Work starts on Hyperloop supersonic transport test track in CaliforniaJan 25(AZINS) Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has been granted permission to build an 8km test track in California, bringing the firm's supersonic transportation project one step closer to reality. This venture is not to be confused with the project simultaneously being developed by Hyperloop Technologies, a direct rival in the race to get this futuristic transport solution off the ground.

Originally proposed as an idea by Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur and founder of Tesla Motors, in 2013, a Hyperloop is a transportation system in which pressurised passenger capsules shoot through reduced-pressure tubes at over 1,220kmph -- almost as fast as the speed of sound. Hyperloops could one day be used to connect cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles which, although located almost 600km apart, could make the journey in just half an hour. The first operating passenger services are aiming to open by 2020.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is due to start work on a test track in Quay Valley, Kings County, California, to test out the possibilities of this technology with a life-sized model. As well as promising the fastest ever passenger transport system, Hyperloop claims to be more environmentally friendly and cost-effective to build. The tube-based system would also remain unaffected by weather events, meaning no delays or damage to the route from adverse conditions.

Hyperloop Technologies is expected to build its own similar test circuit soon, on land recently purchased by the company in Nevada.