Tongren Official Defends Hyperloop Test Track, Denies It Will Be Financial Burden
Liao Shumin
DATE:  Jul 23 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Tongren Official Defends Hyperloop Test Track, Denies It Will Be Financial Burden Tongren Official Defends Hyperloop Test Track, Denies It Will Be Financial Burden

(Yicai Global) July 23 -- The construction of a Hyperloop test line in Tongren will not place a financial burden on the city, an official at its industrial regulator has said in response to questions over the reasons behind the project.

The agreement with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to build the magnetic levitation line is confidential, Zhou Fuzhong, deputy director of the Tongren Municipal Commission of Industry and Information Technology, told state-owned China National Radio in an exclusive interview. But it is essentially a high-tech company coming to China to sell its technology, so it will need to cover half of the expenses, he added.

Tongren is an underdeveloped economy near the Wuling Mountains in central China, and citizens are concerned that the forward-looking project is merely a ploy to gain recognition for the municipal authority and could aggravate local government debt risks.

"The cost per kilometer of the hyperloop is cheaper than current costs for high-speed rail," Zhou continued, saying he believes the project will be a positive for high-tech industries and the tourism sector in Tongren and its home province of Guizhou.

Elon Musk devised the futuristic Hyperloop transport system in 2013, picturing passenger pods traveling through near-vacuum tubes at over 1,000 kilometers an hour. He was initially too busy to tackle the concept and invited anyone and everyone to turn it into a reality, but rejoined the race with his tunnel builder The Boring Company in August last year. The fastest Hyperloop trains tested so far can travel at up to 385 kilometers an hour, while China's track-train speed record is 487 kilometers an hour, set on the Shanghai-Beijing line in 2011.

Many people think that China's high-speed rails are already impressive, and are wondering why we are moving ahead with this project, Zhou said. The Hyperloop is very different from China's understanding of high-speed rail, and uses completely different technologies. Chinese high-speed trains are tracked and driven by electric power, whereas the Hyperloop uses vacuum pipes and is based on different principles, such as maglev technology, he added.

The Hyperloop model was originally supposed to use air bearing suspension systems, like an air hockey table, but many companies have opted to use magnetic levitation systems, including Richard Branson's Virgin Hyperloop One. Branson believes the transport method could become a reality for human passengers by 2021.

Questions are also being asked about why HTT chose Tongren and its complex geological structure for the test track, Zhou added. The firm has penned deals in dozens of countries with better conditions at more advantageous sites, he continued, saying it is now looking to give its Hyperloop a run in more complicated regions.

The Hyperloop has a large turning radius, and the mountainous terrain will put this to the test, he added, saying that the track will allow the company, and city, to examine and optimize technologies to see how the transport system performs on the karst landform of Tongren.

HTT and Tongren Transportation & Tourism Investment Group inked a deal to build the test track in the city on July 19. The line will span 10 kilometers, barely long enough for carriages to hit their top speed. The pair will also build a research and development park in the city, to study related technologies.

Editor: James Boynton

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Keywords:   Hyperloop Transportation Technologies,Tongren,Hyperloop,TRANSPORT,Guizhou