A test route between Melbourne and Sydney for a near-supersonic speed transport system is a finalist in a competition to pick where it could be trialled.

The route is one of 35 in the finals of the Hyperloop One Global Challenge for the system visualised by billionaire Elon Musk, Yahoo reported.

A field of 2,600 were narrowed down to the finalists and each submission had to be backed by any potential regulating and funding agencies or governments.

The Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at 1200km/h between distant locations - meaning it would take less than a hour between Australia's two largest cities.

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The VicHyper team from RMIT University in Melbourne with their design

The pod VicHyper designed for the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition

Meanwhile a team of Australians who designed a prototype for the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition are preparing to head to California for the finals.

VicHyper, from RMIT University in Melbourne, are one of 30 teams which have produced a design and the only submission from the Southern Hemisphere in the prototype finals which will be held on January 27-29.

SpaceX, which runs the pod competition, is not involved in developing a commercial Hyperloop itself, like Hyperloop One, instead focusing on accelerating the development of the technology required to build a prototype.

VicHyper's design focused on braking and acceleration that could one day be used in a levitating system.

VicHyper is the only submission from the Southern Hemisphere in the prototype finals which will be held on January 27-29

For the upcoming tests set to take place in late January, VicHyper will be simplifying their futuristic design at the request of SpaceX

WHAT IS HYPERLOOP? The Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at 745mph (1,200km/h) between distant locations. It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes - half the time it takes a plane. It is essentially a long tube that has had the air removed to create a vacuum. The tube is suspended off the ground to protect against weather and earthquakes. Passengers would sit in either individual or group pods, which would then be accelerated with magnets. Capsules carrying six to eight people would depart every 30 seconds, with tickets costing around $20 (£13) each way. Advertisement

They won the Braking Subsystem Technical Excellence Award earlier this year, New Atlas reports.

For the upcoming tests set to take place in late January, though, they will be simplifying their futuristic design at the request of SpaceX, as the competition will have both levitating and non-levitating classes.

The prototype will be put on wheels, with the air bearing removed, Project Leader Zac McClelland told New Atlas, allowing them to perfect the system for high speeds and in a vacuum.

The VicHyper pod uses a linear induction motor, which has never been used in a vacuum before, for acceleration and deceleration.

It also has a second braking system for emergency stops, which relies on eddy current brakes.

These are often used in high-speed trains and even roller coasters.

While other teams are using permanent magnets for such systems, VicHyper is using an onboard battery to power electromagnets, according to New Atlas.

Among the chosen few is Australian team VicHyper , which has unveiled a design focusing on braking and acceleration that could one day be used in a levitating system

The VicHyper pod uses a linear induction motor, which has never been used in a vacuum before, for acceleration and deceleration. It also has a second braking system for emergency stops, which relies on eddy current brakes

Using a spinning metallic disk rigged with electromagnetic coils sitting roughly .4 inches off of it, the team revealed it makes for quick, reliable stopping.

We can spin that up to about 500 rmp, and then turn those coils on – it stops in about half a revolution (two seconds),’ McClelland told New Atlas.

’It’s not going to break down easily, it’s very reliable.

‘It’s old technology, but we’re implementing it a little differently in this high-speed system.’

The team from RMIT University in Melbourne won the Braking Subsystem Technical Excellence Award earlier this year. For the upcoming tests set to take place from January 27 to 29, though, they will be simplifying their futuristic design

Each prototype will undergo a series of safety checks before hitting the 1-mile test tube at SpaceX HQ in California.

Not far away, LA-based start-up Hyperloop One has already begun construction on what could become the world’s first Hyperloop transport system.

The first tube of 'DevLoop', which looks set to become the first full Hyperloop system, has been successfully installed in a desert in North Las Vegas.

If the companies complete this DevLoop, it will be the first full-scale Hyperloop system and the world will see a whole new mode of transportation.