Hyperloop One's bankruptcy: the end of super-fast trains or just a setback?

It was in 2013 when Elon Musk proposed his concept for a new generation transportation system. He suggested a network of vacuum tubes in which "pods" would move using magnetic levitation. This innovative solution was designed to transport people and goods at incredible speeds - about 621 miles per hour or faster.

Despite scepticism about whether such a concept could be actualized, many start-ups appeared, eager to undertake this endeavor. Among those, Hyperloop One stood with the highest potential for success. Armed with an idea, funding, and a plan - to link Europe to China, making freight transport possible within a single day. However, almost a decade later, it's clear that these ambitious goals will not come to fruition as the company has officially filed for bankruptcy.

It's worth mentioning that the company, due to a substantial investment from an international group spearheaded by Richard Branson between 2017 and 2022, was rebranded to Virgin Hyperloop One. Last year, however, the "title sponsor" withdrew discreetly, and the Hyperloop One team (now without "Virgin" in its name) decided to stop the development of the passenger transport project and shifted focus to cargo. Originally, the plan was to engineer a transport solution suitable for both needs.

Based on information obtained by the Bloomberg agency, the company has been struggling with financial issues for a while. Despite being in the public eye for numerous years, it hasn't secured a single contract for the construction of a full-size Hyperloop system. Prospects for improvement were bleak, leading to bankruptcy being declared with most of the workforce being laid off. The remaining staff is set to retire by the end of 2023.

Does Hyperloop One's bankruptcy mark the end of the vision of a super-fast train of the future? Not necessarily. Ten companies are still determined to turn this concept into reality. Among these are the American Hyperloop Transportation Technologies and Hyperloop Genesis, Dutch Delft Hyperloop and Hardt Global Mobility, Chinese CASIC, Spanish Zeleros, Italian Hyperloop Italia, Swiss Swisspod Technologies, Indian DGWHyperloop, and Canadian-French TransPod.

However, a decade later, outside of few minor test tracks, little progress has been made. Records continue to be broken, problems are being tackled, but the full-scale Hyperloop network still seems far off. If it will ever come to be is yet to be seen. That said, a technological revolution in railway transportation shouldn't altogether be dismissed.