The transport type Fluxjet is described as a hybrid between train and plane. At an event in Montreal, the Canadian startup Transpod presented a scale model of its hyperloop concept, that is, a means of transport that travels in tubes close to vacuum.

The company claims that it has made several technical breakthroughs, including in contactless power transmission, which opens up high speeds. That’s what Inceptive Mind writes.

Transpopd’s 25 meter long pod can carry 54 passengers. Up to 300 km/h, the crew is stabilized by what can be described as landing gear, and only then is the pod lifted by magnetic fields, further towards the cruising speed of just over 1,000 km/h.

30 miles in 45 minutes

The company intends to build Transpod Line, a large system of vacuum tubes on bridge piers which connects Canadian Calgary with Edmonton in Alberta. The distance of around 30 miles should be able to be covered in 45 minutes, compared to more than three hours for today’s fastest trains. That’s what New Atlas writes.

Transpod claims to have developed technology that provides an infrastructure with much lower operating and maintenance costs compared to other hyperloop projects. The ticket price should thus be 44 percent below what a corresponding plane ticket costs, according to them.

The investment cost for the Transpod Line is estimated at SEK 192 billion, and construction is scheduled to start in 2027.

Elon Musk doesn’t seem to have given up on hyperloop

Elon Musk is credited as the originator behind the hyperloop concept, and the top speed that Transpod claims to be able to reach is close to Musk’s hypothesis of speeds of 760 miles per hour (1,223 km/h).

After taking a step back early on, Elon Musk seems to be considering plunging into the hyperloop circus again. In the spring of 2022, he tweeted that his own company the Boring Company planned to try to build its own hyperloop in the coming years.

Hyperloop companies invest in freight transport

Perhaps the renewed interest is because the form of transport seems to be taking a direction away from passengers.

In 2020, Virgin Hyperloop demonstrated “the first passenger test” in a 500-meter long tunnel – but this year the company announced that it will focus on freight transport.

Another company that has taken notice of the suitability for freight is Hamburg-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies.

But despite heavy players turning their backs on passengers, the means of transport is predicted to be headed for bright times. According to an analysis from Markets and Markets, the market is expected to be around hyperloop technology by 2026 to have an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.4 percent. That’s what Benzinga writes. The market is then believed to have a value of 6.6 billion dollars, and the greatest growth is believed to take place in the Asia/Pacific region.