As many of you know I continue to follow the development of hyperloop technology. In the mean time we see articles such as this one to do with conventional high speed rail in Texas. I wonder if the project will do better than what has happened in California ..read more

We, as a community, need to keep a watchful eye on the proposal to drive a third track through Ashland. Although immediate actions have been shelved for now we need to keep our guard up. The issue has not gone away. From the beginning of the controversy I felt that there should be a technical solution to the problems that were raised. Is there a way of expanding our transportation network (as distinct from merely the railway network) without causing so much disruption? I think that the answer to this question is “Yes”. In fact, there are two answers. The first is to introduce new forms of high ..read more

Last week I attended a Hyperloop conference at UCLA in Los Angeles. I also presented a paper entitled “Hyperloop Safety Study”. The conference followed the Space-X competition, hosted by Elon Musk, in nearby Hawthorne. I will post details later. But for now, I say that I started my presentation with two simple questions that must always be asked when starting a new project, or looking at new technology:  Will it work? and Is it safe?  My remarks were focused on the second question, “Is it safe ..read more

This article from the Richmond Times Dispatch describes the work done by students at Virginia Commonwealth University to do with designing hyperloop pods ..read more

Fox News has just released a video to do with hyperloop. The video is upbeat in tone, suggesting that the technology is well advanced and that the general concept is practical. It does not, however, provide any new information. They also discuss the regulatory environment: should a hyperloop be considered a train or an airplane? They seem to come down on the side of ‘airplane’ because the modules are actually flying along the tubes — there are no wheels or rails ..read more

Kerckhoff Hall, UCLA As we have discussed many times at this blog, the world of transportation technology is undergoing radical and wrenching changes. Almost daily there is news about electric cars, autonomous (driverless) vehicles, drones and even space rocket transportation. One of the new technologies — and one that we have discussed frequently at this site — is hyperloop. This technology is still in the early development phase, but has the following essential features. “Trains” travel along tubes from which the air has been removed. Hence, there is very little air resistance. The “trains ..read more

The success of the new transportation systems that are going to replace conventional rail depends on their ability to carry freight at high speed. Therefore, it is encouraging to see that Virgin Hyperloop One is working on such a system. Here is the YouTube link ..read more

The problem that almost all rail expansion projects face — Ashland is no exception — is that new tracks destroy property or attractive open areas of land. This means that the best solution is to move into the third dimension, i.e., to construct a tunnel. Elon Musk receives a lot of publicity to do with his new technologies such as hyperloop, space transportation and electric cars. But it could be that, in the long run, his greatest contribution will be the new technologies that he is developing with his Boring Company. When various options for the Ashland area were under consideration last yea ..read more

Background For those of you who are new to this blog here is some background. For almost three years the citizens of Ashland have been resisting the proposal to run a third track through town. The resistance has been on many fronts, including public meetings with the authorities and reviewing legal issues. I have concentrated on technology. After all, the last major technological change to the tracks took place in the early 1950s; it was the transition from steam to diesel-electric. That’s two generations ago. The transportation industry in the United States is currently undergoing massive, w ..read more

On December 6th the non-profit organization Hyperloop Advanced Research Partnership (HARP) organized a conference in New York City. The title of the conference was The Hyperloop: Promises and Challenges. There were 75 attendees  —  the meeting was sold out. Most of the meeting, which was chaired by HARP’s President, Dane Egli, consisted of a panel discussion followed by a question and answer session. Panel members were: Sebastien Gendron, CEO & Co-founder of TransPod Hyperloop Rebecca Leonard, President of Hypernet Holding Corporation (HHC) Bibop G. Gresta, Chairman & Co-Founder of Hyp ..read more