Russia and China to link via Hyperloop

MOSCOW: September 05, 2016. Following last month's MoU with DP World to determine the use of Hyperloop One transport technology at Jebel Ali port, Dubai, the U.S. company has now published a study on the feasibility of linking the city of Hunchun in northeast China with the Russian port of Zarubino.



The study, commissioned by Caspian Venture Capital, a US$300 million fund set up by Summa Group chairman Ziya Magomedov, says it would take four years and an estimated US$1.5-2.1 billion to build a 65 kms Hyperloop line between the two cities.

Summa says the line would have a maximum capacity of 50 million tonnes in one direction and be able to carry 18.9 million tonnes of grain and 1.3 million TEUs at an average speed of 875 kilometers an hour.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Hyperloop uses electric propulsion to accelerate a passenger or cargo vehicle through a tube in a low-pressure environment. The autonomous vehicle levitates slightly above the track and glides at faster-than-airline speeds over long distances.

"We are excited that the technological promise of Hyperloop has been matched by such enthusiasm by China and Russia, nations which both understand the value of serious infrastructure investment and development," said Casey Handmer, a Hyperloop One levitation engineer. "Russia and China share the Eurasian steppe, a transportation route as old as history. What ancient caravans took years to cross Hyperloop can cover in mere hours, tying together the rapidly growing economies that surround the great continent."

Summa has already announced it wants to build a new 'Big Port' at Zarubino (right), 18 kilometers from the border with China, to handle exports of Chinese consumer goods and Russian grain. Total cost is estimated at US$2.6-3.0 billion according to the company.

Earlier this month DP World signed an MoU with Summa to explore investment opportunities in ports, special economic zones and inland logistics facilities in the Russian Federation – including Vladivostok and Zarubino.

Magomedov noted at the time: "I am confident that together we will also implement and deploy such high-tech solutions that will help transform these trade corridors and the transport and logistics arena as a whole."