Virgin Hyperloop Sunday carried out the first test of its pod-like transportation system on a test track in Apex, near North Las Vegas.
Two Virgin executives climbed into the pod and were shot down the DevLoop track at 100 mph. The company hopes it will once carry both passengers and cargo at speeds in excess of 600 mph through a partial vacuum.
The company conducted the first trial run of the Hyperloop system four years. During the interim it conducted hundreds of unoccupied tests, with the fastest being at 245 mph.
The passengers in the XP-2 were the company’s co-founder Josh Giegel and Sara Luchian, director of passenger experience.
Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group issued this statement: “For the past few years the Virgin Hyperloop team has been working on turning its ground breaking technology into reality.” He continued, “With today’s successful test, we have shown that this spirit of innovation will in fact change the way people everywhere live, work, and travel in the years to come.”
Giegel declared, “When we started in a garage over 6 years ago, the goal was simple — to transform the way people move. Today we took one giant leap toward that ultimate dream, not only for me, but for all of us who are looking toward a moonshot right here on Earth.”
The proposal is to build the underground tubes next to freeways within rights of way to minimize the need for infrastructure.
Although the first passenger test was conducted with a two-passenger pod, the goal is to build a vehicle that would carry nearly 30 passengers.
Luchian also issued a statement: “Hyperloop is about so much more than the technology. It’s about what it enables.” She added, “To me, the passenger experience ties it all together. And what better way to design the future than to actually experience it first-hand?”
Virgin Hyperloop CEO Jay Walder said that the question they are asked most about the hyperloop is, is it safe? “With today’s passenger testing, we have successfully answered this question, demonstrating that not only can Virgin Hyperloop safely put a person in a pod in a vacuum environment, but that the company has a thoughtful approach to safety, which has been validated by an independent third party.”
