Toronto to Montreal in 39 minutes? Futuristic people mover zips to next stage

A futuristic tubesystem that would sling passengers from Toronto to Montreal via Ottawa in 39 minutes has been chosen as the strongest Canadian contender to put what is for now a technologicaltheory into practice.

A "hyperloop" uses electric propulsionto move magnetically levitatedpods through low-pressure tubes,eliminatingair resistance and friction, and enabling the pods to travel at a velocityapproaching the speed of sound.

• Hyperloop technology will revolutionize transportation, but it has to get off the ground first
• Hyperloop One technology tested successfully in Nevada desert

Elon Musk,CEOof Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, introduced the hyperloop idea in 2013 and encouraged people and companies to expand on it.

Acompany called Hyperloop One, which is unaffiliated with Musk, is working to commercialize Musk's concept. Itintroduced a global challenge in May 2016, callingfor proposals for real worldhyperloopnetworks. About 2,600 teams registered to take up the challenge, the company said.

Sole Canadian winner

On Thursday, HyperloopOne announced the10winning proposals, chosen from a list 35 finalists.

The Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal route is the only Canadian winner. The company claims the high-speed train wouldtransport passengers from Ottawa to Montreal in 12 minutes, or from Toronto to Ottawa in 27 minutes.

The Canadian route wasbrought forward by a team called HyperCan, which, according to Hyperloop's websiteisled by AECOM, an American multinational engineering firm that has also been involved in the construction of Ottawa's light rail system.

So what happens next?

According to a media release issued Thursday, HyperloopOnewill now work with the 10 winning teams "to validate and analyze their proposals further, and provide initial ridership forecasts, business case and preliminary technical analysis of the route and corridor, tailored to the needs of the individual route."

"The results of the Hyperloop One Global Challenge far exceeded our expectations,"Rob Lloyd, CEO of Hyperloop One, is quoted saying in the release.

"We had tremendous interest in this competition, and these 10teams each had their unique strengths in showcasing how they will alleviate serious transportation issues in their regions."

Other winning routes

• Mexico: Mexico City toGuadalajara.
• U.S.: Chicago to Columbus to Pittsburgh.
• U.S.: Dallas to Laredo to Houston, Texas.
• U.S.: Cheyenne to Denver to Pueblo, Colorado.
• U.S.: Miami to Orlando, Florida.
• India: Bengaluru(Bangalore) to Chennai.
• India: Mumbai to Chennai.
• U.K.: Edinburgh to London.
• U.K.: Glasgow to Liverpool.