Tech-entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk looks to be closer to yet another idea-turned-company of his disrupting the transit system as we know it. The long awaited tunnel system of ¡®The Boring Company¡¯ will be unveiled for the public on December 10.
A quick reminder, the Boring Company aims to use underground tunnels with electric run pods called ¡®skates¡¯ to transport passengers at ferocious speeds, of more than 1000 km/h. It is essentially an extension of the Hyperloop concept, only completely underground and without the vacuumed tunnels for its ¡°Loop¡± transit system. The tunnels dug, however, can also be employed for Hyperloop systems.
To date, the project at the Hawthorne, California, has been acting as a test tunnel on the site of SpaceX. Last year, a test run of an electric skate at a speed of 125 miles per hour was also recorded on video. Due to be ready for the public within the next two months, Musk has also announced "Opening event that night & free rides for the public the next day," in a successive tweet. ?
There are, however, a few key questions that remain unanswered. For instance, what will be the mode of transport used within the tunnels? And how the company plans to achieve the claimed speed of more than 600+ mph (965 km/h) in its final run. For now, the test run will be taking place at a speed of 155 mph (250 km/h), significantly faster than the one held last year.
The announcement in itself is a huge boost to the mass transit concept. Post the public opening, the company is expected to bring the projects at hand to reality, including a Chicago Express Loop in association with the City of Chicago as well as a Dugout Loop in Los Angeles, California for transporting basketball fans directly to the Dodger stadium.
The Boring Company
Recently, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. also unveiled the world¡¯s first ever full-scale passenger capsule for the hyperloop capsule. The capsule is currently under integration and testing at HTT Inc¡¯s R&D facility in Toulose, France.
With the simultaneous evolution of both the capsules and the tracks, it should not be very long when the world will see its first ever Hyperloop concept turning into a reality. Once it does, and comes to India, one can expect to travel from Delhi to Mumbai within 60 minutes.