Down the Tube… at 760mph, Saudi Arabia’s in the Hyperloop

From the earliest stages of theory and planning, the idea sounded so out of fiction that it remains unthinkable. But years on and stages of rigorous testing later, Hyperloop is becoming more prospect and less like science fiction. With tests performed from last year to present demonstrating its incredible potential.

These tests show, not only the potential but the rapid development of its speed. As 2017’s test proved, speeds above 200 mph were possible, with this week’s tests going beyond that. The recent tests would cut 10-hour flights to an incredible 76 minutes.

Saudi Arabia’s in the Hyperloop

In a visit to Virgin’s Hyperloop One facility, the King of Saudi Arabia has expressed excitement at the progress so far. As part of Mohammed Bin Salman’s modernisation initiative, Virgin has a proud place in his vision.

“We[‘re] look[ing] forward to advancing the relationship between KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Virgin Hyperloop One. While we develop innovative transport technologies like Hyperloop: accelerating Vision 2030 objectives to transform the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from a technology consumer to a technology innovator.”

Fourth generation technology Bin Salman is seeking out for the Kingdom includes Hyperloop, with incredible things expected from both.

‘A Series of Tubes’ – a world gone Hyperloop’y

It’s not just Virgin One that is looking to put countries like Saudi Arabia in the loop. The Canadian-based company, Transpod is setting itself up in the global ‘Call to arms’ for land hyperspeed travel. Where Virgin has set up plans in the Gulf, Transpod is planning a similar project in France next year.