3 ms·
According to the original hyperloop paper (https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/blog_images/hyperloop-alpha.pdf https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/b
by rkangel 6y ago
According to the original hyperloop paper (https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/blog_images/hyperloop-alpha.pdf https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/blog_images/hyperl...) it is meant to be able to help with infrastructure costs. The main difference is that it is all much lighter than conventional rail. This means that you can build it on pylons over the ground, and continuously extrude carbon fibre to build the tunnel. In theory both land costs and construction costs should be much lower.
That was the original paper though, I don't know how much of that is considered realistic now.
- j-pb 6y agoThis! Pylons for the win!
- rwmj 6y agoThe Shinkansen is built on pylons in many places especially where it goes over low-lying farmland and through cities, so I'm not sure this is a good reason.
- dragonwriter 6y agoBut the bulk of the infrastructure cost difference of the original hyperloop paper vs. the CAHSR project it was offered against wasn't due to use of pylons, it was due to the fact that the proposed hyperloop didn't serve communities between the termini at all, and didn't come anywhere near the urban centers at either terminus. This, of course, also made it useless for literally any purpose.