Technology That Will 'Transform' Transportation

Various companies around the world are working on hyperloop systems; a technology that will revolutionize transportation, making it faster and safer. The hyperloop is a very fast pneumatic transportation system. The idea of this project is as follows: capsules inside tubes where a vacuum is created and friction is minimized can reach speeds of 1200 kilometers per hour. This seemingly simple idea is very expensive and has many technical obstacles. However, it can turn multi-hour journeys into just a few minutes. In the USA, Europe, China, and the Middle East, this project is in the research and initial stages. In the Middle East, the hyperloop is set to connect the cities of Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Abu Dhabi. This project is to be carried out by Virgin company. According to plans, this system is expected to have a speed more than three times that of today's high-speed trains. It has been said that this speed will exceed one thousand kilometers per hour. With this method, even the time to reach the destination will be less than by airplane; for example, passengers will be transported from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in just 12 minutes, while driving this route takes about two hours. The journey from Riyadh to Jeddah, which currently takes 10 hours, will be reduced to about 70 minutes with hyperloop, and the trip from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi, which currently takes 8.5 hours, will take 48 minutes. If this project is implemented in Iran, the route from Tehran to Mashhad will take less than one hour, while trains currently take between 10 to 12 hours for this journey. This system can transport nearly 10,000 people per hour. However, these ideas are still far from being realized, as many limitations need to be addressed; for example, inserting hyperloop capsules into the tubes requires a very fast air compression system that can generate a lot of heat. Additionally, this system has high noise pollution. This summer, a hyperloop prototype was able to reach a speed of 467 kilometers per hour. There are also other hyperloop projects. In one of these projects, cars are transferred into underground hyperloop tubes and placed on electric sleds, moving at a speed of 241 kilometers per hour. This project seems more practical in terms of speed compared to other ideas. Another hyperloop project is led by a startup called Hyperloop TT, which has recently achieved some successes. The Hyperloop TT capsule named Quintero One is about 32 meters long and is set to be tested in Toulouse, France. Virgin Hyperloop has also managed to bring several prototypes to a speed of 390 kilometers per hour. However, this speed is still far from the target speed of over one thousand kilometers per hour. What is currently clear is that hyperloop could be an idea for transforming transportation in the future. This project is still far from its goal of reaching speeds over one thousand kilometers per hour, and even in smaller-scale prototypes, the system has not yet been able to exceed speeds of 500 kilometers per hour. However, if this project reaches speeds over 500 kilometers per hour, airlines on short routes under one hour will likely face a new competitor in many flight paths.