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Evacuated Tube Transport could take you to China in two hours

by Meg Nesterov (RSS feed) on Mar 27th 2012 at 2:00PM

Ever look at a pneumatic tube at a bank and think, "Why couldn't I travel like that?" A new form of high-tech transportation called Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT) could take passengers in car-sized capsules traveling through tubes so fast that you could make it from New York to Beijing in two hours. Unlike pneumatic tubes that work with air and suction, the ETT works via magnetic levitation and frictionless tubes. The ETT could travel up to 4,000 miles per hour for long trips (over twice the speed of the supersonic Concorde jet), or 370 miles per hour for shorter trips, and tubes would be routed like freeways to avoid congestion. ETT proponents claim it's silent, cheaper than planes and faster than jets, though an extensive network of tube rails would have to be constructed to connect the network.

While the capsules may look a bit claustrophobic, the ET3 consortium claims that the transport would provide more room per passenger than airplanes or cars, and TVs could be provided to "provide distraction from negative thoughts." Tubes would be constructed with emergency escape hatches and EMT facilities in case of emergency, and the braking system would be automatic with multiple backups (unlike the Springfield monorail).

Licenses for the ET3 concept are said to have been sold in five countries, and you can sign up for the "first 3D Virtual Ride" (coming in Q2 of 2011, oops!) on the ET3 website, but a prototype has yet to be developed. ET3 hopes that with more support, low-cost world travel could be possible in a decade. The question remains, would we still have to turn off our electronic devices for the trip?

Filed under: Transportation, News

Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)

LOUIS BRINSKELLE Mar 28th 2012 10:30AM

I don't understand the negativity of some of these posters. This sounds like a great idea. By evacuated I believe they will lower pressure in tube to reduce friction with air while suspending and propelling the car using moving magnetic fields. The curve issue can be solved by making the curves full arc over a great distance minimizing g forces. If everyone though like you folks our wheels might have been square. Punching out.

Robert Mar 28th 2012 10:57AM

The energy cost of establishing and maintaining a vacuum in such a large volume, with such an extremely large surface area (the vacuum boundary,) is so exhorbitant as to make this approach utterly foolish. (In Fantasy Land though, you could do it.) Similar engineering economics make magnetic levitation financially untenable as well. If you'd like though, go ahead and complain about reading honest feedback on it, or defend it, or advocate it if you like.
Fools like Daryl Oster are camouflage for the real innovators developing solutions that work.

IVANIVONOVICH Mar 28th 2012 11:24AM

The biggest problem I see is how many of these transports can occupy the same tube at once ? Will we have congestion in the tube from all of the vehicles running in the same tube ? What are the acceleration / deceleration factors ? 4000 mph seems a bit optimistic for the type of travel. What happens when a "car"breaks down in the tube to all the others that are coming down the tube still ? Answer these questions to my satisfaction, then I will contemplate this form of travel. Until then I'll stick to flying>

dickn2000b Mar 28th 2012 1:18PM

From a logistics and materials standpoint alone, this proposal is impractical. From this standpoint of procuring rights of way, treaties, crossing international and country borders, customs inspections, etc. would be an endless nightmare. And let's not forget the constant maintenance that would be necessary. Could it be accomplished? Probably, but at an expense so great that it would take many, many decades before a profit would be shown.

Carpe Apr 26th 2012 8:25PM

Apparently you don't get out of your home country much. Train tracks have long crossed multiple international borders. Custom checkpoints are setup at airports and seaports all over the world. It's entirely feasible to setup the same infrastructure for the ETT. To your other point, existing transportation vessels like airplanes and cruise ships require constant maintenance as well but they operate just fine.

dickn2000b Mar 30th 2012 10:08AM

To Carpe: I've traveled to all seven continents. Train tracks are one thing. A sealed tube is an entirely different proposition, particularly when the cars inside are traveling at hundreds of miles per hour. The purpose of this tube travel is uninterrupted speed. If you are stopped at every border for identification and papers checks, it defeats the purpose. Here's a thought. Train tracks are made of steel and wood. That amount of materials are miniscule compared to that which will be required for this tube project. As for maintenance. A single ship or airplane can be maintained without problems. Thousands of miles of tubes which will have to be inspected regularly will prove to be very expensive.

Bruce Mitchell Mar 28th 2012 1:41PM

I thought of this when I was in my early teens. My idea was to use it over the center median on the interstate highways. 4 rails or guides.

Bruce coburn Mar 28th 2012 1:51PM

Wouldn't you be able to do the same thing without the tubes. Just magnatized rings pushing and pulling from their polarities? Tube part is a little overkill unless you cant control the forces any other way.

Carpe Mar 30th 2012 6:46AM

How do you propose an unenclosed system of rings will be able to create the airless environment needed for the frictionless travel in order to reach those speeds? It sounds like what you've described is closer to a maglev which is already in operation.

Bruce Coburn Mar 30th 2012 9:10AM

Yeh Carpe I just assumed that by using the repelling forces you could use that to create the forces to move the cars. I am not a physicist and will never claim to be, that class was not my best. As for the tubes they described as not being evacuated because of the air but because they were hollow. I get if they are creating an entirely closed system. Thanks for the comment.

Cathy Mar 28th 2012 2:31PM

science fiction or reality, they said the same thing about going to the moon, oh right, that never happened it was all hollywood razzle dazzel, and breaking the sound barrier whould kill the pilot, wonder what Chuck Yager would say to that as he was the first pilot to do so, doesn't any one here have any imagination?