Hyperloop Study Calls For Test Track To Be Built in Missouri. Cost? $300-500M
Date Posted: October 28, 2019
Posted In: Projects,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The long-term goal is to build a futuristic people-mover linking St. Louis and Kansas City.
But, as part of a study released Monday, Missouri should first build a 15-mile track to test the feasibility of tubed transport.
That’s the main take-away from the 176-page report from Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, who formed a task force in March to study whether Missouri should push forward on what is known as the “hyperloop.”
According to the report, a public-private partnership should be formed to build the test track in order to become the national epicenter of hyperloop studies.
“Given the anticipated costs of the linear infrastructure required to build a tubed transport system, it makes sense to pool resources and focus on a single site for research, development and certification of the technology,” the report says.
Last year, Kansas City-based engineering company Black & Veatch said the pneumatic tube transportation line that would transport passengers along the 250-mile expanse between the two anchor cities in less than 30 minutes would be feasible to build.
The report notes that the engineering study could give Missouri a leg-up on competition if the state moves fast.
“This advantage will dissipate should we fail to capitalize on our momentum,” the report notes.
The 31-member panel, chaired by Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, met for seven months. Among those on the task force are state lawmakers, University of Missouri System President Mun Choi, members of Gov. Mike Parson’s administration and representatives of business groups.
Travis Brown, a longtime associate of billionaire mega-donor Rex Sinquefield, also is on the panel, as is Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, director of St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
The report puts the price tag on the test track at between $300 million and $500 million. The cost to build a track linking St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City is estimated at $10.4 billion.