A little less than a year after construction began, the Hyperloop test track in Ottobrunn near Munich is now complete. The transportation system, envisioning passenger capsules traveling at approximately 850 kilometers per hour through a near-vacuum tube, takes a crucial step forward in its research and development.

Hyperloop Test Track in Ottobrunn: Söder Attends the Opening
The inauguration, taking place on Wednesday afternoon, is expected to be attended by Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder, Minister of Science Markus Blume (both from the CSU), and Alexander Braun, Vice President for Digitalization and IT Systems at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

In addition to the concrete vacuum tube, the test track includes a full-scale passenger pod. According to TUM, this marks Europe's first fully certified test track in real size, dedicated to passenger operations.

Hyperloop Program at TU Munich
The visionary concept of the Hyperloop was initially developed by entrepreneur Elon Musk, who launched competitions for students worldwide about a decade ago. Throughout these competitions, teams from TUM consistently excelled and secured first place in all contests. Consequently, the research on this transportation system has been firmly established within TUM's own Hyperloop Program. Since 2020, the program has been integrated into the Hightech Agenda Bayern and is co-financed by the Free State of Bavaria.

While the Hyperloop remains a futuristic vision for future mobility, the completion of this test track represents a significant advancement in turning this concept into reality. Researchers and policymakers are eager to witness the results of the upcoming tests, as they aim to revolutionize transportation with unprecedented speeds and efficiency. The Hyperloop's potential to reshape the future of mobility has now taken a tangible step forward at the newly opened facility in Ottobrunn.

 

 

First Reported by AZ

Camilo Sanchez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons