When the idea of the Hyperloop was first made public back in 2013, most people thought that it was a really interesting idea, but one that would never become more than just an idea. However, it’s looking more and more like that idea could become a reality, as SpaceX has chosen one of the world’s largest infrastructure firms to build the first Hyperloop test track later this year. The track will be used for the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition, which will have students design their own Hyberloop pods and then compete against other designs in order to see which one is the best.
While Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is still deciding who will build their own Hyperloop test track, SpaceX has already chosen the company that will build theirs later this year. Aecom, one of the world’s largest infrastructure firms, announced today that it has been given the task of designing and building the first Hyperloop test track for Elon Musk’s company. Some of Aecom’s previous projects include the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York; the Abu Dhabi International Airport, and the Ottawa Light Rail Transit in Ottawa, Ontario. “Aecom has designed and built some of the world’s most impressive transportation systems, so we appreciate how the development of a functioning Hyperloop with SpaceX can dramatically expand the ways people move across cities, countries and continents,” said Aecom CEO Michael S. Burke in a statement. The one mile long track is being built as part of the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition, and will be used to test the transport pod prototypes currently being designed by university students. The track’s six-foot diameter steel tube will include a non-magnetic sub-track and run adjacent to SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California.