even given that the Hyperloop whitepaper was a rough sketch, the most important elements of the plan—its speed and price—have been vastly oversold. [...]
But there’s a final reason to be skeptical, not just of the technical details of the Hyperloop, but of the supposedly utopian motives behind it: It may not even be Musk’s idea.
— fortune.com
More on the much hyped (and griped) world of Hyperloop:Elon Musk launches Hyperloop Pod Competition to university students and engineersLA's Arts District now home to Hyperloop World HeadquartersThe town that Hyperloop builtDon't write off Elon Musk's Hyperloop yet...Designing the Hyperspace: UCLA... View full entry
A diverse alliance of communities — including Los Angeles County's third-largest city — is fighting California's long-planned bullet train route into the heart of the San Fernando Valley, saying it would bring irreparable harm... The coalition of communities is demanding that only routes that are predominantly underground should be considered.
The growing resistance is coming in part from urban, working-class neighborhoods that are portraying the surface route as an environmental injustice.
— LA Times
In short, the bullet train faces opposition from basically every direction. One proposed route, which would include several above-ground stretches, worries residents of the town of San Fernando – because it would basically cleave the city in two, wiping out a significant chunk of the downtown... View full entry
Friday, January 9:Boston wins U.S. Olympic Committee's bid for 2024 Games: Beating out Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC, Boston's Olympic campaign estimates it can finance the Games with $4.5B in private funds and $5B or so in publicly-funded infrastructural projects.Thursday, January... View full entry
California's bullet-train agency will officially start construction in Fresno this week on the first 29-mile segment of the system, a symbol of the significant progress the $68-billion project has made against persistent political and legal opposition. [...]
But the milestone marked by Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony also will serve as a reminder of the enormous financial, technical and political risks still faced by the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco project.
— latimes.com
What we do know: the Hyperloop is a fantastic, gee-whiz! prospect that, in an idealized and seamless application, would get between A and B faster than we ever imagined. But whether the Hyperloop actually can (or should) be built is still very much unclear. Ever since Elon Musk (PayPal, Tesla... View full entry
California has grabbed a golden opportunity to build the nation’s first high-speed rail system, create the backbone of a new, clean 21st century transportation system and support our future economic growth. — Washington Post
After a tough quarrels and special interest maneuvers, the State of California cleared the hurdles to lead the nation for a faster and more connected future. The high speed rail will have major impact on California's economy and its future urban developments. It could very well be the end of... View full entry
