High-Speed Transit Concept Could Revolutionize Communities

Would you travel in a pod at 671 miles per hour?

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It could become a reality sooner than most people think according to a Tech Talk at CONEXPO-CON/AGG.

Hyperloop Vice President for Strategic Communications Bruce Upbin described how the high-speed transit concept could not only revolutionize not only transportation, but entire communities and the broader economy.

Just miles from Hyperloop's first factory in North Las Vegas, Upbin gave CONEXPO-CON/AGG attendees an update on how the company is working to make its concept into reality. The was one of the most anticipated of the featured Tech Talks that have been underway all week at CONEXPO-CON/AGG’s brand new Tech Experience.

“The last new mode of transportation was over 100 years ago, and we’ve only had incremental improvement since,” Upbin said. “We think we can deliver that and have our ‘Kitty Hawk’ moment here in Nevada in the first half of 2017.”

Hyperloop One is a proposed long-distance transit system that would use advanced propulsion concepts to propel passengers and freight through giant industrial tubes at speeds three times of existing high-speed rail.

Upbin said a passenger could use the Hyperloop to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in fewer than 20 minutes. Upbin said a nationwide "Superloop" would create interconnected regional economies that would change many Americans' way of life and create 11 million new jobs.

The cost of construction? $1.5 trillion.

Upbin said the benefits were worth the investment. “There’s not very much that people agree on these days,” Upbin said. “But two things they do agree on is the need to invest in our infrastructure; both Republicans and Democrats say it – and that our transportation kind of sucks right now.”

The project is an attempt to make good on SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s vision for high-speed transportation. Hyperloop -of a test track earlier this week, and hopes to publicly test the technology in the months to come.