Should the Hyperloop Be for Cities or Suburbia?

After years of uncertainty and skepticism over the future of Hyperloop, one of the companies pioneering the technology eagerly marched to Washington, D.C., last week with some news: the vision of supersonic transportation via a series of airtight tubes is actually tangible now.

Hyperloop One recently announced that it has built the U.S.’s first testing site, a 1,640-foot long full-scale track in the deserts of Nevada, putting the company one step ahead of its competitors in the race to build Elon Musk’s futuristic transportation system. Engineers have already begun testing some components, including the propulsion system and the vacuum. The company plans to have a full system test—what it calls its “Kitty Hawk” moment—by the end of this year. It’s also collaborating with regulators in Dubai to create a framework for testing the system’s safety and feasibility, according to CEO Rob Lloyd. And if all goes as planned, cities across the U.S. could become metro stops just minutes apart from one another.