Forget about the bullet train. Texas has been named one of ten finalists for the first real life construction of the 'Hyperloop,' a method of super fast transportation that many believe could make cars, trains, and even planes obsolete in the coming century, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"It allows for super fast, ultra high speed transportaton in a vacuum tube environment," Dan Katz, a spokeman for Hyperloop One, told News Radio 1200 WOAI. "So, based on our modeling, our systems could go upwards of 700 miles an hour."
At that speed, a passenger could get from San Antonio to Dallas in twenty minutes.The Texas route which was selected as one of ten finals, and one of four finalists in the United States, would connect Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Laredo, a 640 mile long route.
Other U.S. finalists include Cheyenne Wyoming to Denver to Pueblo Colorado, Chicago to Columbus to Pittsburgh, and Miami to Orlando.
Other finalists are in the UK, Mexico, India, and Canada.
"It is something that could be used both for passengers and for freight movement," Katz said. "Given the obvious highway congestion in Texas, this would be an obvious game changer for the state."
The Texas plan contains the largest population concentration of any of the four U.S. finalists, with roughly 18.7 million people living along the route.
"With Hyperloop One, passengers and cargo are loaded into a pod, and accelerate gradually via electric propulsion through a low-pressure tube. The pod quickly lifts above the track using magnetic levitation and glides at airline speeds for long distances due to ultra-low aerodynamic drag. The company made history this summer with the successful completion of the world's first-full scale Hyperloop test, achieving record test speeds," Hyperloop One said in a statement.
The ten finalists will now begin work with local and state transportation officials to work on things like a final route, stations, and logistics.
Hyperloop One says it wants to have the first prototype system in place by 2021.
IMAGE: HYPERLOOP ONE