with an elevated guideway the entire length of the route, might be the more suitable approach for this project... Going underground just has too many unknown obstructions to overcome... Nothing against Elon Musk, mind you... I'd just like to see some of his "visionary" transportation proposals prove their value before I hop on the bandwagon...
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#11. To: Willie Green (#0)
Hyperloops are built in a "forward-thinking nations" like the UAE. www.dailymail.co.uk/scien...ngers-Abu-Dhabi-2020.html Please note that blue state governors (mine included) are still crushing private businesses for political gain...via lock down. The liberals have slated the U.S. to be a 3rd world nation where people are free to poop in the street. Sorry, Willie, no Hyperloop for you. But I give you high marks for your vision.
Well thank-you for the compliment... But like I think I may have implied somewhere previously, the engineer in me is still somewhat skeptical of the economics of underground vacuum tubes for transportation and would like to see the concept proven elswhere first... My "vision" still prefers maglev on an above-ground elevated guideway, especially through a region that's riddled with old coal mines and hydraulic fracking for oil... Maybe the subsurface is better west of Columbus, but I'm more concerned by the more difficult terrain going east toward Pittsburgh... I think crossing Pennsylvania's more hilly terrain, Maglev would quickly swoosh right over those hills like a gentle roller-coaster while Hyperloop would still be struggling trying to bore through unstable rock formations (There's a whole lotta water & caves in thos old limestone mountains). Anyway, even though I'm not 100% on board, I wish them well if they decide to move on with this proposal...
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#15. To: watchman (#11)
Sorry, Willie, no Hyperloop for you. But I give you high marks for your vision.
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