The end goal is a high-speed network pushing freight from China to Europe.

Hyperloop One has teamed up with the city of Moscow and a local company to explore bringing the Hyperloop to Russia. The trio will investigate how and where such high-speed transportation can be integrated into the country's existing transport network. Since Moscow itself has a population of 16 million people, cheap, quick and reliable mass transit is always worthy of further study. But the wider picture is that Hyperloop One views this as the first step on building a new high-speed freight link between Europe and China.

As co-founder Shervin Pishevar explains, Hyperloop could form the backbone of a "transformative new Silk Road: a cargo Hyperloop that whisks freight containers from China to Europe in a day." That would reduce shipping times from weeks (as it currently stands) and lighten the load on container ships. It helps, too, that the local company Hyperloop has partnered with is, essentially, the ideal company to actually build the system out.

Summa Group is an investment and construction conglomerate that can probably knock out a passable Hyperloop without any outside help. For instance, it already owns Russia's largest sea port, three different construction companies and a logistics company. Then there's the fact that it's already got its own oil-and-gas plant and experience of building oil pipelines -- sealed metal tubes that travel large distances across the country. Given that Hyperloop will also rely upon the same technology, such expertise will come in very handily indeed.

Source:
courtesy of ENGADGET

by Daniel Cooper

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