London to Manchester in 18 MINUTES: Radical Hyperloop system that travels at 740mph could be coming to the UK
- Futuristic transport network would slash journey times in northern England
- It would use magnetic pods to reach 760 mph through a series of tubes
- Two of the firms racing to make Hyperloop a reality spoke with the UK
- The government showed interest in the concept for the north of England
Hyperloop, the radical technology which transports passengers at close to the speed of sound, could be heading for the UK.
The UK government has shown its interest in concept, which could link cities in the north of England and cut the journey time to London to a matter of minutes.
Both of the firms competing to build the futuristic transportation network – Hyperloop One – have reportedly held conversations with the government and private firms regarding bringing the concept to the UK.
Scroll down for video
The UK has shown interest in bringing Elon Musk's Hyperloop network to the UK. One of the firms racing to make the concept a reality says it could link the cities of the north, and could enable passengers to travel from London to Manchester in just 18 minutes
Details of the discussions emerged as part of an extensive report from Wired, in which firms and the government’s own Innovate UK showed interest in the technology.
The brainchild of billionaire and head of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, Hyperloop will use magnetic train-like pods to shuttle passengers and freight around a network of tubes at close to the speed of sound.
Share this article
While the technology is still largely at the concept stage, early tests have been carried out on the propulsion technology, which could ultimately transport passengers at 760 miles per hour (1,220 kph).
According to Wired, talks with UK firms centred on the potential for a Hyperloop system linking Manchester to Liverpool, which would overcome existing transport issues linking the two cities, creating a true ‘northern powerhouse’.
While the technology is still largely at the concept stage, early tests have been carried out on the propulsion technology, which could ultimately transport passengers at 760 miles per hour (1,220 kph)
The head of Hyperloop One said travelling at such high speeds could enable passengers and freight to make the journey from London to Manchester in 18 minutes (pictured)
WHAT IS HYPERLOOP?
Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at 745mph (1,200km/h) between distant locations.
It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes - half the time it takes a plane.
It is essentially a long tube that has had the air removed to create a vacuum.
The tube is suspended off the ground to protect against weather and earthquakes.
Passengers would sit in either individual or group pods, which would then be accelerated with magnets.
The superfast Hyperloop transportation system, CGI pictured, was dreamed up by Elon Musk in 2013 and it might be coming to Europe
Hyperloop waas unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes - half the time it takes a plane
But the head of Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One, Alan James, said the system could be a better bet than the proposed High Speed 2 rail network, which plans to link northern cities to Birmingham and London.
The futuristic tube network would dramatically cut the 163-mile journey from London to Manchester, with passengers travelling between the two cities in just 18 minutes.
Mr James told Wired: 'Hyperloop could connect all the great cities of the English north not just to London, but to each other ... making Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, effectively a single city, for instance.'
The second firm racing to make the concept a reality - Hyperloop Transportation Technologies - has also reportedly made inroads intot the UK, discussing the potential for a £50 million ($67m) investment through the government's investment agency, Innovate UK.
A spokesperson for Innovate UK confirmed that the agency had been in talks regarding Hyperloop.
They added: 'It’s very early stages, but it is an exciting technology and we’re following it with interest.'
The brainchild of billionaire and head of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, Hyperloop will use magnetic train-like pods to shuttle passengers and freight around a network of tubes at close to the speed of sound
While the initial talks are hopeful, the technology is still a number of years away. In addition, such huge infrastructure projects would require input from national and local government as well as the treasury, before getting the green light.
But the UK is not the only European target for the network.
In July, Hyperloop One released details of a feasibility proposal which would link Sweden with neighbouring Finland.
The proposal outlined how passengers could make the 310-mile trip (500 km) from Stockholm to Helsinki in just 28 minutes.
Other European proposals include a network connecting Bratislava in Slovakia to Vienna and Budapest.
Earlier this year, researchers working on the project unveiled the system of magnets used to drive the pods.
Tests in the Nevada desert showed how the system could accelerate pods along a track. A test sled reached speeds of 116 mph along a track, but engineers still have a long way to go before reaching the 760 mph speeds needed to achieve the promised travel times.
Initial tests of the propulsion have proved successful, with a test sled reachig speeds of 116mph along a track in the Nevada desert (pictured)
Most watched News videos
- Moment plane's landing gear sparks with flames and detaches itself
- Mother of British teen in gang rape case says she is 'suffering'
- Hezbollah leader says retaliation should not target American civilians
- Man in Gateshead chews parking ticket before hurling it at warden
- Buddhist monk distracted by cat during five-hour prayers
- Britain's worst serial rapist prowls streets for victims on CCTV
- Thousands take part in funeral procession for General Soleimani
- Piers Morgan rants about vegans and bees on Good Morning Britain
- Ricky Gervais makes controversial joke about Jeffrey Epstein
- Soleimani's replacement vows revenge for US killing
- Traffic police signal in sync with Pump It Up playing on the radio
- Massive crowds gather as the body of Soleimani arrives for funeral
'She's coming home!' British teenager, 19, convicted of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus breaks down in tears as she is spared jail and gets a four-month suspended sentence - leaving her free to fly back to UK TODAY
