BENDIGO residents could reach Melbourne in just 15 minutes if new technology is adopted in Australia.
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Hyperloop travel relies on electric propulsion through a low pressure tube. Vehicles are suspended within the tube with magnetic levitation.
Virgin One Hyperloop director of product management Sara Luchian floated the possibility of super-fast trips between Bendigo and the capital. The company estimates passenger vehicles would travel at 1080 kilometres per our at top speed.
Ms Luchian said Australia's geography - major cities, spread far apart, with large populations and high housing prices - was ideal for the new transport technology.
She said the concept of hyperloop was a mass transportation solution, that addressed congestion, traffic, and increasing emissions.
Be.Bendigo chief executive Dennis Bice said the "absolutely" needed a quicker transport link with Melbourne, whether it was hyperloop or very fast rail.
The trip from Bendigo to central Melbourne takes about two hours on the existing rail system.
"It's going to be imperative to the growth and development of regional cities that there is some sort of fast travel option," Mr Bice said.
"Major cities like Melbourne and Sydney can't keep growing at the rate they're growing, so there's an opportunity for regional cities to take advantage of that."
Mr Bice said being able to connect more quickly with Melbourne would mean opportunities for business within Bendigo. He said faster transport links would help to attract more people to Bendigo, and create jobs as the city grew.
A fast-transport link could help existing businesses to grow, while possibly opening up new options, Mr Bice said.
Ms Luchian said the hyperloop project was still in its testing phase, the next step being obtaining approval from regulators.
She said the company was on track to launch passenger bearing operations by the end of the 2020s.
A hyperloop track would allow passengers to travel direct from one destination to the other uninterrupted by stops along the way. Ms Luchian said everyone getting into a hyperloop pod would be travelling to the same place. Exit-ramp-like offshoots on the main line would take passengers to their destination.
Ms Luchian said the hyperloop was flexible and safe, with elevated or below ground infrastructure, a low geographic footprint and no crossings on ground level, avoiding the problems often posed by high speed rail.
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