Hyperloop coming?

2/4/2018
An image released by Tesla Motors, is a sketch of the Hyperloop capsule with passengers onboard.
An image released by Tesla Motors, is a sketch of the Hyperloop capsule with passengers onboard.

Why not the Hyperloop for northern Ohio?

U.S. Rep Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), whose district includes West Cleveland, has signed onto a letter asking President Donald Trump to include $20 million in next year’s budget to study the Hyperloop.

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She is one of three Cleveland-area congressmen joining the effort to promote research of the futuristic concept here in Ohio.

The Hyperloop is a giant pneumatic tube that would transport capsules carrying people at speeds up to 760 mph — theoretically making possible a half-hour commute from Cleveland to Chicago for only $20. That is according to the letter signed by Miss Kaptur and eight other congressmen.

There was no mention of it stopping to pick up riders in Toledo. At 760 mph, the Hyperloop would still be accelerating by the time Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza loomed into view.

The benefits of the Hyperloop are many, including low environmental impact, and energy savings. It would also greatly reduce the stress of commuting.

The money requested by Miss Kaptur would be used for transportation research, which is something the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency — Cleveland’s version of the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments — is involved in.

There would be no bonus for Toledo if the Hyperloop came to Cleveland. But a large chunk of Ohio would benefit.

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