December 22, 2023 - TRA Newswire -

The North Central Texas Council of Governments announced on Twitter in early 2022 "A hyperloop connection between Dallas & Fort Worth is no longer considered an option...".  The regional agency announced they will focus "solely on high-speed rail as part of its plans to develop the Interstate 30 rail corridor between Dallas and Fort Worth".

It took Los Angeles based Hyperloop One a year and a half later to shut down its operations. After almost a decade and over $400 million from investors, the company realized that no one was buying what they wanted to build and sell. Putting people in an ultra high-speed levitating pod and rocketing them through Texas, or any other state, failed to produced a single contract.

According to a Reuters report, Hyperloop One did not immediately respond for comment.

The company did complete its first test in 2020 with two company employees on a short run. Hyperloop claimed that the projectiles would travel at twice the speed of a commercial jet plane and up to four times faster than a high-speed train, but the idea did not catch on. Remaining employees will finish their contract at the end of this month. Company assets are due to be sold off as well.  

Hyperloop One built several prototypes in the Nevada desert but some experts expressed doubts concerning its engineering viability. One issue to overcome was how the vacuum tubes could handle corners, as all construction would need to be in a straight line.

The company changed its strategy in 2022, insisting that it would concentrate on zipping freight through the tubs, rather than passengers. 

The original concept was based on a proposal from Elon Musk, who envisioned shooting people through a tube at ultra-high speeds back in 2013. Sir Richard Branson, one of the investors, pulled out of the project in 2022. 

Photo credit: Virgin