(source: AP/SITA)
Slovaks may travel from Bratislava to Vienna in a tube-based travelling system at 1,200 kilometres per hour, shortening the journey time from about an hour to eight minutes, already in few years. Moreover, the transport might be for free, Bibop G. Gresta of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies told the Hospodárske Noviny daily.
The Slovak government and the representatives of HTT signed a memorandum of understanding in early March. The company returned to Slovakia in early July to consider localities where the system could be built.
“We could choose from five localities, but currently we consider three of them to be appropriate for launching construction,” Gresta told Hospodárske Noviny. “For us it is a very strategic decision which we have to make in coming days.”
The company is also searching for plots to build a development centre in which they want to produce the travelling capsules for export across the world.
The company may establish itself in Záhorie region, according to Hospodárske Noviny reports.
“We consider the plots under former railway from Stupava the most appropriate,” said Governor of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region Pavol Frešo, as quoted by the daily, referring to its closeness to the planned northern bypass road of Bratislava, the D2 highway and the planned highway in Austria.
While HTT is ready to start construction, the state is more careful.
“Our further steps concern help with identifying the localities and crucial actors in the ecosystem and engineers,” Economy Ministry’s spokesperson Maroš Stano told Hospodárske Noviny.
The company already cooperates with seven local companies and employs 15 Slovaks. The plan is to increase their number to 1,000 and create a base in Slovakia.
As for the free travelling, Gresta explained that the operation of the trains will not be energy-demanding as they use renewable energy sources, including solar panels, kinetic and wind energy. As a result, they will be able to produce 30 percent more energy than they will actually need for operation.
“We may then sell the excessive energy,” Gresta told Hospodárske Noviny.
