Virgin Hyperloop, the company behind the long-gestating vacuum train concept, has released a concept video showing the most detailed presentation yet of what the high-speed transit system might actually look like.
The two and a half minute video shows slick 3D renderings populated with photorealistic passengers of what the Hyperloop's stations and train cars might look like.
"I think one of the things that was really paramount to me was to acknowledge that designing the first new mode of transportation in over a hundred years is a huge opportunity, but it's also a huge responsibility," Sara Luchian, director of passenger experience at Virgin Hyperloop, told Cheddar.
She explained that the video was crafted to shift public perception away from the "cold, grey, grim, dystopian" imagery that Virgin Hyperloop has presented in the past and "embrace a much warmer, friendlier, more welcoming, and human-centric vision of transportation that is yet to come but just years away."
The concept video shows passengers boarding individual "tubes" featuring arrival times displayed digitally on the backs of seats, automatic phone-charging panels, and a bird's-eye view of elevated tracks spanning coastlines, mountain ranges, and urban centers. Notably, there's a shot of a highly-visible speedometer showing the tube reaching 670 miles per hour.
As for when the Hyperloop will start shuttling actual passengers, Luchian said much depends on when it can secure regulatory approvals and partnerships, but the goal is the end of the decade.
"One of my favorite things about this job is being able to tell people it's coming in years, not decades," she said.
In the meantime, Virgin Hyperloop has announced the establishment of its Hyperloop Certification Center in West Virginia, where it plans to build a six-mile tube for testing and safety certification. The company is aiming for full regulatory approval within the next five years.
Where the first completed systems will be built is still up in the air, but Luchian said there is interest all over the world.
One factor that will inform the system's roll-out is making sure the Hyperloop is a "mass transportation" system, she added. "It's not meant to be a solution for, you know, petulant billionaires trying to go from one chalet to their mansion."
As a result, Hyperloop will seek investment from both private and public sources, with an eye toward making the system affordable wherever it ends up being built.
"More than anything, we need this to be first safe but of course affordable, and that accessibility is one of the most important things," Luchian said.
