Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies
An industrial zone in canton Valais has been chosen as the first European site to test a high-speed "hyperloop" transport system. A test track is due to be built at Collombey-Muraz next year.
"EuroTube External linkis entering into a partnership with the SBB to build a three-kilometre research facility and a test section for high-speed vacuum transport in Valais," EuroTube and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) said in a statement External linkon Thursday.
Hyperloop experimental high-speed transportation systems involve sending magnetic passenger pods through a vacuum tube at the speed of sound. SBB said the hyperloop is designed to travel at speeds of up to 1100 km/per hour, but "the Collombey-Muraz test and research section will be designed for speeds of up to 900 km/h".
+ Are super-fast train systems gaining momentum?
Collombey-Muraz was chosen because it offers "very flat [terrain] and with very few obstacles".
The SBB hopes the test track will provide "important insights into the construction and operation of this potentially high-capacity transport mode".
In Europe, there are currently no hyperloop test sections, while a few exist in other parts of the world. In the US, Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceXExternal link and co-founder of the car firm Tesla, launched in 2015 an annual Hyperloop Pod CompetitionExternal link in California aimed at revolutionizing transport systems. This summer, a team from the Swiss federal institute of technology Lausanne (EPFL) won third place in the competition with their “EPFLoop” pod.
A similar project to the hyperloop technology — a magnetic levitation train known as the SwissmetroExternal link that would have traveled through tunnels beneath Switzerland - was discussed decades ago but was ultimately abandoned.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
Newsletters
Contributions under this article have been turned off. You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.