Feds begin process to set standards for hyperloop development

The federal Department of Transportation on Friday began the process of setting development standards for hyperloop systems, a key step in moving the emerging technology forward.

In a 38-page document called a “desk review,” the department’s Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology Council used a consultant to review where the industry is now in developing the technology and will open a commenting period to gather input on the standards it should set for the new technology.

The committee said the document should be “a starting point for policymakers, the industry, and the general public to understand better the areas where relevant standards currently exist, areas where existing regulations or technical standards could be adapted or modified to address hyperloop-specific considerations, and areas where new voluntary technical standards or regulations may be needed.”

Hyperloop is a proposed technology that developers say can

move passengers or freight at speeds of more than 500 mph through low-pressure tubes. Pittsburgh is at the eastern end of two proposed hyperloop systems that would travel to Chicago — one via Cleveland and the other through Columbus, Ohio — and a national certification center for the technology will be built south of Somerset in northern West Virginia.

“For us, it’s a good handoff decision that shows they’re interested,” said Rob Miller, marketing director for Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc., the group working with the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency in Cleveland.

“This means they are serious about this technology and moving forward as fast as they can. It helps us move closer to building.”

Mr. Miller said it is hard to put a timeline on when standards will be set to allow development to begin, but this is the next step in the process.

HTT’s competitor, Virgin Hyperloop One, is working with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission in Columbus on its proposed system to Chicago.

Virgin also is developing the $500 million certification facility, a 6-mile track in Tucker and Grant counties that is expected to create 6,000 permanent jobs at an abandoned coal mine when it opens in five years.

Both developers say the hyperloop will make the trip from Chicago to Pittsburgh in less than an hour.

Once standards are adopted and technology is certified, either proposed system is expected to be built in stages over several decades, cost billions and be paid for through some kind of public-private partnership. Both companies are working on projects in other countries that could open sooner, HTT in Abu Dhabi and Virgin in India.