The Participants of the Scientific Tournament Calculate the Cost of the European Line of Hyperloop
These are the results obtained based on Artezio task set for undergraduate and post-graduate students from France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus who took part in the International Scientific Tournament.
According to the participants, the total length of the European line of Hyperloop can range from 9,000 to 11,000 km, depending on the plans for the coverage of territories. A new high-speed track will connect Spain, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic and Scandinavian countries. The train will stop in the capitals – Warsaw, Minsk, Moscow, Kiev, Paris, and other cities. At the same time, Minsk will become the most important transit point that connects Europe and Asia.
The estimated passenger flow is 850 million people a year. With a ticket price of $20, the transport line for €65 billion will pay off within 6 years. Ilon Mask has recently said that the cost per one passenger in the US will be $1. If the same price for Hyperloop is applied in Europe, then the payback period of the project will increase up to 120 years.
The authors of the study note that today there are no relevant projects on the transport connection of Europe. It is believed that the construction of Hyperloop in the European direction will ensure transportation only between the US and Great Britain (New York-London) at the first stage. This large-scale construction project is estimated at $12 trillion. The costs can even be higher if you take into account investments in securing transportation and ensuring migration control.
The compliance with the migration legislation of different countries is a key issue when considering projects for the construction of high-speed transport lines. Hyperloop developers indicate that the loading and unloading of passengers should occur quickly, and capsules should departure every minute. In order to ensure passport control at the stations, it will be necessary to develop new approaches to document verification or provide a visa-free regime between European countries.
