Fort Wayne could be included in a project that would send travelers or cargo to Chicago or Columbus, Ohio quicker than a typical flight, according to Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly.
A feasibility study is underway by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, which includes plans for a hyperloop as well as conventional passenger-rail routes which would run from Chicago to Columbus to Pittsburgh.
Hyperloop uses electric propulsion to move pods through a low-pressure tube. This new mode of transportation utilizes an ultra-low aerodynamic drag that allows pods to glide along at very high speeds as they float above the track using magnetic levitation.
A typical flight between Fort Wayne and Chicago lasts about an hour and a half in the air, plus 45 minutes from gate to gate. With hyperloop, a trip between Fort Wayne to Chicago, or Fort Wayne to Columbus, is predicted to be less than 15 minutes total.
The hyperloop route will also include the Ohio cities of Lima and Marysville.
HTBN Corp. was hired to conduct an Alternatives Analysis and Public Involvement Process required by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
City staff in Fort Wayne have been helping with research, and the city has provided $200,000 in county economic-development income-tax funding for the analysis.
The FRA expects the study to be completed this spring.
