KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Travelling from Kansas City to St. Louis in less than 30 minutes might sound like science fiction, but the possibility of bringing a hyperloop route to Missouri took a big step forward Tuesday.
The Missouri Hyperloop Coalition announced they are moving forward with a feasibility study of a hyperloop route along I-70 that would connect Kansas City, Columbia, and St. Louis.
“It is one of the best we’ve seen,” said Dan Katz from Virgin Hyperloop One.
Katz was in Kansas City for the announcement. He added that the existing and relatively straight I-70 corridor is a big plus.
“It is really a common sense route. You’ve got a state with two very large cities and a university in between and a very straight, nice alignment," he said.
What is Hyperloop?
Virgin Hyperloop One officials said passengers would travel in a pod through a low pressure tube and could reach speeds of more than 600 mph.
Virgin Hyperloop One recently left the Kansas City to St. Louis route out of their top contenders worldwide but now they are taking another look.
“What we’ve seen in Missouri has just been incredible between the government, the business community, and the tech community coming together to say ‘Hey, we’re ready to make this a reality.’ It got our attention,” Katz said.
Engineering firm Black & Veatch, headquartered in Kansas City, will lead the study.
“We’re looking forward to bringing our experience from doing large projects all over the world to something right here in our back yard,” said David Leligdon of Black & Veatch.
One of the factors the study will focus on is estimating cost.
“There are certainly times when tunneling may make sense, so looking at the cost of tunneling,” Leligdon said.
“That the power consumption needs can be met, that you can actually fit the infrastructure along the highway in a safe way,” Katz added. “You also want to make sure that there’s going to be appropriate demand for the system, that people would use it.”
Katz said Virgin Hyperloop One is taking part in three feasibility studies this year in the U. S., as well as some others around the world.
The coalition said it hopes the seven- to nine-month study will be done around Thanksgiving 2018.
Katz said Virgin Hyperloop One could choose their top three routes as early as 2019.
The Missouri Hyperloop Coalition includes partnerships between Virgin Hyperloop One, Black & Veatch, the University of Missouri System, the Missouri Department of Transportation, St. Louis Regional Chamber, and the KC Tech Council.
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