Dutch hyperloop center aims to advance futuristic transport technology

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

VEENDAM, Netherlands (AP) — A 420-meter or quarter-mile white steel tube running alongside a railway line in the windswept northern Netherlands could usher in a new era in the transportation of people and freight. The tube is the heart of the new European Hyperloop Center that opens Tuesday and will be a proving ground in coming years for developers of the evolving technology. Hyperloop was once trumpeted by Elon Musk. It involves capsules floating on magnetic fields zipping at speeds of around 700 kilometers per hour or 435 miles per hour through low-pressure tubes. Its advocates tout it as far more efficient than short-haul flights, high-speed rail and freight trucks.