OFFICIALS from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, the City of Columbus, Union County, the business community and even Indiana will head to Nevada to watch the Virgin Hyperloop One at a test track outside Las Vegas
OFFICIALS from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, the City of Columbus, Union County, the business community and even Indiana will head to Nevada to watch the Virgin Hyperloop One at a test track outside Las Vegas. The prototype will speed around the mile-long track at hundreds of miles an hour. The Virgin Hyperloop prototype travels up to 300 mph, said Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission director of transportation systems Thea Walsh. Magnets lift and propel the car through vacuum tubes.
The Nevada fact-finding mission comes as local leaders are spending US$2.5 million on studies they hope will boost Columbus' chances to land the system, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Virgin Hyperloop One has selected 10 potential routes around the world. One route would link Columbus, Pittsburgh and Chicago. Columbus riders would be able to reach Chicago in 29 minutes.
The Hyperloop is the latest attempt to improve the area's infrastructure and lure businesses and jobs in a competitive global environment.
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission executive director William Murdock said the region expects up to one million more people by 2050. Columbus Chamber of Commerce vice president of governmental relations Holly Gross said the area's infrastructure needs to be upgraded to remain competitive.
