Because we’ve been trying to make vacuum trains for over 100 years and there’s absolutely no evidence that all this money we’re wasting on hyperloops will give us better, more reliable trains than the high speed train technology that’s been common in the developed world for damn near 70 years now.
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Which model of Yaris is it that will go from 0 to 100 mph in 250 meters, again? I forgot.
(Sorry for the mixed units, they’re what I got from the article. Which at least does provide the antidote to the bogus headline down near the bottom.)
That’s only for Greek origin words though, Yaris is Latin. You can tell from the one “n”. It would be Yannis and Yannipodes in Greek. Or properly Iannis and Iannipodes. Obvs.
For clarity I speak neither Latin nor Greek. At least nothing like ancient. I’ve holidayed and ordered food in their modern successors.
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Who are the “we” you’re talking about? As long as these ventures are privately funded (which is my understanding for all the Hyperloop projects at this point) then I don’t have a problem with it, even if it doesn’t look like it will ever turn into something practical. As an engineer I do have concerns and disagreements with some aspects of their design approach but that’s up to them.
In contrast, the California high speed rail project (which I voted for but have since come to regret a little) has already blown through billions of tax dollars and it’s looking less and less less likely that it will ever be completed. The project scope keeps changing and if it ever does get finished it will be much slower, more expensive, and less useful than what was initially promised, largely because it won’t travel on fast tracks through the big city centers. So I do see the appeal to investigating other options.
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The one “n” in Yaris? Ok.
And it matters not whether Gratin or Leek - if plural form in dispute, resolution is -podes.
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Still resources society wasted, though granted they were already wasted on the likes of Musk and Branson. Still plenty of municipalities have thrown the scam that is the (non-hyper)Loop already, though.
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Part of the pitch is that the non-standard overly complicated technology will let them side step the land access and track ownership issues that keep us from unfucking our existing railways or building proper high speeds.
I believe Virgin proposes building these above existing highways and roads. Elon Musk plans to magically dig holes faster and better despite not knowing much about digging holes so they can be buried below ground.
This will some how be cheaper and easier.
In the 90’s Monorails above our existing roads were going to do the same thing. And The Simpsons taught us all about that.
But ignore all that. It’s hyper, and tubes are magic.
That is significantly faster than the bulk of American regional rail lines. Even where they’re physically capable of going around that fast, they aren’t allowed to due to track quality and other safety concerns. Most US train lines top out at 75mph, but typically run 50mph or less. Around here they tend to run around 30mph.
To be even more fair its 50mph slower than Amtrak Acela. The worlds least high speed high speed rail line. Which can run 150mph but mostly doesn’t due to track access and quality problems.
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N.b. the back of my envelope says that’s 0-60 (mph) in 6.7 seconds. Some random web site says a stock Yaris does 0-60 in 9.6 seconds. But, to my surprise Toyota actually does build a hot hatch rally car with a Yaris name on it, the GR Yaris, that’s said to do it in 5.3. Will wonders never cease.
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“Yares”, surely. Like “thesis, theses”. 3rd declension, innit.
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I think it’s just “laurels”.
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If you’re aware of municipalities dedicating any significant public resources towards supporting Hyperloop efforts at this point then I agree that it’s way too premature to spend public money on this. But it’s hard for me to get worked up about rich people wasting their money on a project like this in a world where many billionaires are buying mega-yachts with price tags that are literally larger than the entire GDP for many small nations.
I still think hyperloop is a boondoggle. A modern train system would be better money spent. Those maglevs in Japan are pretty sweet.
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Knowing Virgin, I expect this train was still half an hour late.
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Mediterranean Burritos and Gyro tacos?
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Even with priority, the big problem is that freight trains are slower. So running faster passenger trains on the same track is a difficult scheduling issue. There are relatively few places to pass, and on a two track main line, they usually involve blocking the oncoming track. So that is usually planned ahead of time, and any delay means waiting for the other train to get to the siding to pass it. And that is just for regular speed passenger service. High speeds require that the tracks be maintained to very close tolerances, and freight trains have become significantly heavier per axel over the last 50 years or so, and that is hard on the track (actually the ballast) Freight companies have little interest or reason to double or triple their expenditure on track maintenance for some thrice weekly Amtrak train.
So far hyperloop seems more hype than loop. The initial idea sounded like it MIGHT work. A partial vacuum to reduce air resistance, but not as hard a vacuum as earlier vac-train proposals sounds reasonable. If you can get 80% of the benefit of of a vacuum for 50% of the cost, you might have something…I mean it still looks to me like the high capital costs would mean that like the channel tunnel, the only way for this to work long term would be AFTER a bankruptcy wipes out the capital costs and with it the early investors. Then the question is whether the maintenance and operating costs are low enough to keep it running. Even that is not clear to me. Which is perhaps why every succeeding iteration of the hyperloop seems less and less capable.
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And that’ll still happen about a century before Virgin Galactic finally makes its maiden flight.
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All of them. In fact, they only need a little over 100 meters.
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That’s not a fault of high-speed rail, it’s a failure of governance and project management. If you think a hyperloop project would be immune to such problems, I have a bridge is like to sell you.
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My issue with even private investment in this vaporware is that it does impact public efforts. Musk published his call for hyperloop development directly at the California high-speed rail project. He was actively trying to subvert the success of the public project. If public officials believe this hype, or cynically deploy the specter of some far-off future tech, they can use it to scuttle actually feasible public projects.
Now, that’s not to say that the media hype around the hyperloop is what’s killing CA’s highspeed rail… Obviously it’s more complicated than that. But I think it’s at least deserves criticism.
Take a look at the scam that that boring company sold to the Las Vegas Convention Center:
They’re trying to sell this crap to other cities as well.
Now, this is the “loop”, and not a “hyperloop,” which Musk isn’t actually developing… But I think the confusion is intentional. The “loop” consists of human-piloted tesla cars driving through tunnels without adequate fire safety measures… A fucking airport shuttle makes more sense than that. Or a bus.
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Surely, at least on the West Coast, the simple answer is to create the world’s humongousest bong: properly angled mouthpieces, at sensibly spaced intervals, and a million hoofs per second or something ought to do it. Plus, of course, the bonus of a second revenue stream.
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