Hyperloop One

Hyperloop One

On Monday Virgin Hyperloop One announced a new record for its prototype pod—387kph (or 240mph).

That speed is faster than the 300kph (186mph) you’d get on a commercial Train à Grand Vitesse (TGV) in France. But it’s still not close to the fastest speed a commercial TVG has ever logged: 515.3kph (or 320mph). It's also slower than the world record for a magnetically levitated (and occupied) train, which was set in Japan in 2015 with a speed of 603kph (374mph).

The startup, originally simply “Hyperloop One,” recently became Virgin Hyperloop One after receiving significant investment from mega-conglomerate Virgin Group. On Monday, the company also announced that Virgin Group founder Richard Branson would become the startup’s chairman. Branson is famous for funding space planes and rockets and satellite Internet. He assumes the leadership position on Virgin Hyperloop One’s board as Shervin Pishevar stepped away from his company in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment and assault.

Virgin Hyperloop One aims to build a Hyperloop in the image of a system imagined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk—a system of pods on air bearings speeding through low-pressure tubes at 760mph. Several companies have formed to make the Hyperloop vision a reality, but Virgin Hyperloop One has arguably come the closest. The startup has raised millions and initiated feasibility studies in the United Arab Emirates and Colorado. It built a test track north of Las Vegas and has been running a prototype pod through the 1/3-mile system.

In August, the company claimed that its prototype pod had logged 192mph on the test track. The prototype pod is an 8.7m (28.5ft) carbon-fiber shell on a magnetically levitating chassis with an electric motor. In Virgin Hyperloop One's most recent speed test, the company tested out a new airlock, which it says improves the transition between near-vacuum (200,000 feet above sea level) and atmospheric conditions. (Pressurization and de-pressurization was one of the biggest issues slowing down a recent test day hosted by SpaceX, as that process takes a long time.)

"All components of the system were successfully tested including the airlock, highly efficient electric motor, advanced controls and power electronics, custom magnetic levitation and guidance, pod suspension, and the vacuum," the startup wrote in a press release. "A Virgin Hyperloop One pod quickly lifts above the track using magnetic levitation and glides at airline speeds for long distances due to ultra-low aerodynamic drag."

Virgin Hyperloop One also announced Monday night that it had closed a $50 million Series-C funding round with help from Caspian Venture Capital and DP World.

Listing image by Hyperloop One