User:RocketsPJ17/sandbox

New Developments

On September 21, 2020, a high-speed train from Houston to Dallas received federal approval. The railroad aims to cut travel time between the two cities to 90 minutes. According to the company in charge of the project, Texas Central Railroad, the Federal Railroad Administration approved construction to begin in the early 2021. The company estimates that construction could take up to six years and cost roughly $20 billion.

Engineering and infrastructure development company, AECOM, has emerged as one of the top companies to steer-head the potential project. AECOM recently partnered with technology companies Virgin Hyperloop One and Arrivo to begin consulting with local city and state governments about urban planning. Steven Duong, the head urban planner for AECOM, claimed that cross-state high-speed rail as a system of transportation with both passengers and freight is "reasonable. Virgin Hyperloop One, an engineering company based out of California, recently grew into a multi-million dollar company. The company plans to unveil their first hyperloop system in Dubai in 2021.  In recent years, Virgin Hyperloop One tested the hyperloop over 400 tests.  The trials featured top speeds of 387 km/h (roughly 240 MPH), covering a track over 500 meters long.  As recent as November 8th, 2020, the first ever passengers traveled on Virgin Hyperloop One's hyperloop.

Potential Train Design Features

 * Accomplishes speeds up to 10x faster than high-speed rail.
 * 6x mac grade capacity
 * Can climb up to 10% grades with a velocity of 100 meters per second (m/s).
 * Resulting in less infrastructure construction
 * Eliminates aerodynamic drag
 * Cuts traditional rail costs in half
 * 4.5x turning radius of traditional rail
 * Can smoothly turn at a 1.36 radius capability at speeds up to 100 km/h.

Impact and Innovation

 * Improvements in business efficiency and collaboration
 * Reduction of urban competitiveness
 * Allows people and goods to travel between major Texas cities within 30 minutes
 * Bullet-train will operate through a sustainable transport system that emits no greenhouse gases and requires little external power
 * Dramatic decrease in traffic and highway congestion
 * Could potentially transport up to 16,000 in time saved
 * Potential to connect 18 million people among 5 major Texas regions



Financials
In Elon Musk's hyperloop project plan for a potential high-speed train connecting Los Angeles, CA and San Francisco, CA, he envisioned a price of roughly $6 billion. Musk projects the average ticket price to ride on the high-speed rail to be roughly $20 per person. With an estimated 15 million trips per year, the hyperloop could gross about $300 million in annual revenue. The potential Texas Hyperloop to connect major cities throughout Texas is estimated to be roughly $20 billion. Thus, proportionally, the costs per person to ride the Texas hyperloop would be higher. To the right is a total cost assumption of a hyperloop passenger. Musk expects the cost of the capsules themselves to cost $5,410, as seen. The total construction costs for the tube are expected to be roughly $3.8 billion.

Goals

 * The first hyperloop in the U.S.
 * Help re-imagine the way we think about urban mobility
 * Save time on commutes
 * Reduce emissions by using fully-electric systems
 * Inspire cities to use more renewable energy
 * Eliminate barriers to the cultural and community lives within cities with convenient transportation
 * Making traveling between cities more common
 * Expanding living and working options