News: entrepreneur Elon Musk has revealed designs for a supersonic Hyperloop transport system to link Los Angeles and San Francisco in just 30 minutes (+ slideshow). Hyperloop passenger capsule version cutaway with passengers onboard Elon Musk, billionaire and founder of Paypal, electric-car firm Tesla Motors and space technology company SpaceX, has revealed designs for Hyperloop - a supersonic Jetsons-style transportation system for California. Travelling at over 700 mph, passengers would sit in a 1.35-metre-wide tube and be blasted through the 382-mile tunnel linkin ..read more

In this week's , readers are debating the development of a Hyperloop high-speed transport system in Italy. Zaha Hadid Architects has signed an agreement to develop the near-supersonic network, collaborating with Hyperloop Italia to design the "next phase of works". "This is not going to be built"  Readers are divided. "This is not going to be built," said Mr G. "And that's for the best." "I like the sound of the Milan Hyperloop," replied Mr J. "I have used the Centro-Malpensa bus many times, and it's a pleasant enough ride, but a smooth and quick replacement would do both city and airpor ..read more

London studio Zaha Hadid Architects has signed an agreement to develop a Hyperloop high-speed transport system across Italy. The studio announced that it will be collaborating with Hyperloop Italia to design the "next phase of works" for a planned near-supersonic network in the country. "We are looking forward to collaborating with Hyperloop Italia; marrying transformative architecture, engineering and urban planning with the most efficient and sustainable transport network to significantly improve accessibility, connectivity, and well-being in our cities," said Zaha Hadid Architect ..read more

For the first time, two human passengers have travelled in one of Virgin's levitating hyperloop capsules, which was sent at 100 miles per hour through a near-airless tunnel in the Nevada desert. Josh Giegel, CTO and co-founder of Virgin Hyperloop, and Sara Luchian, Virgin Hyperloop's director of passenger experience, were the two passengers to ride the new form of transportation for the first time on 8 November. The 15-second-long test trip was carried out by the company at its DevLoop site 35 miles north of Las Vegas in Nevada, which comprises a 500-metre concrete tube located in a barr ..read more

Virgin Hyperloop is building a centre for testing and certifying its high-speed transportation system in West Virginia, designed by architecture firm BIG. The Hyperloop Certification Center (HCC) facility will include a six-mile-long tube for testing Virgin Hyperloop for mass transportation use. The aim is to achieve safety certification for the new mode of transport – intended to be ultra-fast, with zero direct emissions – by 2025 and for it to be in operation by 2030. The Virgin Hyperloop Certification Center will be built in West Virginia "Today is one of the most exciting days in Vir ..read more

Architecture studio MAD has designed a concept for a nature-friendly hyperloop network with raised green walkways alongside tubes topped with a solar panel skin. MAD designed the solar-powered system for HyperloopTT, one of the two main companies working to build a near-supersonic transportation system. The proposed design, which also acts as a public space and walkway, aims to demonstrate how "the artificial can merge with nature". In cities, MAD envisions the transportation system would help connect people to nature by incorporating raised, car-free walkways filled with greenery, while park ..read more

To help you travel in style, we’re showcasing the best of modern transport with this week's new Pinterest boards. Ride along with first-class trains, extraordinary Hyperloop systems and car designs to inspire your own Bat-mobile. Follow Dezeen on Pinterest › Main image is from BMW's Vantablack car, where the pigment has erased reflections and three-dimensionality. Open the Pinterest app on your phone, tap the camera icon and scan the below Pincode to explore Dezeen's feed. The post Get behind the wheel and take our new Pinterest boards for a spin appeared first on Dezeen ..read more

The government of the Indian state of Maharashtra has approved Virgin Hyperloop One's plans to develop a high-speed line between Mumbai and Pune, which could become the world's first hyperloop. Maharashtra's government has announced that a consortium of Virgin Hyperloop One and global ports owner DP World would be the preferred operator to build "the first hyperloop transportation system in the world". The planned hyperloop line will connect the two cities in western India, which are around 100 miles apart, in 35 minutes. This would be a drastic reduction on current travel times of three and ..read more

A team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology has won a competition to design an experimental capsule for the Hyperloop – a conceptual high-speed transport network conceived by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. The design, created by MIT students and staff, was announced as the winner of the SpaceX competition at Texas A&M University over the weekend. The prototype will now be trialled on a mile-long test track alongside the headquarters of Musk's SpaceX rocket company in Hawthorne, California. Testing is due to start in April. The competition was devised to push forward open-source ..read more

News: a company has been set up to work on and deliver Elon Musk's high-speed Hyperloop transport system, which uses magnets and fans to propel passenger capsules through a network of pipes. Crowdfunding platform JumpStartFund has launched a new company dedicated to creating a final working prototype of the Hyperloop within ten years, and says it will take the system abroad if politics and red-tape get in the way of it being built in America. JustStartFund's CEO Dirk Ahlborn said construction of the first prototype would begin in 2015, with the final working system to be in place "within the ..read more