Will Hyperloop happen?

“The hyperloop is something that's never going to happen on a large scale from a transportation standpoint,” Lewis said, pointing to political obstacles like right-of-way issues and the cost of building any hyperloop system.



The "Hyperloop" concept remains in a state of active research and development in 2026, but full-scale commercial implementation has proven more difficult than initially predicted. Companies like HyperloopTT and researchers at institutions like IIT Madras continue to test passenger capsules and vacuum tube technology on short tracks (like the 422m track in India). While the dream of traveling at 1,000 km/h is scientifically possible, the engineering challenges of maintaining a vacuum over hundreds of miles and the astronomical costs of land acquisition have shifted the focus toward shorter, specialized cargo routes first. In 2026, "Hyperloop" is seen less as an immediate replacement for high-speed rail and more as a long-term goal for 2030 and beyond, with many countries instead prioritizing the expansion of Maglev trains which use similar magnetic technology but without the vacuum tube complexity.

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There is no Hyperloop service in the U.S. today. First mentioned by Musk to a reporter in 2012, the Hyperloop is a high-speed electric vehicle that carries passengers and travels in a low-pressure environment such as a vacuum tube without touching the walls.

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The company has built a tube about 24 meters in length. While this is a short distance, TUM Hyperloop is trying to test the systems work before continuing to build a long track. Semino said he expects that by the end of this decade the technology will be ready.

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Some argued the system would be pricier and require more energy than Musk had calculated, making the Hyperloop impractically expensive. Plus, California has already invested years and millions of dollars in a stalled attempt to build a normal high-speed train line for the same journey.

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All it takes is one leaky seal or a small crack somewhere in the hundreds of miles of tube and the whole system stops working, Musk wrote in his initial Hyperloop report. Another technical problem centers on the pod moving through a tube containing air.

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Its publicly stated goal is to launch commercial operations by 2030.

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First imagined at least 100 years ago, it would basically look like some version of those green tubes on Futurama. Imaginary no longer, it would seem. If everything goes according to plan, Hyperloop One's pods will carry humans and cargo at 760 mph — 30 percent faster than a 747 airplane.

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Hyperloop, as any other transport system, will comply with strict regulations, ensuring the maximum level of safety for humans is achieved. Having an airplane environment in this enclosed tube will minimize turbulent effects and external hazards caused by adverse weather conditions or sudden animal crossings.

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The Hyperloop was meant to be built as a network of underground tunnels, but the project never reached fruition. Elon Musk started talking about the Hyperloop in 2013.

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If you have 10 tons per square metre pushing on the outside of the Hyperloop, and nothing pushing on the inside, there is a risk of a vacuum collapse - essentially the tube being crushed by the atmosphere, says Mason.

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Background on Maglev Train, Vactrain, Hyperloop They are even faster than regular maglev trains, but are even more expensive to build. Hyperloops are a proposed type of transportation that would use a low-pressure tube to send people or cargo through a tube at high speeds.

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