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At first glance, it looks like a prototype taken from Blade Runner or any science fiction movie where humans move through the air like a fish in water in their supersonic vehicles . A reality like this seems to be getting closer every day thanks to the Dutch company Hardt , which has just published a new report on the environmental and economic benefits of the transport of the future, the Hyperloop, an ultra-fast train that would allow connecting Amsterdam with Barcelona or Paris in 90 minutes when high-speed trains covering these types of journeys currently take at least three and a half hours.

There are many more possibilities: Amsterdam with Brussels in one hour . Or with Dusseldorf on average and with Eindhoven in 15 minutes. Another option: Paris-Frankfurt in 90 minutes. Of course, the capital of the Netherlands would become the European hub of this new model that could start operating in eight years. It is the date set by the Hardt Hyperloop company , a Dutch start-up in charge of developing the project.

Less air pollution

It is now, however, when they have published profitability through a new report, since only in North Holland would GDP increase with a growth of 121%, saving the province up to 275 million euros, according to a statement of the Hardt company. This also highlights the reduction of air pollution, since not only is Hyperloop ecological by reducing the transfer time between cities, generating a lower carbon footprint , but it would also decrease air traffic.

This is what the Hyperloop hub in Amsterdam will look like.

In that sense, flights would be reduced considerably "to distant destinations", according to Stefan Marges, Project Manager at Hardt Hyperloop in a recent statement. In his opinion, people are willing to travel a maximum of one hour to go to work. "We could cover much greater distances than today in that time. Therefore, the Hyperloop is perfect for international connections," adds Marges.

Maglev technology as a flag

In this way, the Dutch company's goal is to move more than 200,000 travelers per hour through this European Hyperloop network. This would cover a territory of 10,000 kilometers , through which ultra- fast capsules would travel at a speed of 965 kilometers per hour . How? Making it fly. Literally. To do this, Maglev technology , or magnetic levitation transport , is used . It would be used for the construction of a vacuum-sealed tube in which a capsule propelled by the aforementioned high-speed levitation system would be inserted.

Maglev technology is used in the fastest trains in the world, the bullet trains in Japan, where the world record has been broken by reaching a speed peak of 603 kilometers per hour, staying above 600 for no less than 11 seconds.

Back to Hyperloop technology, the first prototype was mentioned in 2012 by South African physicist and businessman Elon Musk , one of the most powerful people in the world according to Forbes magazine and co-founder of PayPal, Tesla Motors and Hyperloop himself to through the space exploration company SpaceX. This proposed the first route of this ultrafast train between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 36 minutes at a speed of 1,200 kilometers per hour.

Interior of the new ultra-fast train.

The full-scale prototype would not arrive until 2016, while the first complete test traveling on this near-space tube did not take place in 2017 in the state of Nevada . It is now, however, when its viability seems closer than ever. Of course, several companies are vying for the race to lead the Hyperloop system in Europe. From the Polish Hyper Poland to the Canadian TransPod , with headquarters in Italy and France, not to mention the Spanish Zeleros Hyperloop , founded in 2016 in Valencia.

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