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Edmonton - Red Deer - Calgary Hyperloop | ?m | ?s | Transpod

What do you think of a Hyperloop between Edmonton and Calgary?

  • Total voters
    72
@Urban Sky, remaining deeply skeptical is your prerogative -- philosophically, "deeply skeptical" is much different than being "opinionated". Open minds lead to discovery and advancement (although granted not always to the good). Hyperloop does not count on creating "hundreds of miles of a vacuum" only a leading edge of vacuum to remove air resistance in front of the transportation pods and allow LSM motors and maglev technology to operate in a more efficient, less resistive space. It is the same principle that was applied to the age-old vacuum mail tubes used effectively for decades as an inter-office communication system. There are no technologies in "hyperloop" that are new and there are no physics laws that are bent or broken. In essence, I believe that you and I should stop communicating -- we are on entirely different tracks, and that is fine. To précis your comments, you are not interested in hyperloop, so why even bother to comment.
 
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@Urban Sky, remaining deeply skeptical is your prerogative -- philosophically, "deeply skeptical" is much different than being "opinionated". Open minds lead to discovery and advancement (although granted not always to the good).
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Exactly, opinions (“I believe that ...”) are sufficient for fandoms, but not for solving real-world transportation problems...

Hyperloop does not count on creating "hundreds of miles of a vacuum" only a leading edge of vacuum to remove air resistance in front of the transportation pods and allow LSM motors and maglev technology to operate in a more efficient, less resistive space.
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It isn’t really compatible with the narrative of “being deployable in the near future”, if the nature of the guideway has changed so dramatically since the release of the “Hyperloop Alpha” (i.e. the bible for the believers of the Church of Elon Musk and his Hyperloop), which most definitely described a vehicle operating in a vacuumed tube, even though such a change poses of course a significant reduction in the insanity associated with the concept...

It is the same principle that was applied to the age-old vacuum mail tubes used effectively for decades as an inter-office communication system. There are no technologies in "hyperloop" that are new and there are no physics laws that are bent or broken.
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Except that magnetic levitation was never part of the vacuum mail tubes and that principle has never been used to move anything as remotely heavy, bulky and alive as humans...

In essence, I believe that you and I should stop communicating -- we are on entirely different tracks, and that is fine. To précis your comments, you are not interested in hyperloop, so why even bother to comment.
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Fair enough, but as long as the title of this thread suggests that the Hyperloop concept is anything else than a speculative technology which lacks any proof of concept and is therefore not available to solve any real-world transportation problems which need to be solved in the next decades, I am tempted to correct that deceiving impression. Therefore, if you don’t want to read my posts, then you have the freedom of choice between either blocking me or adding the word “(Fantasy)” behind the thread title, so that it can be discussed vis-à-vis with other non-solutions or solutions-in-search-of-a-problem like constructing tunnels underneath Lake Ontario or the Bering Street, while people actually interested in solving today’s transportation problems with the solutions which are currently available have one distraction less.

Thank you and have a great day!
 
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With quantum computing becoming more and more of a reality, the modeling needed to make this a reality will be accelerated.

That said, comparing cellular technology with established private enterprise with a very emerging technology is fool hardy, especially when that emerging technology involves a capital infrastructure project. While Hyperloop would be wonderful, there are definitely a lot of unknowns - I don't see Canada being the first target market for this technology either. If I were an investor in this, I wouldn't touch the Alberta project with a ten foot pole; there is way too much risk. There are plenty of more densely populated areas on the planet where this makes a lot more business sense to build. I would see our corridor being a good target when the technology has matured.

I don't think we need to approach this topic in such a polarizing manner (leave that to the politicians). I like it here because of the ability to have a balanced and rational discussion.

Urban Sky said:
Fair enough, but as long as the title of this thread suggests that the Hyperloop concept is anything else than a speculative technology which lacks any proof of concept and is therefore not available to solve any real-world transportation problems which need to be solved in the next decades, I am tempted to correct that deceiving impression. Therefore, if you don’t want to read my posts, then you have the freedom of choice between either blocking me or adding the word “(Fantasy)” behind the thread title, so that it can be discussed vis-à-vis with other non-solutions or solutions-in-search-of-a-problem like constructing tunnels underneath Lake Ontario or the Bering Street, while people actually interested in solving today’s transportation problems with the solutions which are currently available have one distraction less.

Thank you and have a great day!
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No need to make this into a false dilemma. :)

There is plenty of rationale out there as to what this would attempt to solve - one being potential cost savings. All that said, we don't purport ourselves to be experts on the matter.
 
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Urban Dictionary: Opinionated

Having and voicing an opinion is different from being opinionated. Opinionated rightly has negative connotations because it means doggedly holding on to your opinions without considering circumstances and/or facts and/or advice/views of others.
www.urbandictionary.com www.urbandictionary.com
 
Economics aside, would be cool to see what would happen if there were high speed rail, integrated with ETS and Calgary Transit. A day pass (at the current price) would allow you to use unlimited transit in both cities for 24 hours!
 
I know that this thread has been dead for a while now, but I needed to get this off my chest at some point and maybe start a discussion 🤷‍♂️


I used to really like the Hyperloop technology and was hopeful that it'd be the option for the E-C corridor, but after conducting my own research on the matter I've developed quite a few doubts about the Hyperloop system and more specifically the viability of it in this specific case. Firstly, I have issues with the system itself and its current drawbacks, ranging from the extremely high capital cost, strange logistics with overall efficiency, safety and a few others that I don't feel like elaborating on right now. However, I do believe that (with more development) this system could work in certain corridors around the world that are extremely populated and utilized, but in Edmonton and Calgary's case, not so much. We simply won't have the needed population density nor demand for a system that massive and expensive for a long time yet, but the entire issue at hand is that a rail system is needed and soon. In my mind, HSR can and will accomplish exactly what Hyperloop could here but at a much more reasonable cost. It would still succeed in linking Edmonton and Calgary into a powerful economic and social bond unlike anything we've ever seen before, and of course entail the benefits like relieving exponentially growing QEII traffic. What do you guys think about this? Have your guy’s perspectives changed on this too?
 
Japan's Chūō Shinkansen maglev connection between Tokyo and Nagoya is the one that the world is watching in terms of inter-City people transportation. A hefty portion of the route is through tunnels having to deal with Japan's mountainous coastal topography (nearly 90% of the entire route). A couple of things to keep in mind -- Japan's population has gone from stagnation to actually receding, and Japan has long recognized that it has to serve "mobility" in its work force in order to stay current in the developed world. Chūō Shinkansen has a top speed of 500+ kph meaning that if Alberta had something similar and could go "full tilt" the 300 kilometres between Edmonton and Calgary could be covered in less than 40 minutes, thereby successfully competing with air travel between the two cities. High-speed rail using existing right-of-ways (CPR) would max out at 300 kph, making, by comparison, the trip in one-hour plus, already achievable easily with current air-travel shuttles (no economic incentive to foot the expense).

Hyperloop -- which would essentially be maglev in a reduced-air-pressure tunnel -- would be able to achieve speeds topping out at about 900 kph, spanning the E-to-C distance in 20 minutes. Since tunneling is a requirement anyway, the hyperloop could go from City center to City centre (see what I did there with "centre") in a speed that would make it feel like a commute from the suburbs. Some of the developments with hyperloop also have it focused on interior environments which could replicate the exterior landscape in real time, provide a money-generating advertising platform, and, alternatively, engage passengers in holographic-based games. That's the "people" thing.

Now imagine if the same was done for cargo transport. Edmonton could reach Calgary's hinterland and the corollary is true for the "C"-City. The economic advantages would be more tightly bound Province-wide and therefore more advantageous to both Cities.
 
Cool to see the government in support, but I believe the previous government was also in support - at least for a test track somewhere between Calgary and Red Deer (if I recall correctly).

Additionally, with the land leasing/purchasing, logistics, infrastructure and startup costs, I have big reservations about the viability of this project, even from a private partner. As the article suggests, the whole thing would have to be underground due to the extreme cold temperatures and protection from frost. I can't see that being an inexpensive endeavor.

Personally I think it's really cool, but it's "pie-in-the-sky" until a test is proven successful and the budgetary concerns are solidified - AND with enough planning so that no skeletons in the closet come up during construction that end up costing taxpayers (which in all likelihood would probably happen IMO).

Not sure the government should have said anything about this until a test track project has been completed. This seems like them putting the cart before the horse.
 
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