This landed on my desk a week ago and I’ve been spending some time reading it. It’s, well, interesting.
My skepticism, and then dislike, of Elon Musk’s hypeloop is pretty well known here and I’m not shy about it anywhere, since it does come up in my business life. Since proposed in 2013, a number of start-ups have popped up and an annual pod contest is conducted in the desert. Also, a lot of start-ups have failed in those five years. But, at least according to media reports over the last five years, governments still have an interest (including at least one cash-strapped tolling commission I’m intimately acquainted with looking for a new revenue stream), so it’s still hanging in there, with quite a few places shelling out money to study its feasibility. Also, since we’re here, the speeds of the pods travelling their (near) vacuum tube keep dropping, from the promised 700 miles an hour to 150 miles an hour in this particular case (it’s also not a vacuum tube)---we’ll get to that.
One such project is the Boring Company’s hypeloop between Washington DC and Baltimore, Maryland. It has a champion in Maryland’s current governor, Larry Hogan, who also wants to widen all the freeways in the state because someone lied to him (and several other DOTs who believe widening reduces congestion—it NEVER, EVER does) that induced demand does not exist. Well, it does.
At any rate, there’s a lot of interesting stuff in the draft environmental impact statement (EIS), such as:
- The tunnels won’t be vacuum sealed.
- The pods won’t be flying at 700 miles an hour
- They’re also not pods. They’re autonomous electric
cars vehicles (AEVs)
- They’ll actually be flying through them at 150 miles an hour
- Station limitations will cap usage at 1,000 passengers per day
- It actually is honest (on page 21) that the “future of hyperloop technology is currently unknown.”
I find this interesting because one MARC train—a double deck MARC train at that-- can carry 1,000+ passengers on the same route, and such trains run from 4AM to 9:30PM almost every day between Baltimore and Washington, at roughly half-hour intervals (more so in the morning). I also find it interesting that we already have technology that can propel that same train, carrying 1,000 passengers with no station limitations, at the exact same speed necessary. All we have to do is not bore a few billion-dollar-plus tunnels between DC and Baltimore, hoping cheap right-of-way comes available on and beneath government owned property, but upgrade the already existing infrastructure. I’ll also note here that Mr. Hogan seems to also like maglev which is still faster than most current hypeloop test runs, and some time ago was interested in having the Japanese come to build one in the same corridor. Not sure what happened with that.
Increasingly this concept seems lost on many politicians across the board by the way unless highway expansion is involved, and that also too, unfortunately, is not a Republicans-only field. Virginia officials were not impressed, however, calling it a “car in a very small tunnel” when they visited Boring’s test track in Los Angeles. Because the AEVs sound like they will carry few passengers, this Loop sounds like it will appeal to wealthy people who don’t want to drive because of the traffic, but also don’t want to sit on MARC or Amtrak (or the many, many bus options) with, well, other people.
Anyway I didn’t just write this up to criticize. Here’s your opportunity to comment. Love this and stan the f out of it? Drop a comment. Hate it and see this as a really idiotic use of government resources? Drop a comment. I don’t necessarily mean here (although I’m sure I’ll get a lecture from someone that will entertain all of us!), I mean at the following link, where you can also read the entire EIS yourself.
If you’re in DC or Baltimore you can also do the following to comment and review hard copies:
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of projects that require federal funding, approvals, or permits prior to making decisions. When a new project is initiated and the potential for environmental effects is not yet known, an Environmental Assessment (EA) is prepared. An EA provides public officials with relevant information and analysis for determining whether to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). NEPA requires federal agencies to seek comment from the public on the proposed Project prior to making decisions. The Washington D.C. to Baltimore Loop Project Draft EA has been prepared in compliance with NEPA and is currently available to the public for a 45-day period which will end on June 10, 2019. A copy of the Draft EA is available for download here. Hard copies of the Draft EA will be available for review between the hours of 9am and 3pm at the following locations by appointment only:
FHWA - Maryland Division | 31 Hopkins Plaza Baltimore, MD 21201 | For an appointment call: (410) 692-4440
FHWA - District of Columbia Division | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, East Building Washington, DC 20590 | For an appointment call: (202) 493-7020
Hard copies of the Draft EA were also sent to the following libraries and community centers. Hard copies of the EA should be available by May 3, 2019. Please check each respective location for hours of operation and EA availability:
Enoch Pratt Free Library | 400 Cathedral Street Baltimore, MD 21201
Accokeek Branch Library | 15773 Livingston Road Accokeek, MD 20607
Bowie Branch Library | 15210 Annapolis Road Bowie, MD 20715
Bowie Community Center | 3209 Stonybrook Drive Bowie, MD 20715
Bowie State University Library | 14000 Jericho Park Road Bowie, MD 20715
Brooklyn Park Community Library | 1 East 11th Avenue Baltimore, MD 21225
Capitol College Library | 11301 Springfield Road Laurel, MD 20708
Lansdowne Branch Library | 500 Third Avenue Lansdowne, MD 21227
Largo-Kettering Branch Library | 9601 Capital Lane Largo, MD 20774
Laurel Branch Library | 507 7th Street Laurel, MD 20707
Glenarden Library | 8724 Glenarden Parkway Glenarden, MD 20706
Maryland City at Russett Community Library | 3501 Russett Common Laurel, MD 20724
Severn Community Library | 2624 Annapolis Road Severn, MD 21144
Washington Village Branch Library | 856 Washington Blvd Baltimore, MD 21230
West County Area Branch Library | 1325 Annapolis Rd Odenton, MD 21113
You can also mail your comments in.
Ms. Donna Buscemi
Project Sponsor Liaison
Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration
Office of Planning and Preliminary Engineering
707 N. Calvert Street, MS C-301
Baltimore, MD 21202
The comment period ends on June 10th.