Texas Cities Move Forward On Hyperloop System Without Houston
The statewide vision to connect the Texas triangle with a high-speed transportation system has made headway while docking immediate plans for the Houston route.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Transportation Council announced plans Wednesday to examine Virgin Hyperloop One technology for two major transportation routes. One connects the Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth areas and the second route links several cities, including Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio. Houston, for the time being, is left out of the loop.
Hyperloop is a high-tech system that would shuttle passengers through a low-pressure tube at very high speeds with minimal aerodynamic resistance.
Hyperloop One previously told Bisnow that Texas’ proposal was more complicated than other corridors due to the long lines and multiple endpoints for the routes.
Interest in the Houston-bound routes has been lower than expected, even though the Houston-to-San Antonio corridor is one of the busiest in the state, the Houston Chronicle reports. Texas Central Partners is seeking to build a direct Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail line, which is directing attention away from the Virgin Hyperloop.
Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, told the Chronicle that Houston would benefit from the connectivity of the system.
"Adding an option like hyperloop to the existing system of roadways, rail transit, bicycle/pedestrian facilities and high-speed rail to Houston would expand the system in an exciting way,” he said. “Connecting other regions in Texas through hyperloop would open up economic opportunities throughout the state.”
The Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Transportation Council toured Virgin Hyperloop One’s full-scale test track in the Nevada Desert and met with a team at the Innovation Campus in Los Angeles.
“The Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Transportation Council has proven itself as a forward-thinking agency that wants to give its region a competitive edge by leveraging next-generation technology,” Virgin Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd said in a release. “Virgin Hyperloop One is excited to pursue these projects, which would transform what are now separate metropolitan areas into one economic megaregion connected by high-speed transport.”
“The RTC is all about bringing innovation to the transportation system in the Dallas-Fort Worth region and hyperloop would be an exciting technology to add,” Tarrant County Commissioner and Regional Transportation Council Chairman Gary Fickes said in a release.
