“ We hope to create an ultra-fast train, which will travel inside a state-of-the-art low-pressure tube at lightning speeds, in the not-too-distant future,” a Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) official told the Korea Times on Tuesday.
He said the state-run institute will join forces with other research groups and Hanyang University to develop the new ground transport within the next three years, which would be able to travel from Seoul to Busan in half an hour, instead of the current time of three hours.
“ To that end, we will cooperate with associated institutes as well as Hanyang University to check the viability of various related technologies called the hyper-tube format over the next three years, ” the official said, noting the bold initiative will enable South Korea to take its place among countries “ competing in futuristic technology.”
Hyper-tube technology, mentioned by the official as one of the formats the new project will be based on, is a mode of passenger and freight transportation that propels floating pod-like vehicles through tubes under a partial vacuum at speeds greater than a passenger jet – up to 800mph.
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The technology was first proposed by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, but now the open-source technology is being developed by a number of companies, university students, and independent engineers.
US-based Hyperloop took the lead last year by raising $80 million for development, and is currently working to make the futuristic mode of transportation a reality.
