Out of over 2,600 entries, a multi-disciplinary consortium led by Fernando Romero / FR-EE was recently announced as one of the 10 winning teams in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge with the proposal “Mexloop”, the 330-mile Mexico-Guadalajara route. The Mexloop project builds on Mexico's ambitious $600 billion public works investment under the National Infrastructure Program. 

The team submitted concepts for Mexloop's inter-modal station designs and locations, route infrastructure, public space, the pods, and logistics. Aiming to alleviate traffic in one of the world's most congested cities, Mexloop will connect Central Mexico’s major population, cultural, industrial, and manufacturing centers into one new ‘Megalopolis’ of 42 million people that is projected to grow to 60 million by 2050, the Mexloop team describes. 

The Mexloop team's objective with this project is to boost Mexico's booming economic development by strengthening the country's transportation and logistic performance as well as its growing automobile, aeronautic, pharmaceutical, technology and services industries, and to create more job opportunities. “The proposal also recognizes the potential to catalyze a strategic, high-technology hub in the Bajio region”, the team says.

Like the rest of the winners, the Mexloop team will partner up with Hyperloop One to further examine and develop their proposal's feasibility, business model, technical solutions, and certification process. Phase two of the Mexloop scheme will further explore the possibilities of extending the corridor east and westward to the Ports of Manzanillo and Veracruz, and northward to Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo / Laredo at the Mexico-U.S. Border.