02-20-2016, 12:00 PM
(02-19-2016, 11:56 PM)KevinL Wrote: Not to be a Debbie Downer, but this whole thing is far too early in development to be seriously thought about, at least not yet. Let's get the test tracks built, yes, and see how safe and functional it is - but not until that is all worked out, and production starts in a mainstream capacity, will I entertain it as an option.
I don't think anyone here is proposing to build one yet. But the fact that they plan to have the test track functional by the end of the year is very exciting in my book. If I'm lucky, this will be reality before I die.
One significant advantage of the Hyperloop concept over HSR is that the tubes/pods are far lighter than rail, making a raised implementation (with no level crossings and no right-of-way issues) a possibility. I think we all know how significant those two issues are for all rail (not just HSR) in Ontario; avoiding them altogether is an even bigger advantage than the outright speed of Hyperloop, I think.