A plan to build a high-speed Hyperloop transit system from Chicago to Pittsburgh---with a stop in Columbus, OH---is taking another step towards becoming a reality. And it's the second such Midwest Hyperloop route to take shape in the last six days.
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) announced Wednesday that it's launching an initiative to explore two rapid-speed transportation technology options: a Hyperloop system or traditional passenger rail. MORPC plans to conduct a study on the feasibility of the Hyperloop, as well as an environmental study, which is expected to cost $2.5 million.
MORPC's Hyperloop proposal, dubbed Midwest Connect, aims to get riders from Chicago to Columbus in under thirty minutes, and from Columbus to Pittsburgh in less than 20 minutes. Last year it was selected as one of 10 winners for the Virgin Hyperloop One Global Challenge.
The group estimates the Hyperloop feasibility study will take nine months. The group will explore two possible routes that both go through Chicago, Fort Wayne, Lima, Marysville, Columbus and Pittsburgh.
The Hyperloop concept, invented by Elon Musk, has the potential to completely change the way people think about where they live and work. With a Hyperloop system capable of transporting people at speeds up to 750 miles per hour, someone could live in central Ohio and work in downtown Chicago---with a commute time less than many experience traveling from the Chicago suburbs today.
MORPC has said that if constructed, a Hyperloop system could transport nearly 2 million people and $3.8 billion worth of cargo annually through the Midwest.
The Midwest Connect news comes on the heels of another regional project from Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, which last week signed agreements with the Illinois Department of Transportation and the North Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency to begin working on a feasibility study for a Hyperloop system that could transport people from Chicago to Cleveland in 28 minutes.
MORPC said that multiple groups have committed to funding the $2.5 million study, including the city of Columbus and Virgin Hyperloop One itself.
