What’s the Status of Hyperloop Standardization?

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
In November, Virgin Hyperloop demonstrated for the first time with riders its hyperloop technology at the 500-meter DevLoop test site in Las Vegas (pictured).

In November, Virgin Hyperloop demonstrated for the first time with riders its hyperloop technology at the 500-meter DevLoop test site in Las Vegas (pictured).

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has released a status report on hyperloop standard development.

“Hyperloop Standards Desk Review”—sponsored by the Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council—serves to assess standardization activities, “begin a dialogue for future hyperloop standardization efforts, and identify stakeholder perspectives on the applicability of existing standards to domestic testing and deployment.” (Download below.) Based on this initial analysis, a preliminary framework of hyperloop system components and associated regulations and voluntary technical standards will be developed.

The USDOT expects to publish a Request for Comment soon.

The NETT Council was created in April 2019 as “an internal deliberative body to identify and resolve jurisdictional and regulatory gaps that may impede the deployment of new technologies, such as potential advances in tunneling technology and hyperloop.” In July 2020, the USDOT and NETT Council issued a “Pathways to the Future of Transportation” guidance document to “help private sector innovators understand the purpose, structure, and function of the NETT Council; lay out the principles guiding the Department’s policies and posture toward transformative technologies [including hyperloop]; and deliver a high-level overview of the federal framework for supporting non-traditional and emerging technologies.”

In November, Virgin Hyperloop demonstrated for the first time with riders its hyperloop technology at the 500-meter DevLoop test site in Las Vegas, where the company had previously run more than 400 unoccupied tests.

In related news, Hitachi Rail (Japan) has launched a technology partnership with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) in which its ERTMS signaling system will be adapted and integrated with HyperloopTT systems to manage and automate capsules traveling up to nearly 746 mph.

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE “HYPERLOOP STANDARDS DESK REVIEW”:

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