TransPod

The TransPod tube system is being developed to carry vehicles at speeds greater than 1000 km/h. Announced in 2016,[2] the TransPod system contains aerodynamic and propulsion systems to reduce friction compared to trains, automobiles and jets, and to carry passengers at a faster speed.[3] TransPod's technology is designed to be compatible with renewable energies including solar generation, supplemented by regional electrical grid connection link-ups. TransPod states the purpose of this is for reduced carbon emissions.[10]

To achieve fossil-fuel-free propulsion, TransPod pods take advantage of electrically driven linear induction motor technology, with active real-time control [3] and sense-space systems.[11]

The TransPod tube system is distinct from the hyperloop concept proposed by Elon Musk's Hyperloop Alpha white paper.[lower-alpha 1] Unlike hyperloop, the TransPod system uses moving electromagnetic fields to propel the vehicles with stable levitation off the bottom surface, rather than compressed air.[3]

Passenger vehicles include seating, while cargo vehicles have a loadable interior. Each vehicle includes an aircraft-like fuselage[2]  pressurized for atmospheric air circulation and control – and includes propulsion, guidance and control systems to operate at speeds exceeding 1000 km/h within a protected tube guideway.[4] The tubes are twinned to permit bidirectional vehicle travel.[3]

The cargo transport TransPod pods are designed to carry payloads of 10–15 tons and have compatibility with wooden pallets, as well as various unit load devices such as LD3 containers, and AAA containers.[12]

The vehicle's front has an axial compressor to reduce air resistance when moving through the tube.[3] Even in low air pressure, a small amount of air exists in the tube which would otherwise cause drag forces at high speed.[4] This compressor diverts airflow at high speed through ducts in the vehicle out through exhaust nozzles in the back thus reducing the effect of drag on the pod.[3]

At high speed, the vehicle's dynamic forces are controlled by an internal guidance system. Deviations of the vehicle's trajectory are sensed and tracked by a combination of inertial sensors and optical sensors.[3] TransPod's systems use sense-space processing[11] and real-time computer vision algorithms.[13]

At the InnoTrans Rail Show 2016 in Berlin, TransPod premiered their vehicle concept, alongside implementation of Coelux technology – an artificial skylight to emulate natural sunlight within the passenger pods.[14][15]

In January 2017 TransPod announced plans for a test track to be constructed in the village of Droux near Limoges[16] in collaboration with the French department of Haute-Vienne. The proposed test track would exceed 3 km in length, and operate as a half-scale system 2m in diameter.[17][18][19] In February 2018, Vincent Leonie, vice president of Limoges Métropole and a deputy mayor of Limoges,[20] announced that agreements for the "Hyperloop Limoges" organization have been signed to promote and accelerate the technology.[17]

TransPod has plans to develop routes worldwide, and is designing line configurations between international cities. For example in Canada, TransPod lines are being designed for Toronto-Montreal,[27][28] Toronto-Windsor,[29] and Toronto-Waterloo corridors in Ontario and Quebec, as well as the Calgary-Edmonton corridor in Alberta, Canada.[30] TransPod is preparing to build a test track for the pod vehicles in Canada.[31] This track will be extendable as part of a full route pending a combination of private and public funding to construct the line.[30]

In June 2017, the first designs were unveiled for a TransPod station,[32] based in a future transportation hub in Downtown Toronto at the Port Lands district. In June 2017, the governments of Toronto, Ontario and Canada announced a joint funding plan of $1.185 billion to revitalize this area with new developments and infrastructure.[33] TransPod's station design is being developed in partnership with REC Architecture.[32]