Travel Toulouse-Montpellier in 20 minutes at 1,200kph

An ultra-high-speed Hyperloop system as promoted by Tesla founder Elon Musk is planned to fill the gap in the TGV network between Toulouse and Mont­pellier – with speeds at least three times that of a TGV.

The vacuum-tubed Hyperloop link could see shuttles link the cities by 2022 with a 1,200kph service taking just 20minutes and at about two-thirds the cost of a TGV link.
It is part of a global effort to develop Hyperloop vacuum trains with several rival groups competing to perfect the technology and raise funding.

Of the eight around the world, two are looking at France: the French offshoot of Californian company Hyper­loop Tran­spor­tation Tech­nol­ogies (HTT) in Toul­ouse and Tran­s­pod Hyper­loop in Toronto, Canada.

HTT has signed a deal with the city of Toulouse – home of the European aerospace industry – to open a test and development centre at the old Fran­cazal military airbase and has leading Airbus structural composites supplier Carbures building the first 40m passenger test capsule in Jerez, Spain.

HTT says it has raised $100million in funding and Tou­louse is key as Fran­cazal will develop aerospace technology for the shuttles. Chief executive Dirk Ahl­born says it has a “talent pool of some of the brightest minds in aerospace”.

It is also France’s last major city not to have a TGV link and that also puts it in the sights of rival company Trans­pod.

However, co-founder Sébastien Gendron feels Toulouse-Paris via Bordeaux could be better value and offer more business for both passenger and freight transport, especially as onward links to Frankfurt and other Euro­pean cities would cut air travel as part of the Hyper­loop’s environmental bonus.

“I see freight as the first main use because testing on humans will be slow and there is demand from food and the e-economy with Ama­zon, FedEx and DHL deliveries being time-sensitive.”

Transpod is building a 10km test line in Calgary, Canada for trials in 2020. Mr Gendron said: “10,000 lorries drive Toronto-Montréal each day and a two-tube Hyperloop could take 20% off the road – enough to be economically viable. DHL says it will be viable from the first day, perhaps in 2027.”

Backed by $21million in private funds, he said Hyper­loop is the future and TGV the past. “Ultra-fast transport can slash infrastructure costs and travel times, especially between Toul­ouse and Paris and on to Frank­furt. It would match Pres­i­dent Macron’s call for innovation.

“A Paris-Frankfurt TGV line would cost €11.5billion with a travel time of two hours. Hyper­loop costs €8.3bn and the journey takes 35min with 10min to speed up and slow down and passengers feeling no more speed effect than in the Métro.”