Beardy Branson: Wacky hyperloop tube maglev cheaper than railways Richard Branson, figurehead of all things branded Virgin, has opined that our rain-sodden island needs a hyperloop railway system. The billionaire Brit, who is non-exec chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme that a hyperloop "would end up transporting people far quicker, in far greater …
... said the bearded one recently, about his allegedly forthcoming suborbital flight.
What's the current altitude they are achieving? I thought they'd only got to a quarter of the required altitude, but with a 30 second burn, and they reckon 63 seconds for a full sub-orbital flight?
I can't see any fundamental reason why a hyperloop couldn't be built, there's nothing in it that requires unobtanium. Of course, that doesn't mean it's going to be practical or profitable, but that's for those trying to set one up to worry about. I'm also not sure the UK is the best place to push to be building one. As speeds are projected to be much higher than trains, longer routes would give the greatest benefits. The UK may be too small for this to be worthwhile, I think it would make more sense to try some trans-EU routes or intercity services in the USA.
"Of course, that doesn't mean it's going to be practical or profitable, but that's for those trying to set one up to worry about."
No, you just convince enough investors and Government that you can do it, take all the money, build it, fail to even come close to recouping the investment because the final costs spiral upwards, running costs are way higher than predicted and then the operating company goes bankrupt. A bit like the Channel Tunnel.
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