WASHINGTON, May 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, at the Transportation and Infrastructure Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee hearing, “When Unlimited Potential Meets Limited Resources: The Benefits and Challenges of High-Speed Rail and Emerging Rail Technologies,” Josh Giegel, the CEO and Co-Founder of Virgin Hyperloop, discussed how hyperloop can bring our transportation network into the 21st Century and the need for increased investment in hyperloop.
“We can have – in the near future – hyperloop, a new, more efficient, faster, and sustainable component of our national transportation system that brings communities together and opens up opportunities for all. We aim to create a mass-mobility experience that is available to the broad public,” said Giegel.
As Congress prepares surface reauthorization legislation, this hearing is timely to highlight the safety, environmental, and mobility benefits of hyperloop. Bipartisan support of hyperloop from Members of Congress has been crucial in the forward progression of the industry thus far, but continued support is necessary to deploy a hyperloop system across the United States.
Giegel stated that since U.S. DOT’s guidance issued last summer that hyperloop is subject to FRA safety jurisdiction, legislation should make clear that hyperloop is eligible for funding programs on the same terms as rail projects. Further, he also said the Federal government should provide additional funding opportunities for such cutting-edge technologies like hyperloop. Legislation could set aside funds for emerging technology developed in the United States.
About Virgin Hyperloop Technology
Hyperloop is a planned high-speed surface transportation system. Travel would occur within a low-pressure enclosure in a vehicle. This, along with Virgin Hyperloop’s proprietary magnetic levitation engine, would allow us to reach and maintain airline speeds with significantly less energy than other modes of transportation. Not only is hyperloop expected to be fast, but a high-capacity mass transit system, capable of comfortably moving people and goods at 670 miles per hour with 50,000 passengers per hour, per direction, on-demand and direct to your destination (meaning no stops along the way). That is the equivalent of a 30-lane highway.
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About Virgin Hyperloop
Virgin Hyperloop is the only company in the world that has successfully tested hyperloop technology with passengers, launching the first new mode of mass transportation in over 100 years. The company successfully operated an occupied hyperloop vehicle using electric propulsion and electromagnetic levitation under near-vacuum conditions, realizing a fundamentally new form of transportation that is expected to be faster, safer, cheaper, and more sustainable than existing modes. Learn more about Virgin Hyperloop's technology, vision, and ongoing projects here.