First test track planned for Hyperloop-inspired, super-speed transportation system

Colorado might get the jump on Missouri for a futuristic, high-speed transportation system.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is working with Los Angeles startup Arrivo to test a Hyperloop-inspired pod-mover system that could cut travel time between Denver and Boulder to just eight minutes, the Denver Post reports.

Missouri has been seen as a top contender for testing a different kind of high-speed transport that could cut the trip from Kansas City to St. Louis to 31 minutes.

Colorado and Arrivo plan to build a half-mile section of dedicated roadway alongside the E-470 tollway near Denver International Airport. Electronics and magnets in the roadway would propel pods that could contain people or freight at 200 mph.

“Our focus is on ending traffic,” Arrivo co-founder Brogan BamBrogan told the Post.

“The congestion in Colorado is only getting worse,” said Shailen Bhatt, director of the state’s Department of Transportation.

Arrivo is not to be confused with Virgin Hyperloop One, which has a test track in Nevada. That system would use vacuum tubes to accelerate pods up to 670 mph.

The idea is backed by SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Richard Branson of Virgin Group. Musk has said he has approval to build a tunnel in Maryland.

An official with Hyperloop One said recently that Missouri was among the top contenders for a Hyperloop project. A $1.5 million feasibility study paid for with private funds is planned, according to The Verge.

This story was originally published November 14, 2017 at 12:55 PM with the headline "First test track planned for Hyperloop-inspired, super-speed transportation system."