Columbus could receive first ever hyperloop test track

Columbus in is the running to receive the first ever cargo test route for Virgin Hyperloop One.

Here in Columbus, the “proof of concept” short track would connect John Glenn Columbus International Airport with the Rickenbacker International Airport.

It would carry up to 20 passengers along with freight.

This 13-mile test track would likely become a section of a fully functioning route later on that would connect Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Chicago.

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This route, called the Midwest Connect, is among five in the U.S. and 11 globally jockeying for the new ultra-high-speed form of transportation.

Columbus Dispatch reports that whatever route is selected could start as early as 2019, with service beginning in the early 2020s.

The cost for this potential project has not yet been determined.

Dan Katz, the director of global public policy and North American Projects for Virgin Hyperloop One, told Columbus Dispatch that traveling the hyperloop would be affordable because it wouldn’t be useful if it wasn’t.

Columbus Business First reports hyperloop combines magnetic levitation with a low-pressure tube to minimize air drag and reach speeds as fast as 670 mph.

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