The longest hyperloop test tube on the Old Continent was inaugurated this week in the Netherlands. Although it measures only 420 meters long, it revives hope around technology.
A promising time, then a mocked time, many of us ultimately doubt the future of the hyperloop train, and yet! Europe’s longest test track has been inaugurated near Veendam, in a disused railway center in the Netherlands. In the minds of the designers, the hyperloop could connect Amsterdam to Barcelona at a speed of 1,000 km/h in just 2 hours by 2050. But we are still far, very far from the goal.
A test track that will allow testing the lane change of a hyperloop capsule
In the north of Holland, a stone’s throw from a wind farm, a 420 meter long tube was installed, almost elegant with its Y shape, which totals 34 pipes connected to each other, all 2.5 meters. For the moment therefore, there is no real question of creating a loop.
The track, which runs along a former railway line, is partly financed by the European Union. It is also and above all shorter than what the European Hyperloop Center envisaged in 2020. At the time, it was agreed that it would be a little over 3 kilometers long.
The installation is still innovative in that it allows testing the lane change of a capsule at high speed. This system is obviously the basis for creating a network that could connect several destinations.
Full-scale tests by 2030, for a hyperloop that many believe in
The man at the head of the European Hyperloop Center of the Hardt Hyperloop company, Sascha Lamme, does not hide his ambition to ultimately build a network of 10,000 kilometers. There is still a long way to go, and by then, tests will already have to be carried out on the small piece of 420 meter tube. Capsules should be put into action in the coming weeks, without further details.
Full-scale tests with passengers will then have to be carried out. Sascha Lamme mentions possible tests of this type by 2030, provided that a journey of several kilometers is possible. The manager mentions a 5 kilometer long tube, which would start from an airport to reach a city.
If Elon Musk made the hyperloop a trend in the years 2012-2013, other companies have also unveiled similar projects, such as Virgin and its shuttle equipped with 4 engines allowing it to reach 1,000 km/h in less than 5 minutes. In China, certain installations can reach speeds of almost 700 km/h. If the hyperloop is still considered a pipe dream by many, others still believe in it.
Source : The Guardian
4