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Virgin Hyperloop picks West Virginia to test high-speed transport system

JacksinPA

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SEATTLE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Virgin Hyperloop has picked the U.S. state of West Virginia to host a $500 million certification center and test track for billionaire Richard Branson’s super high-speed travel system, the company told Reuters.

The center will be the first U.S. regulatory proving ground for a hyperloop system designed to whisk floating pods packed with passengers and cargo through vacuum tubes at 600 miles (966 kmph) an hour or faster.

Later, Branson announced the decision in a press conference on Thursday, joined virtually by U.S. Transportation Department Secretary Elaine Chao, the state’s Republican governor Jim Justice, and U.S. Senators from West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat.
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Incredible if it works as intended.
 

SEATTLE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Virgin Hyperloop has picked the U.S. state of West Virginia to host a $500 million certification center and test track for billionaire Richard Branson’s super high-speed travel system, the company told Reuters.

The center will be the first U.S. regulatory proving ground for a hyperloop system designed to whisk floating pods packed with passengers and cargo through vacuum tubes at 600 miles (966 kmph) an hour or faster.

Later, Branson announced the decision in a press conference on Thursday, joined virtually by U.S. Transportation Department Secretary Elaine Chao, the state’s Republican governor Jim Justice, and U.S. Senators from West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat.
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Incredible if it works as intended.

no, not really. It will soon become a demand of public sector unions to subsidize their jobs by wasting money on this
 
Major European & Asiatic countries have excellent high speed rail systems that are in great demand but we only have the Acela between D.C. & Boston.
 
Major European & Asiatic countries have excellent high speed rail systems that are in great demand but we only have the Acela between D.C. & Boston.

The high speed rail programs in Europe are highly subsidized and mainly operated as patronage employment programs for unions

Europeans would save much time and money by eliminating all rail and using busses and budget airlines

having traveled in Europe I can tell you that despite immense rail subsidy budget airlines are cheaper and more reliable then train.

in Chile, and I hear from other travelers, all of South America busses are super cheap and reliable. The choo Choo train is obsolete and it’s an obsession because socialists want to control us and give patronage jobs
 
The TGV is very popular in France, as is the Shinkansen in Japan. I've ridden both many times.
 
The TGV is very popular in France, as is the Shinkansen in Japan. I've ridden both many times.
Im sure it’s popular after billions in tax money was wasted to build it.
 

SEATTLE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Virgin Hyperloop has picked the U.S. state of West Virginia to host a $500 million certification center and test track for billionaire Richard Branson’s super high-speed travel system, the company told Reuters.

The center will be the first U.S. regulatory proving ground for a hyperloop system designed to whisk floating pods packed with passengers and cargo through vacuum tubes at 600 miles (966 kmph) an hour or faster.

Later, Branson announced the decision in a press conference on Thursday, joined virtually by U.S. Transportation Department Secretary Elaine Chao, the state’s Republican governor Jim Justice, and U.S. Senators from West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat.
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Incredible if it works as intended.
Wow, didn't see this coming! West Virginia? Never saw it.
 
Wow, didn't see this coming! West Virginia? Never saw it.
New to me also. Branson is losing his shirt with his airline but he's rich anyway.
 
no, not really. It will soon become a demand of public sector unions to subsidize their jobs by wasting money on this
You republicans are so negative. It hasn't even started and you have it doomed. Why do you guys want to keep us in the stone ages?
 
no, not really. It will soon become a demand of public sector unions to subsidize their jobs by wasting money on this

I am convinced half the state of WV already works for the highway department so I am not sure there will be a lot of new jobs to subsidize. WVU has that PRT system that is kind of neat conceptually even if not really in practice. It is a good state though because they do need investment and the terrain will make it feasible to test this loop through a myriad of conditions.
 
The high speed rail programs in Europe are highly subsidized and mainly operated as patronage employment programs for unions

Europeans would save much time and money by eliminating all rail and using busses and budget airlines

having traveled in Europe I can tell you that despite immense rail subsidy budget airlines are cheaper and more reliable then train.

in Chile, and I hear from other travelers, all of South America busses are super cheap and reliable. The choo Choo train is obsolete and it’s an obsession because socialists want to control us and give patronage jobs

I can only speak for the UK here but the rail services here are massively popular and commuting into London is done by all classes as driving into London is only for masochists who actively enjoy giving themselves a mental breakdown.
Passenger figures for the UK have been going up for decades and we simply don't have the room to build more roads for buses or airports.

London is about to open Crossrail which has been Europes largest infrastructure project and High Speed 2 has started construction which will take that title for the next decade.
The rest of the world knows the value of trains and it's only in the US where you worship the car that public transport is seen in such a negative light.
 
They are making more people but they aren't making more roads.

As far as France & Japan are concerned, the high-speed trains are competitive with the airlines as far as cost, travel time & convenience.
 
You republicans are so negative. It hasn't even started and you have it doomed. Why do you guys want to keep us in the stone ages?

well it depends on what you mean by doomed. I have no doubt some crook will make it happen to hand out Union work contracts, but it will be like all public transit in the US outside of airlines, highly subsidized and moving only a tiny percentage of people
 
The main reason I'm against hyperloop is it's overly complicated and I honestly don't think it's going to work.
Both Japan and the UK are in the process of starting to build vast new upgrades (the UK system will cost £85B or $110B) and they aren't using hyperloop so I think it's going to be limited to vanity projects that will see massive cost overruns and delays before finally being canceled.
 
The main reason I'm against hyperloop is it's overly complicated and I honestly don't think it's going to work.
Both Japan and the UK are in the process of starting to build vast new upgrades (the UK system will cost £85B or $110B) and they aren't using hyperloop so I think it's going to be limited to vanity projects that will see massive cost overruns and delays before finally being canceled.
How many military programs have ended up on the trash heap after spending hundreds of millions even billions? Plenty. I would rather spend money on something that will help people than weapons.
 
I would honestly love hyperloop to work as I've been wanting maglev trains to work for decades but despite testing being done in the UK, Japan, Germany and a big system being built in China it's just not something that is even considered unless you have loads of spare cash to burn.
Standard rail is well known and reliable and can be upgraded to work via over or underneath rails or now, hydrogen power and will be with us for the next 50 years at least.
 
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