Elon Musks Boring Company Tunnel Plans
Elon Musk revamps Boring Company plans to prioritize MASS TRANSIT: New animation shows how electric buses could slash traffic by transporting riders underground at 125mph.
- Elon Musk tweeted new details on his Hyperloop and Boring Company plans
- Instead of focusing on personal cars, he says it will begin by serving the masses
- He said the system will prioritize pedestrians and cyclists from the start
- Once mass transit needs have been met, he says it will then transport cars
Elon Musk’s ambitious plan to slash commuting times with tunnel systems beneath major cities has just had a major makeover.
The Boring Company boss tweeted details this evening on an ‘adjusted’ plan for the urban loop system, revealing a new focus on mass transit.
While Musk previously outlined a system that would ferry individual cars at high-speeds on electric ‘sleds,’ a new animation visualizing the project shows multi-passenger carriages that prioritize pedestrians and cyclists.
In some ways, Musk’s new vision is much like the original plan.
But, instead of beginning with personal cars, it will first roll out to the masses.
The electric buses would descend to the tunnels in an elevator shaft, before setting off on a track where they can hit speeds of up to 125 miles per hour (200km/h).
‘Adjusting The Boring Company plan: all tunnels & Hyperloop will prioritize pedestrians & cyclists over cars,’ Musk tweeted Friday evening.
‘Will still transport cars, but only after all personalized mass transit needs are met. It’s a matter of courtesy & fairness. If someone can’t afford a car, they should go first.’
Musk also offered additional insight on how the transport system will fit into urban life.
And, while the idea might at first sound like another subway, the CEO says there will be some major distinctions.
The Boring Company boss shared a glimpse at the company’s progress on social media over the weekend, referencing Dan Hill’s 1977 ballad in the hilariously intimate post.
Along with the lyrics, Musk also wrote, ‘Deep in the hole with my boring machine.’
Despite the ambitious nature of the plan, Elon Musk’s Boring Company has made major strides toward the development of traffic-beating tunnel systems in the US in recent months.
The firm was recently granted a permit by Washington DC’s Department of Transportation that will allow digging to begin within a designated area in the district.
The permit comes just months after Elon Musk claimed he had received ‘verbal government approval’ to build a Hyperloop connecting New York to Washington, with stops in Philadelphia and Baltimore.
The firm already had backing from the state of Maryland, after it was revealed this past October that the administration had granted Elon Musk permission to begin tunneling beneath Baltimore.
At the time, Maryland governor Larry Hogan revealed on Twitter that the administration supports the construction of a line that would connect Baltimore City to D.C, and said he thinks the Hyperloop is ‘coming to Maryland.’
The state has issued a conditional utility permit for the project, allowing the firm to dig a 10.3 mile tunnel under part of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, according to LA Times.
Musk first revealed his plan for a system that could ferry passengers from NY to DC in just 29 minutes back in July, when he tweeted that he’d been given ‘verbal government approval’ for the underground tunnel.
At the time, he said it will run via Philadelphia and Baltimore, and use his Hyperloop technology.
If completed, it would become the world’s longest tunnel.
‘Our administration is proud to support The Boring Company to bring rapid electric transportation to MD – connecting Baltimore City to DC,’ the Maryland governor tweeted.
And, in a video accompanying a second post, in which he wrote, ‘Get Hyped,’ the governor can be heard responding to a question about the Boring Company’s Hyperloop, saying, ‘I think it’s coming to Maryland, and it’s going to go from Baltimore to Washington, so get ready.’
What is the Hyperloop?
Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at roughly 700mph between distant locations.
It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who at the time said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes – half the time it takes a plane.
It is essentially a long tube that has had the air removed to create a vacuum.
The tube is suspended off the ground to protect against weather and earthquakes.
There are now a number of firms vying to bring the technology to life, including Elon Musk himself, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, and Virgin Hyperloop One.
The governor also shared photos of himself alongside SpaceX and Boring Company execs, at the site where the tunneling is set to begin.
The system, which will begin with two 35-mile tubes between Baltimore and Washington, will be treated like a utility, officials told the LA Times, and will largely run beneath existing state highways.
While it remains unclear what other steps have been taken ahead of the digging, officials say it ‘will be done in an environmentally sound and safe fashion,’ LA Times reports.
If the plan comes to life, Musk’s East Coast Hyperloop tunnel would be far longer than the current record holder, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, a railway line that runs through the Swiss Alps and opened in 2016, measuring 35.5 miles.