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US startup Hyperloop One announced Wednesday the first successful full-systems test of its near-supersonic rail transit system.
The test took place in May at the company's development track in the Nevada desert near Las Vegas, and involved a vehicle coasting above tracks for slightly more than five seconds using magnetic levitation, the company said.
The test vehicle accelerated to a speed of 70 miles (112 kilometers) per hour during the test.
The company's next goal is to ramp the speed up to 250 mph (400 kph), Hyperloop One said in a statement.
A tube which is part of the test system for high-speed rail startup Hyperloop One is seen in a 2016 photo.
"Hyperloop One has accomplished what no one has done before by successfully testing the first full-scale Hyperloop system," said co-founder and executive chairman, Shervin Pishevar.
"By achieving full vacuum, we essentially invented our own sky in a tube, as if you're flying at 200,000 feet (60,000 meters) in the air."
Hyperloop One originally promised a full-scale demonstration by the end of 2016, after a successful test of the propulsion system.
Systems tested in May included the motor, vacuum pumping, magnetic levitation and electromagnetic braking, according to the company.
Hyperloop One also announced on Wednesday that it has built a prototype pod designed to carry people or cargo through the system's low-pressure tubes.
This image released by Hyperloop One shows Shervin Pishevar (R), co-founder and Executive Chairman of Hyperloop; and Josh Giegel, co-founder and President of Engineering pose with the first prototype of Hyperloop One Pod on July 12, 2017.
Hyperloop One disclosed a list of locations around the world earlier this year that are vying to put near-supersonic rail transit system to the test.
Viable submissions had to be condoned by government agencies that would likely be involved in regulating and, ideally, funding the futuristic rail system.
Hyperloop One wants to get three systems underway, chief executive Rob Lloyd told AFP at the time.
Hyperloop One, which has raised more than 160 million US dollars, is based on an idea laid out by billionaire Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind electric car company Tesla and private space exploration endeavor SpaceX.
Robert Lloyd, CEO of Hyperloop One, gestures as he speaks during an event in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 28, 2017. Hyperloop has been working on a futuristic transportation system that would use magnetic levitation in low-pressure tubes to transport people and goods at airplane-like speeds.
Pods would rocket along rails through reduced-pressure tubes at speeds of 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) per hour.
Hyperloop One says the system offers better safety than passenger jets, lower building and maintenance costs than high-speed trains, and energy usage, per person, that is similar to a bicycle.
DP World Group of Dubai last year invested in the concept, joining backers including French national rail company SNCF, US industrial conglomerate General Electric and Russian state fund RDIF.
(AFP)
