urbanSTL

imperialmog wrote: ↑

Jan 31, 2018

What also helps with this line is the possibilty that over time spurs and additions can be done to build out a network, especially considering the sizable number of metro areas 250-300 miles away from here.

New study confirms hyperloop system from KC to St. Louis would be feasible



KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A new study says a hyperloop system from Kansas City to St. Louis in less than a half hour is not only safe and sustainable, it's also feasible.

The study found that the travel time between KC and STL would be just 28 minutes, compared to the nearly 4 hours required to drive. Trips to Columbia from either city would be just 15 minutes.

The land along the interstate is straight and relatively flat, the feasibility study says, making construction relatively simple.

According to the study, the cost to use the hyperloop would also be less than the cost of gas to drive. Additionally, with fewer drivers on the interstate, Black and Veatch said it would reduce crashes and the resulting costs of damage.

The report did not release specific details about how much it would cost to build the Missouri hyperloop.

But Marcia Christoff, a spokeswoman for Virgin Hyperloop One said they estimate it will cost about $30 million to $40 million per mile, including the construction of the track. At this time, the company believes the route will be approximately 250 miles, putting the total cost into the billions.

The report says that cost would still be 40 percent lower than other similar projects around the world.

KansasCitian wrote: St. Louisans saw how long it took to get the Delmar Trolley up and running, and even just the other day it had to be shut down momentarily. 

Can you imagine what would happen with this thing? 

I maintain that even if this technology works, you don't want your city or state to be the first to have it. I think you'd rather see the technology work, or not, somewhere else before you spend loads of money on it in the name of being a pioneer, only to die on the trail. 

STLinCHI wrote:
The system does not employ new untested technology. It's simply a scaling up of technology that has been around for decades.

KansasCitian wrote: St. Louisans saw how long it took to get the Delmar Trolley up and running, and even just the other day it had to be shut down momentarily. 

Can you imagine what would happen with this thing? 

I maintain that even if this technology works, you don't want your city or state to be the first to have it. I think you'd rather see the technology work, or not, somewhere else before you spend loads of money on it in the name of being a pioneer, only to die on the trail. 

kipfilet wrote: I am not a civil engineer, but I read in the WSJ article that was posted here some months ago that building conventional high-speed rail along I-55 from St. Louis to Chicago was not feasible because of some sharp turns. I-70 also looks very wiggly in some parts, particularly between St. Louis and Columbia. I would imagine that you need much less turns for this than for conventional high speed rail, no?

The regional geography along I-70 was a significant plus for the proposed Missouri Hyperloop, Thompson noted.

“We looked at a variety of routes: Highway 50, the Katy Trail, I-70,” he said. “[The chosen route] has a wide right-of-way — in fact, the Missouri Department of Transportation owns the whole right-of-way from St. Louis to Kansas City through Columbia. One of the biggest challenges in doing new infrastructure projects in the U.S. today is acquiring right-of-way to use the land and also the regulatory hurdles that different jurisdictional authorities put on you.”

“The fact that this is one piece of land that is fairly flat, fairly straight, and controlled by one entity was a huge advantage,” Thompson added.

While I-70 route isn’t a perfectly smooth or unbending stretch through Missouri, a potential Hyperloop setup could be adapted to fit its features, he said.

“With Hyperloop — when you’re traveling at airplane speeds — you cannot have lots of movement up and down, or side to side, otherwise you have the ‘rollercoaster effect,’ which is not what you want,” Thompson said, noting the proposed route would weave its way around obstacles along the existing I-70 roadway. “[The path] moves to try to straighten out the curves, and up and down to try to straighten out the hills and the valleys. There will be spans where it will cross the interstate and there will be spans where it will cross the overpasses, keeping it as flat and straight as we can.”