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Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

swissinfo.ch

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Re: Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

#61

Post by scotty79 »

salimmadjd wrote: post #35

Hyperloop only works most comfortably in very flat routes. It's something I never realized until I visited Hyperloop's offices in LA when they first started. I got to make some early promo photos for them [0] and signed a 10-year NDA in the process. However, what I learned (which is public knowledge) that at high speeds even smallest elevation drops would make the passengers feel the free-fall sensation of being on a…

> (which is public knowledge) that at high speeds even smallest elevation drops would make the passengers feel the free-fall sensation

I'm happy to hear that legally, physics is still public knowledge.

Re: Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

#62

Post by wavefunction »

m_mueller wrote: post #54
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again, does Switzerland really want to become one big mega city? It is up for the Swiss to decide, but a huge commute draw between Bern and Zurich (or even Bern and Lausanne) would lead to something more like Japan.

Maybe that’s just me but I don’t think of Japan as a bad model in how to have a dense population that is prosperous. If anything their biggest problem currently is depopulation of remote areas.

The question is about density and whether that's something to pursue even if it's prosperous.

Re: Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

#64

Post by candiodari »

sschueller wrote: post #56
salimmadjd wrote: post #35

Hyperloop only works most comfortably in very flat routes. It's something I never realized until I visited Hyperloop's offices in LA when they first started. I got to make some early promo photos for them [0] and signed a 10-year NDA in the process. However, what I learned (which is public knowledge) that at high speeds even smallest elevation drops would make the passengers feel the free-fall sensation of being on a…

Why would it be above ground? In Switzerland tunnels are a very common thing and Swissmetro was also planned to be underground. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a almost level line through a thick mountain.

cost

Re: Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

#65

Post by ucaetano »

m_mueller wrote: post #45
ucaetano wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. There was no high-speed rail in Japan then. Japan wasn't in the 60's what Switzerland is today.

Don’t know what you mean, Switzerland has no high speed rail worth speaking of. TGV and ICE have to drive slowly due to curves. If you’ve ever driven trains in Switzerland and compare to Shinkansen, it’s not even close.

It doesn't need a Shinkansen when the country is twice as big as the Bay Area.

But it has high speed rail.

And regardless, replacing existing infrastructure with something like the Swissmetro is a terrible idea.

Re: Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

#66

Post by yayana »

wavefunction wrote: post #62
m_mueller wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe that’s just me but I don’t think of Japan as a bad model in how to have a dense population that is prosperous. If anything their biggest problem currently is depopulation of remote areas.

The question is about density and whether that's something to pursue even if it's prosperous.

It's an incongruous question. Hyperloops between Basel, Bern and Zurich would make them into one virtual Mini-City. The loops would also reduce density in the travel corridors preventing a California catastrophe kind of sprawl inbetween.

Re: Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

#67

Post by snovv_crash »

tempestn wrote: post #59
snovv_crash wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sensation is caused by vertical acceleration, ie. curvature, not by vertical speed. Controlling curvature is something that needs to be done anyway in the horizontal, I don't see why the vertical component would be harder to control for.

Because the land has vertical variations that you would have to work with, probably involving a lot of filling, bridging, and tunneling. The horizontal is just about planning the route. (Which of course has some restrictions as well, but not to the same extent.)

I was under the impression that a hyperloop would run mostly on pylons anyway, so just by varying their lengths it is possible to smooth the altitude however you want.

Re: Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

#68

Post by tempestn »

snovv_crash wrote: post #67
tempestn wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the land has vertical variations that you would have to work with, probably involving a lot of filling, bridging, and tunneling. The horizontal is just about planning the route. (Which of course has some restrictions as well, but not to the same extent.)

I was under the impression that a hyperloop would run mostly on pylons anyway, so just by varying their lengths it is possible to smooth the altitude however you want.

Agreed that pylons would let you filter out small changes, but in a place like Switzerland the land varies in height by a lot more than the average pylon.

Re: Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

#69

Post by wavefunction »

yayana wrote: post #66
wavefunction wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question is about density and whether that's something to pursue even if it's prosperous.

It's an incongruous question. Hyperloops between Basel, Bern and Zurich would make them into one virtual Mini-City. The loops would also reduce density in the travel corridors preventing a California catastrophe kind of sprawl inbetween.

On the mountains that the hyperloop would traverse? ok dudes

Re: Switzerland to test ‘hyperloop’ train technologies

#70

Post by yayana »

wavefunction wrote: post #69
yayana wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an incongruous question. Hyperloops between Basel, Bern and Zurich would make them into one virtual Mini-City. The loops would also reduce density in the travel corridors preventing a California catastrophe kind of sprawl inbetween.

On the mountains that the hyperloop would traverse? ok dudes

BaselBern (direct) would need tunnels.. The other 2 routes are pretty flat. Most of the Swiss economy is in the valley between the Jura range and the Alps.

The necessary tunnels for Basel would probably cost less than this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Base_Tunnel

But BernZurich is the SBB's bottleneck.

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