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What do you think of a Hyperloop between Edmonton and Calgary?

  • Total voters
    72
^. ^^

i hate nonsense like this.

a 6.25% increase in alberta’s gdp for something that at best adds some efficiencies and convenience but actually produces nothing???

140,000 jobs??? until you read the fine print that says that’s the 9 year cumulative of 15,600 jobs which are likely almost all construction related and not hyper-loop. for comparison, there are 270,000 - 300,000 construction industry workers in alberta working year round every year - roughly twice the number of o & g walkers.

this muddling of construction vs long-term economic impact is disingenuous at best.

how this could rise to the top of the same quagmire that killed the superlab is mind boggling.
 
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From Global News: "TransPod will need to negotiate the land acquisition for the test track with the City of Edmonton and Edmonton International Airport. There is no government of Alberta involvement in that process."
 
CplKlinger said:
"If all goes according to plan with an environmental assessment, construction permit and local land acquisition, work on the test section would begin in mid-2023 with completion in 2027-28, said Gendron." They further claim that the full system could come online by 2031.
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No chance this will be operational by 2031. Not here in Alberta
 
I think some technologies take 10-20 years to gain traction. Case in point, air travel, internet computers. Also, how long was our LRT regarded as a hobby train before it became a critical transportation system?
 
The_Cat said:
I think some technologies take 10-20 years to gain traction. Case in point, air travel, internet computers. Also, how long was our LRT regarded as a hobby train before it became a critical transportation system?
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I just don't quite believe this one will ever be viable, as proposed. I can see a lot of food stuff coming out of the research for the Hyperloop, but I have absolutely no faith in it as a passenger transportation mode.
 
I'm still very skeptical about this, but let's be realistic: a project like this doesn't get $550m in financing by being completely out to lunch. Let's maintain a healthy dose of skepticism without completely closing our minds to this being a new technology that actually has some legs.
I get extremely frustrated when the same people who cry about the mentality of 'good enough for edmonton' and want more for our city, but then at the same time laugh any private investor with a bold idea out of the city. We have private companies putting in significant effort and considerable private money into projects like the gondola and now the hyperloop and the near universal reaction on here is a collective sneer. So, do we want to be a city that attracts bold ideas or do we want to be a city that goes with the same old? Yes, not all ideas will pan out, but can we at least give them a chance before we start up the 'monorail' song from the Simpsons and refuse to even entertain the idea of technology evolving?
Ok, now I need a coffee before I get even grumpier...
 
Didama said:
I'm still very skeptical about this, but let's be realistic: a project like this doesn't get $550m in financing by being completely out to lunch. Let's maintain a healthy dose of skepticism without completely closing our minds to this being a new technology that actually has some legs.
I get extremely frustrated when the same people who cry about the mentality of 'good enough for edmonton' and want more for our city, but then at the same time laugh any private investor with a bold idea out of the city. We have private companies putting in significant effort and considerable private money into projects like the gondola and now the hyperloop and the near universal reaction on here is a collective sneer. So, do we want to be a city that attracts bold ideas or do we want to be a city that goes with the same old? Yes, not all ideas will pan out, but can we at least give them a chance before we start up the 'monorail' song from the Simpsons and refuse to even entertain the idea of technology evolving?
Ok, now I need a coffee before I get even grumpier...
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I guess we'll see how feasible it is in May. $550M of a $40B project or whatever it will cost isn't much. So far, two people have traveled for 15 seconds at 160 km/h. Honestly, I'd rather the $550M go into proven technology like maglev or other forms of rail. I guess it is nice that we are doing research, etc on this, but I don't see Alberta being a launch market for this. HSR is a tough sell in itself given our population.
 
westcoastjos said:
I don't see Alberta being a launch market for this
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I disagree -- not so much from a public transportation viewpoint. But if this can be proven for transportation of goods, then that is a whole different ballgame. And Alberta would be a good test market for this because land rights between Edmonton and Calgary would likely be cheaper than anywhere else in North America between two Economic Centres, especially ones that are projected to have substantial growth tied to Energy and other Resources in the near- to mid-term. And for that connection, existing terrain is less of an obstacle as well. Test away, I say.
And there are "bigger fish" from a Port-of-Entry sense. Consider Edmonton as a distribution Centre for all points eastward, north and south connected by Hyperloop to Prince Rupert. Currently -- by truck or by rail -- the journey through challenging terrain -- both physical- and weather-wise -- is 16 1/2 hours. A Hyperloop connection between Edmonton and Price Rupert, tunneling through mountains, could provide a container transport solution that would take under two hours, essentially making Edmonton a Port-of-Entry extension to Prince Rupert with a North-America-wide distribution network starting at its doorstep.
Other products can connect here as well with containerized LNG and Liquid Hydrogen eastbound from Edmonton to Asian markets and Mining ingots of Aluminum and other metals (Kitimat) westbound to North American Markets. The quicker the testing phase, the better IMHO. After testing, if results bear out, I could see Canada's Feds and both Alberta and B.C. seeing the value in this.
Screen Shot 2022-04-13 at 9.06.25 AM.png
 
archited said:
I disagree -- not so much from a public transportation viewpoint. But if this can be proven for transportation of goods, then that is a whole different ballgame. And Alberta would be a good test market for this because land rights between Edmonton and Calgary would likely be cheaper than anywhere else in North America between two Economic Centres, especially ones that are projected to have substantial growth tied to Energy and other Resources in the near- to mid-term. And for that connection, existing terrain is less of an obstacle as well. Test away, I say.
And there are "bigger fish" from a Port-of-Entry sense. Consider Edmonton as a distribution Centre for all points eastward, north and south connected by Hyperloop to Prince Rupert. Currently -- by truck or by rail -- the journey through challenging terrain -- both physical- and weather-wise -- is 16 1/2 hours. A Hyperloop connection between Edmonton and Price Rupert, tunneling through mountains, could provide a container transport solution that would take under two hours, essentially making Edmonton a Port-of-Entry extension to Prince Rupert with a North-America-wide distribution network starting at its doorstep.
Other products can connect here as well with containerized LNG and Liquid Hydrogen eastbound from Edmonton to Asian markets and Mining ingots of Aluminum and other metals (Kitimat) westbound to North American Markets. The quicker the testing phase, the better IMHO. After testing, if results bear out, I could see Canada's Feds and both Alberta and B.C. seeing the value in this.
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It is an interesting idea to use hyperloop for cargo transport, but it'd only happen if we had infinite money or the world changed in a big way to support and megamegamega project like this.

I definitely support Transpod in developing the technology and doing so here in Alberta, building a test track and whatever it may be, but I just cannot see it becoming a functional and viable transport system here for like 50 years at least. I can't help but feel like there's so much else not only Alberta but Canada can do that comes logically before building a system like Hyperloop. Take the Prince Rupert - Edmonton route again. Why not increase the rail transport capacity and quality between them greatly by a) double tracking the entire route, b) reducing the amount of tight and risky areas and hugely increasing the speed of the century-old line by adding viaducts and base tunnels in certain areas, and c) electrifying the entire freight network because it's a smart sensible thing to do to increase efficiency, quality and speed and reduce local emissions to 0%?

It isn't that I'm unimaginative or don't like big ideas, I love big ideas and often spend time daydreaming about them, but I honestly think that many of these really big ideas can see similar or even better solutions and results when one particular mode of transport is just built upon and improved: trains

But then again maybe I'm just biased because trains are cool in of themselves 😆
 
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