It’s official, Virgin Hyperloop hopes to transport goods before considering transporting people. A reorientation which is accompanied by a drastic reduction in the workforce.
April 29, 2018, Richard Branson, President of Virgin, presents DP World’s Cargospeed concept in the presence of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem in the United Arab Emirates © Getty Images
The last time we mentioned Virgin Hyperloop was almost two years ago, to announce a fundraising of 172 million dollars. Today, the news is much less exciting. Indeed, we learn that the company has got rid of half of its staff, i.e. 111 layoffs confirmed in FinancialTimes.
The former Hyperloop One, one of the most important companies to have committed to this high-speed train project after the publication of a white paper on the subject by Elon Musk in 2013, nevertheless carried out the first test in real conditions with human passengers. According to its leaders, there should have been operational Hyperloop trains in the world by 2020. It is clear that the technology is standing still and that with the exception of test tracks (sections of empty tubes of air), the Hyperloop currently remains a mirage.
A dead end which Virgin Hyperloop hopes to get out of by reorienting itself. If the decision to eliminate half of the posts has “not taken lightly“, it should allow the company “gain agility and reduce costs to ensure its survival“, explains a spokesperson to our colleagues. Another important change: the main objective of Virgin Hyperloop is no longer to transport people on board its future trains, but goods.
A strategic choice that aims to “respond to the problems encountered by supply chains, taking into account the changes induced by Covid-19“. The opportunities would currently be greater in freight to finance the development of the technology and, who knows, the construction of a first commercial line of Hyperloop. It is also for Virgin Hyperloop a way of simplifying the task by with regard to the security obligations that arise as soon as one wishes to transport people.
“It’s easier to focus on the pallets — there’s less risk to passengers and fewer regulatory procedures“, comments DP World, the Emirati logistics group with a majority stake in Virgin Hyperloop, for which the Cargospeed solution was invented. To date, there are about fifteen customers potentially interested in a “cargo” version of Virgin Hyperloop trains, the government of the United Arab Emirates wishing to create a line linking the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, to the port of Jeddah, which will potentially be the first commercial section for Hyperloop technology.