2023-12-22 22:02:40
Imagined in 2013 by Elon Musk, the hyperloop, a futuristic train which was to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than an hour, is in trouble. In difficulty, Hyperloop One, the company he created and which was one of the most advanced in the field, will close at the end of this year, according to Bloomberg.
A project imagined ten years ago by American billionaire Elon Musk, the hyperloop was to revolutionize tourism and transport, but also to redesign territories. This futuristic train, which was to travel at more than 900 km/h, promised to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco, approximately 800 km, in less than an hour.
But the development of this technology is experiencing some difficulties, at least in the United States. As recently revealed by the American media Bloomberg, the Californian company Hyperloop One, one of the most advanced on this high-speed train project operating in vacuum tubes, will close its doors at the end of this year.
Hyperloop: Soon futuristic trains, faster and more eco-friendly than planes? [RTS]
Still in development in Europe
In any case, if the project seems to be failing in the United States, this is not the case in Europe, as Antoine Juge, director at the EuroTube Research Institute, in charge of of the Hyperloop demonstration project in Zurich and Collombey-Muraz.
>> Read also: Valais will host the first hyperloop test site in Switzerland
According to him, the fall of Hyperloop One does not mean the end of this technology which still has a future, particularly in Europe. “It’s a setback at the United States level, but not at the European level which is the ecosystem in which we operate.”
It must be said that the United States and Europe do not approach the issue of public transport in the same way. “For example, high-speed trains have never managed to break through in the USA,” continues Antoine Juge. “Because as soon as we have an infrastructure that is heavy, we need stronger public support. And in Europe, it has been found, in the United States much less.”
A concrete tube in Zurich
Moreover, in Europe, several other projects of this type exist, he underlines. “In terms of our initiative, we are moving forward and we will begin construction next year of our first 120-meter demonstrator in the Zurich region,” he rejoices.
The big difference with the American project is that the Zurich Hyperloop will operate in a concrete tube, and not in steel, which will make it possible to “divide the costs approximately by two.”
Comments collected by Thibaut Schaller
Web adaptation: Fabien Grenon
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