Elon Musk Firm Tapped To Build Chicago High-speed Transit
Rukhshan Mir (@rukhshanmir) Published June 14, 2018 | 11:24 PM
Elon Musk's The Boring Company has been tapped to build a high-speed underground transportation system for Chicago the first US city to bank on the entrepreneur's futuristic concept for mass transit.
Chicago, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Jun, 2018 ) :Elon Musk's The Boring Company has been tapped to build a high-speed underground transportation system for Chicago the first US city to bank on the entrepreneur's futuristic concept for mass transit.
The project, to be officially announced Thursday, would employ tunnels and autonomous electric vehicles called "skates" to zip passengers between the Midwestern city's downtown core and its busy airport.
Details remain to be hammered out, including the exact route of The Chicago Express Loop.
"We're really excited to work with the Mayor and the City to bring this new high-speed public transportation system to Chicago," Musk's The Boring Company tweeted Wednesday night.
The proposed transit system would consist of electric vehicles reaching speeds as high as 150 mph (240 kph) in underground tunnels, as they travel to O'Hare airport, one of the nation's busiest.
The vehicles would be built on a modified Tesla Model X chassis and carry eight to 16 passengers, the company said.
The company promised to cut journey times for the 20 miles between downtown and the airport to 12 minutes. A taxi currently can take as much as an hour or more with traffic.
Musk's company said the project would be privately funded, and that a ride would cost less than half the typical taxi or ride-share fare.
The proposed transit line is a slowed-down and modified version of the hyperloop concept -- a system of autonomous electric pods that Musk's company says could travel as fast as 600 miles per hour in vacuum tubes that eliminate air friction.
The Chicago project would not require a vacuum, because of the shorter route and slower speed.
Musk in May pitched a similar underground tunnel system in Los Angeles, and has proposed another that would link Washington DC and Baltimore.
nov/ec
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Rock-solid Ruud racks up season-leading win in Barcelona
At UN, Iran says it will make Israel 'regret' reprisals
G7 hears calls for 'critical' Ukraine aid
EU seeks to leverage might to confront China, US challenge
5 Customs officials martyred as their vehicle ambushed by terrorists in D I Khan
Pak-New Zealand match called off due to rain
NHA restores traffic on roads affected by recent rains in Balochistan
China to fully support Pakistan's efforts against terrorism: Ambassador Jiang
U.S. envoy calls on Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar
Poland arrests man over suspected plan to kill Zelensky
EU wants to ease youth movement to and from UK
Police foils attempt of supply mainpuri raw material
More Stories From World
-
At G7, Blinken seeks European support for pressure on China
4 hours ago -
Thousands of Bosnian Serbs rally against UN resolution on Srebrenica
4 hours ago -
Israel assault has turned Gaza into 'humanitarian hellscape': UN
5 hours ago -
Husband of ex-Scottish leader charged over alleged embezzlement: police
5 hours ago -
Ecuador hit by power cuts of up to 13 hours amid drought
5 hours ago -
Hugs or bullets? How Mexico presidential rivals aim to curb violence
5 hours ago
-
Kenya military chopper crash kills defence chief, senior officers
6 hours ago -
Biden hails 'incredible' Kennedy family backing against RFK Jr.
6 hours ago -
Maldives court frees jailed ex-president ahead of vote
6 hours ago -
Probe into Portugal ex-PM Costa appears to collapse
6 hours ago -
Jury selection stalls in Trump criminal trial
6 hours ago -
At UN, Iran says it will make Israel 'regret' reprisals
6 hours ago