Calgary - Edmonton Vacuum Tube train proposal

[Knut]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/cana...rain-1.6051975

It's based on similar principles to the "hyperloop" concept made famous by U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk: FluxJet will be propelled at ultra-fast speeds along a protected tube-guideway using groundbreaking technology based on a new field of physics called "veillance flux."
The pods are magnetically levitated and the vacuum tubes allow them to travel at great speed.

This is the CEO I am guessing

[jammies]

Should be easy, just reuse the tubes we already have for the internet.

[djsFlames]

Would be pretty cool, despite not much reason to pay to go up to greaseville at lightning speed.

Just make sure to shut down Calgary-bound tube trains on BOA game days.

[photon]

[blankall]

Only $18 billion. The government seems to have that kind of money lying around. I guess theoretically Alberta will have about $4 billion dollar surplus this year. There are worse options than using it on an infrastructure project.

The project might be more useful in the London to Montreal area. Not sure how many people actually even travel between Edmonton and Calgary.

I do think this would be pretty cool. Maybe worth taking a loss on (with heavy federal backing that is) just to try it out, and the Alberta corridor is a solid test subject.

[Fuzz]

Let's take any cost estimates with boulders of salt, since this has never been built before.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by blankall

Only $18 billion. The government seems to have that kind of money lying around. I guess theoretically Alberta will have about $4 billion dollar surplus this year. There are worse options than using it on an infrastructure project.

The project might be more useful in the London to Montreal area. Not sure how many people actually even travel between Edmonton and Calgary.

I do think this would be pretty cool. Maybe worth taking a loss on (with heavy federal backing that is) just to try it out, and the Alberta corridor is a solid test subject.

$13+ billion. They've already announced it.

But, this will not be built.

[Knut]

For structural integrity, the giant tube likely would be steel rather than the beautiful clear fantasy material seen in promotional materials. If the steel is welded together, it will be extremely resistant to air leaks, but it will thermally expand and contract as one giant mass, which would require a lot of engineering to allow the structure to move freely. If the system instead is made of a great number of small steel tubes connected by joints, those joints must be able to maintain the integrity of the vacuum. And the engineering must be perfect: If one joint fails, the result is catastrophic.

https://bigthink.com/the-future/elon...erloop-193494/

[InglewoodFan]

Originally Posted by Knut

https://bigthink.com/the-future/elon...erloop-193494/

Thank you for this, it nicely summarizes why this whole thing is a bad idea©. The amount of energy to pull hundreds of km of low vacuum alone is ridiculous.

[Locke]

[SebC]

Vacuum train? I bet it sucks.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

$13+ billion. They've already announced it.

But, this will not be built.

It is 3.9 for this year and projected 13+ billion for 2023/23. Maybe my use of the "this year" was imprecise.

Debt is at over $93 billion....so maybe it's not that much money.


https://financialpost.com/news/econo...illion-surplus

[blankall]

Originally Posted by InglewoodFan

Thank you for this, it nicely summarizes why this whole thing is a bad idea©. The amount of energy to pull hundreds of km of low vacuum alone is ridiculous.

Yeah...maybe this is something we'd better test on North Haverbrook first.

[Nufy]

Given how each city says that the other place sucks...

Wont this thing be perpetually stuck in Red Deer ?

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by blankall

It is 3.9 for this year and projected 13+ billion for 2023/23. Maybe my use of the "this year" was imprecise.

Debt is at over $93 billion....so maybe it's not that much money.


https://financialpost.com/news/econo...illion-surplus

the budget runs march to march. Last year we finished with 3.9 b surplus. This year we will end with over 13 billion in surplus. They are already allocating these funds.

The 3.9 billion surplus was from last year's budget, for all intents and purposes, and wasn't reported until that fiscal year was fully wrapped. This year the surplus will be 13+.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Knut

https://bigthink.com/the-future/elon...erloop-193494/

Haha nice, very few articles actually mention the giant wall of air moving at the speed of sound problem.

[Fuzz]

I get why they are doing this in Alberta, just the mention of a pipeline is enough to get the province to load up the dump trucks of cash. Sound strategy.

[Northendzone]

there is a ton of gold in this thread. keep up the good works folks

[FlamesAddiction]

Clearly this would benefit Edmonton more than Calgary.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Clearly this would benefit Edmonton more than Calgary.

In theory an Edmontonian could get to the mountains faster going from vacuum train to car/bus in yyc than driving there directly.

It's funny but also points out why we need to smother this thing in the cradle, along with the other myriad of reasons.