Virgin Hyperloop pod passes first manned trials

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Virgin Hyperloop, a subsidiary of Virgin Media and one of the frontrunners in commercialising hyperloop technology, has passed its first manned trials in Nevada.

The test involved a specially-designed pod travelling at 172.8km/h along a 500m stretch in Las Vegas with two passengers in tow. This clocks in at a fraction of Virgin's ambitions for the hyperloop to eventually travel at speeds of over 1000km/h in order to revolutionise public transport.

The futuristic transport involves these pods inside vacuum tubes to carry passengers along at high speeds.

The idea for the hyperloop was first proposed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in 2012, who endeavoured to make the project open-source to allow for information and ideas to be shared freely.

His initial ideas involved reduced-pressure tubes in which pressurised capsules would ride on air bearings driven by linear induction motors and axial compressors.

The travel pods are designed to accommodate up to 28 passengers, however, the trials were conducted in a prototype designed for two people in order to test the safety and application of this still-experimental technology.

Virgin Hyperloop has conducted over 400 unmanned tests, which are being overseen by Certifier, an independent safety assessor for railways.

The two passengers for the maiden voyage were Virgin Airloop CTO Josh Giegal and Sarah Luchian, the director of customer experience.

Luchian described the event as "exhilarating both psychologically and physically" to BBC reporters at the event.

Virgin Hyperloop CEO Jay Walder said: “I can’t tell you how often I get asked ‘is hyperloop 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.”

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Virgin Hyperloop and Group Chairman and CEO of DP World watched the event take place.

He said: “I had the true pleasure of seeing history made before my very eyes – to witness the first new mode of mass transportation in over 100 years come to life.

“I have always had tremendous faith in the team at Virgin Hyperloop to transform this technology into a safe system, and today we have done that. We are one step closer to ushering in a new era of ultra-fast, sustainable movement of people and goods.”

Last month, West Virginia was chosen to be the site for the Hyperloop Certification Centre (HCC), costing a grand total of $500 million (€419 million).

Back in July, US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Elaine Chao and the Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council revealed a clear regulatory framework for the hyperloop to operate under.

The company hopes this will help pave the way for hyperloop technology to be commercially available soon.

Critics of the system have noted that building infrastructure for the systems could prove both expensive and challenging.

Regarding the difficulties, Ms Luchain told the BBC: "Of course there's a lot of infrastructure to be built but I think we've mitigated a lot of the risks that people didn't think was possible."

"Infrastructure is such an important focus for so many people in government. We know people are looking for solutions. They're looking for the transportation of the future. We can keep building today's or yesterday's transport systems and keep encountering the same problems they bring or we can really look to build something that solves those problems."

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