Hyperloop has been making headlines in all parts of the world. The latest of these headlines have arisen from South Korea as the country looks to install their version of the super fast train. Recently, Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) announced the launch of Korea’s first train similar to Hyperloop, which will travel as fast as 1000 kilometers per hour( 621 mph) and will be ready in the “not-too-distant future.”
Although the train is not exactly the Hyperloop one that Elon Musk envisioned, yet, it is not any less impressive. South Korea hopes to install this supersonic train between Seoul and Busan, which will cut the current five hours public transport trip to a snappy half hour. A KRRI spokesperson said,
“We hope to create an ultra-fast train, which will travel inside a state-of-the-art low-pressure tube at lighting speeds, in the not-too-distant future. To that end, we will cooperate with associated institutes as well as Hanyang University to check the viability of various related technologies called the hyper-tube format over the next three years.”
The Korea Times reported that the “hyper-tube” technology is similar to the Hyperloop technology, and it is, currently, under development by some competing companies.
The pods inside proposed tubes will fly as they move at high speeds and no friction. These two factors are identified as the reasons why regular trains run so slowly and consume much fuel. Since these pods will travel inside a tube, they also won’t have to fight against air resistance, unlike the Maglev trains.
KRRI said that it is now looking forward to work towards solving the drawbacks of the Hyperloop, such as threats from terrorism or natural disasters.
“Many countries such as the United States, Canada, and China are competing to take the lead in this futuristic technology and we will also try to preempt our global rivals,” said the spokesperson.
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