Elon Musk plans to build high speed loop in Chicago
30 Nov 2017
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk said on Tuesday that the Boring Company would compete to fund, build and operate a high-speed Loop connecting O'Hare Airport to downtown Chicago.
Tesla chief, Musk recently started the Boring Company to build transport tunnels for the system, which he claimed would be much faster than current high-speed trains and use electromagnetic propulsion.
Earlier yesterday, Chicago's mayor Rahm Emanuel called for proposals to develop, design, equip, finance, operate and maintain an O'Hare Express operating system through a public-private agreement with Chicago.
''Although cost estimates for the project are not yet known, the RFQ (Request for Qualifications) stipulates that the O'Hare Express Service will be funded solely by project-specific revenues (like fares or advertising) and financed entirely by the concessionaire,'' mayor Emanuel's office said in a statement.
''There will be no taxpayer funding for the project.''
Musk plans to transport passengers and cargo packed into pods through an intercity system of giant vacuum tubes known as the ''hyperloop.
Elaborating on his ''high-speed loop'' proposal that would link O'Hare Airport to downtown Chicago, Musk tweeted, ''A Loop is like a Hyperloop, but without drawing a vacuum inside the tube.''
''Don't need to get rid of air friction for short routes,'' Musk added.
Meanwhile, Fast Company said that the tunnels being built by The Boring Company will also be a big time-saver for one commuter in particular - Musk himself.
The proposed tunnel route runs parallel to 405, passing by Musk's residences and terminating near SpaceX headquarters.
An analysis of the project's path shows that it conveniently runs from the headquarters of SpaceX heads 20 miles north, passing right by the enclave of Bel Air–where Musk owns five tightly clustered homes.
If the tunnel project were to go as per Musk's plan, his trip between Bel Air and SpaceX, which in current traffic conditions easily takes over an hour, would be shortened to as little as six minutes.
