Specialists of the Russian Institute of ProblemsNatural Monopolies (IPEM) calculated the cost of implementing a high-speed Hyperloop system project between the two largest cities in Russia - Moscow and St. Petersburg. The document is published on the website of the Institute. Brief conclusions of experts: building is expensive, impractical, and only the rich can use it.
What is Hyperloop?
High-speed transport design ideaSystem Hyperloop proposed American businessman Ilon Musk back in 2012. The concept implies the construction of vacuum tunnels between cities for capsules moving at speeds from 500 to 1220 km / h, which is much faster than any trains used today.
According to IPEM specialists, for the pastSince the launch of the project, Ilona Mask, several companies have emerged that have decided to implement the idea of such a high-speed transport system. But the real assessment of the cost of tickets was made only in isolated cases.
For example, the American company Virgin HyperloopOne in 2018 announced the construction of a 90 km long Pune-Mumbai tunnel. The price of a ticket in a capsule should be $ 142 (with $ 16.5 on an ordinary train). Travel time between these cities will be reduced from 3.5 hours to 25 minutes.
The first station Hyperloop in Europe was supposed toappear in the Finnish city of Salo, between Helsinki and Stockholm. The distance of 500 kilometers was supposed to be overcome in 28 minutes. The Hyperloop system is also going to be built in Dubai.
Also interesting: How do the creators of Hyperloop see the future?
In February 2018, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraineannounced the construction of the Hyperloop line "Kiev - Odessa" with a length of 480 km. Evaluation by experts of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future showed that the cost of the project will be 3.6 billion dollars. And with a payback period of 30 years, the ticket price should be at least 4,384 hryvnias (10,935 rubles).
The cost of Hyperloop in Russia
In Russia, the idea of building Hypeloop was also considered. Projects in the Far East were proposed, as well as the construction of a line between Moscow and Sochi, as well as between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The last option became the object of analysisspecialists of the Institute of Natural Monopolies. According to the researchers, based on the cost of building 1 kilometer of the transport system, the minimum cost of creating a Hyperloop tunnel between Moscow and St. Petersburg will be at least 1.18 trillion rubles. For its payback period of 20 years, the daily passenger traffic should be 4.7-14.2 thousand people a day with different versions of the system and the capacity of the capsules.
Specialists carried out the calculation of passenger traffic withconsidering the assumption of 100% capsule occupancy. Depending on the scenario, it can reach 5.2 million people per year, which is comparable to the traffic volume on Sapsan trains.
Travel time with acceleration and decelerationwill be 33 minutes. In Sapsan, it is 3.5 hours. Calculations also show that one-way fare can reach 27.5 thousand rubles. This is comparable to the cost of a business class flight on the plane or the same luxury option in the Grand Express. The cost of an economy class ticket for Sapsan can be 4-6 thousand rubles, a business class - about 13 thousand.
With the support of the state, experts say, the price of a ticket can drop to 16.1 thousand rubles. However, this cost will still be high for an ordinary passenger.
"The main consumer of the transport systemWith a calculated ticket price, Hyperloop can only be a business community and a population with a high level of prosperity, but this audience will not be able to provide the passenger traffic necessary to pay for the project in the foreseeable future. In this regard, the construction of the Hyperloop system between Moscow and St. Petersburg with the expectation of operating income seems inappropriate, even though there is a significant need for increased transportation between the two agglomerations, ”the experts sum up.
Also interesting: Hyperloop passengers will see the world through electronic windows.
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