Banff 
Credit: Transpod
The Alberta government has announced that it will support a proposal to build a hyperloop transport system capable of whisking passengers in an elevated tube between Edmonton and Calgary at 1,000 kilometres per hour.
But the memorandum of understanding signed with project proponent TransPod doesn’t involve any financial commitment or endorsements by the province, and the system is still years away from being tested and built.
The Toronto-based company, which first announced it would seek Alberta provincial backing in 2017 when the NDP was in power, said the agreement will allow it to attract private investment for what would be a multibillion-dollar infrastructure project.
It aims to conduct a feasibility study over the next two years, move into a research and development phase until 2024, then build a test track and conduct tests until 2027 before completing the full 300-kilometre line between Edmonton and Calgary.
The phases of the Alberta TransPod project are as follows:
- Short-term: feasibility study (2020-2022)
- Short-term: research and development phase (2020-2024)
- Medium-term: test track construction and high-speed tests (2022-2027)
- Long-term: construction of a full inter-city line between Edmonton and Calgary (to begin in 2025)
The company envisions low-pressure sealed tubes suspended above ground on concrete posts allowing magnetically levitated pods within to transport passengers and cargo between Calgary and Edmonton in about 30 minutes.
The province will provide information contributing to the research, development, testing and eventual construction of the TransPod line, said Alberta Transportation Minister Ric McIver.
