CLEVELAND, Ohio – Engineers studying a potential hyperloop route between Cleveland and Chicago are predicting big economic benefits, plus travel times ranging from 31 to 47 minutes for the 344-mile trip.

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, NOACA, on Monday released preliminary findings from a year-long, $1.3 million feasibility analysis for a Cleveland-Chicago hyperloop route.

A hyperloop system would consist of large-scale vacuum tubes with magnetic-levitation tracks that would carry capsules with 28 to 40 passengers at speeds up to 593 mph.

First envisioned by entrepreneur Elon Musk as a high-speed alternative to other modes of transportation, hyperloop has not yet been proven safe for human travel.

Even so, as testing proceeds, Northeast Ohio needs to study the possibility of being part of a hyperloop network or risk being left behind in the 21st century, said Grace Gallucci executive director of NOACA.

“If we want our region to thrive and be competitive with other regions, we have to ensure we are at the forefront of transportation technology,” Gallucci said.

Hyperloop projects are under study in Europe, the Middle East and corridors in the U.S.

NOACA is splitting the cost of the Cleveland-Chicago feasibility study with Los Angeles-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies.

NOACA sought public comment at a 6 p.m. meeting Monday at the Metro Campus of Cuyahoga Community College. The agency, which plans to release a complete feasibility study in December, is also gathering public input online at Glhyperloopoutreach.com.

Among other things, NOACA wants to hear from the public about potential hyperloop station locations at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport, downtown, or other spots.

Gallucci said the Cleveland-Chicago route would is expected to be a public-private partnership. Public components could include rights-of-way and stations, but building and operating a hyperloop line would be a private initiative, similar to airlines.

Engineers from TEMS, based in Frederick, Maryland, are studying three potential routes between Cleveland and Chicago.

The fastest route, with a 31-minute travel time, would trace virtually a straight line between the two cities, crossing over or under lakes Erie and Michigan.

A second, 47-minute route would follow the turnpike and toll roads and have entrance and exit portals for off- and on-ramps leading to other cities, including Toledo and South Bend, Indiana. Curves along the highways would produce slower speeds, Gallucci said.

A third, 36-minute route would combine turnpike and toll roads with alternative rights-of-way including utility lines, to produce higher speeds.

The system would produce 900,000 jobs between 2025 and 2050, creating $47.5 billion in new income, plus $12.6 billion in federal, state and local taxes, according to TEMS.

Transit-oriented development around hyperloop stations would produce $75 billion in increased property values, with $15 billion in Cleveland within a 20-block radius around a station.

The analysis states that construction of a hyperloop route could begin as early as 2023, pending further testing, permitting and regulatory analysis.

A federal environmental impact study required for construction could take roughly two years, said Kathy Sarli, director of planning for NOACA.

The Columbus group in October reported that a 40-minute hyperloop trip to Chicago from Columbus could cost $60, according to published reports.

Gallucci said additional details on the cost of a Cleveland-Chicago run would be coming in December. The study will also include analysis of a potential Pittsburgh leg, she said.

The Richard K. Mellon Foundation of Pittsburgh added $100,000 to the Cleveland-Chicago study to make sure Pittsburgh was included, Gallucci said. NOACA and HTT split the initial $1.2 million cost of the analysis.

Grace Gallucci, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, last summer visited the test track being built by Hyperloop Transportation Technologies in Toulouse, France.Anais Ferris, HTT

NOACA contributed $100,000 of its own funds, and gathered the rest from the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission.

On a side trip during a personal vacation, Gallucci recently visited the HTT test facility in Toulouse, France, where the company is building a test track with what it calls the first full-scale mockup of a hyperloop.

“Progress is being made in terms of developing the technology,” she said. “It demonstrated to me that hyperloop is a serious thing.”