Canadian 1,200 km/h TransPod hyperloop project raises $500 million
The TransPod Fluxjet is a hyperloop-style vacuum tube train that will shoot you from Calgary to Edmonton in 45 minutes, roughly 50 percent of the speed of a jet aircraft. Yes, it's another hyperloop-style vacuum-tube train - this time from Canada. The TransPod FluxJet is more than simply a training course in bicapitalism. This ultra-high-speed ground transportation system claims "groundbreaking technical developments in propulsion," clean energy compatibility, and "technological strides in contactless power transmission and veillance flux," according to its creators.
It's the same old promise that people have been making since pneumatic-tube message delivery systems were the new hotness in the 1800s. Reduce wind resistance by sending a pod through a near-vacuum, then fire people and goods across the country at speeds that would require incredible power and heat dispersion outside.
The FluxJet, like the Hyperlooop, ET3, Hyperport, and many other such designs we've seen, will likewise remove rolling resistance from the equation using mag-lev technology. The landing gear won't retract till the pod is doing at least 300 kilometers per hour (186 miles per hour) and ready to accelerate up to a cruise speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour (621 mph), or a top speed of 1,200 kilometers per hour (746 mph) if you're in a hurry.
The firm is a mystery when it comes to its "groundbreaking inventions," although we get the impression that the veillance flux bit has something to do with a visual positioning system that scans the tube ahead and adjusts the pod's position in the tube according to what's ahead. Each 25-m (82-ft) long pod, which can accommodate up to 54 passengers or transport time-sensitive goods, will have four "levitation engines" extending outwards from its upper and lower diagonals on suspension arms, giving it an extremely sleek appearance.
The pods will include onboard power, but they'll extend a contactless power pickup device to receive energy from the tube when it's time to go really fast. In the render video, plasma is shown; in reality, it shines an attractive, sci-fi purple.
TransPod, a $18 billion project that aims to connect Calgary and Edmonton in 50 minutes for around $75 each way via a 300-mile (186-mile) long tube, has raised US$550 million in funding and is moving into the next stage with a project spanning 300 kilometers (186 miles). "Preliminary construction work, including an environmental impact assessment, has already begun," reads the TransPod website. This tube, valued at US$, promises 45-minute journeys between the two cities for around $75 each way, taking over three hours of driving or a plane ticket worth approximately $125.
According to TransPod, the project will cut almost a third of the traffic crossing Calgary to Edmonton by using electric buses. Every passenger will benefit from the bus's clean energy, making the overall effect equivalent to planting a tree. By reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 636,000 tonnes each year, it plans to do so.
On its own, TransPod's US$60 million-per-kilometer price tag for the Calgary to Edmonton link seems high. However, when compared to other high-speed rail projects in the region, it appears that this project would cost US$60 million per kilometer - a number that would compete favorably with comparable initiatives. At the end of the day, however, Canada has looked at a lot of fast train transit proposals – yet it is still the only G7 country without any experience building them. It does not appear probable that this will be Canada's first.
Source: newatlas.com
