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Cleveland hyperloop benefits would justify $29.8 billion price tag: study

Posted Dec 15, 2019

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Benefits would justify $29.8 billion cost of Cleveland hyperloop line, according to study to be unveiled Monday
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By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio — A high-speed hyperloop line that could zoom passengers through a vacuum tube from Cleveland to Chicago and Pittsburgh could cost from $24.7 billion to $29.8 billion to build, depending on variations in the route and stops along the way.
But the profits and economic benefits would justify the expense and attract the substantial private investment needed to make it happen.
Those statements are among the key assertions of an 18-month, $1.3 million feasibility analysis scheduled for release Monday by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and Los Angeles-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies.
The report, led by TEMS, a consulting firm based in Frederick, Maryland, constitutes what the authors believe is the most extensive hyperloop feasibility analysis released publicly to date, anywhere, said NOACA Executive Director Grace Gallucci, who discussed some of the report’s core findings ahead of Monday.
A hyperloop system would consist of large-scale vacuum tubes with magnetic-levitation tracks that would carry capsules with 28 to 40 passengers at speeds of up to 760 mph.
First envisioned by entrepreneur Elon Musk as a high-speed alternative to other modes of transportation, hyperloop has yet to be proven safe for human travel. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, or HTT, is testing capsules on a track in Toulouse, France.
Hyperloop projects are under study in Europe, the Middle East and corridors in the U.S., including a Pittsburgh-Columbus-Chicago route.
On the basis of the new report, Gallucci said she would recommend that the Cleveland region should participate in further studies that could lead to construction as soon as 2023, with the understanding that the bulk of the costs would be borne by private investors.
“I am sold to move to the next step,’’ Gallucci said.
“I think there’s enough evidence in the feasibility study to suggest we should move forward as a region in order to leverage the work that we’ve already done and to capitalize on the momentum of hyperloop nationally and internationally,” Gallucci said.
But she emphasized that the impetus for hyperloop is coming from the private sector.
“NOACA’s not trying to push this,” she said. “NOACA wants to be part of the innovation and a leader, but that’s very different from pushing it. This is not our agenda.”
The report will state that a Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh route could be up and running by 2028, following six years of construction.
But to get there, the technology would need to be reviewed and approved by agencies including the U.S. Department of Transportation, Gallucci said.
Next steps would include conducting a peer review of the feasibility study, consisting of comments from transportation scholars and other experts. Also, NOACA will conduct a 45-day period to collect public comments. Comments can be made at the NOACA website.
Beyond that, an environmental impact study would be required, accompanied by a preliminary engineering design and additional economic studies, Gallucci said.
“The next step is not yet building it,’’ she said. “It is still reviewing the technology and collaborating with others and getting USDOT to approve it.”
Three variations under consideration for the Cleveland to Chicago route include:
· A 315-mile, nonstop route costing $65.8 million per mile that could pass over or under portions of lakes Erie and Michigan. Travel time would be just under 32 minutes, according to a NOACA summary.
· A 330-mile route costing $51 million a mile. It would follow interstate highways and include stops in Toledo and South Bend, Indiana. Travel time would be about 47 minutes.
· A 337-mile route costing $48.5 million a mile. It would combine highways with other rights-of-way, including railroads and utilities, and would include only Toledo. The travel time would be about 36 minutes.
A Cleveland-Pittsburgh leg with a stop in North Lima would cost $60.5 million a mile. With a stop in Youngstown, the cost would be $64.2 million a mile. Those routes would run 139 miles and 142 miles, respectively.
The travel times on those routes, in minutes, would be 24:04 and 18:58, respectively.
Gallucci said that as of Wednesday, information on the potential cost of hyperloop fares and other details were still being reviewed.
In November, NOACA said that the feasibility study showed that a Cleveland-Chicago hyperloop route would add 900,000 jobs to the region between 2025 and 2050.
During that same period, hyperloop would increase income along the Cleveland-Chicago-Pittsburgh route by $47.6 billion, expand the tax base of affected communities by $12.7 billion and increase property values, mostly through new development, by nearly $75 billion. Of that increase, $15 billion would be realized mostly within a 20-block radius around the Cleveland station on the line.
Gallucci described hyperloop as a privately funded and operated alternative to high-speed rail lines operated by the government.
She said it could help strengthen the Great Lakes region as a unified labor market, making it possible to live in one city and commute to another.
Fares on the routes would be designed to make such commutes affordable for regular travelers, she said.
Hyperloop could also carry freight including mail, electronics, pharmaceuticals and other valuable, packaged products, Gallucci said.
Brook Park Mayor Mike Gammella, a NOACA board member and a member of a technical advisory committee on hyperloop, said it was imperative that the region should participate, if hyperloop becomes a reality.
“It’s something that would be fantastic for all of Northeast Ohio and we’ve got to capitalize on the opportunity,” he said. “It will make us a bedroom of Chicago and bring in the young professionals we need.”
Additional hyperloop coverage by Steven Litt
- Hyperloop study shows potential for big economic gains, fast travel from Cleveland to Chicago
- Is hyperloop hyped in Ohio? Critics say yes, but planners say it’s time to explore the technology
- Hyperloop executive doubles down at NOACA meeting on 3- to 5-year estimate for construction
- NOACA signs agreement with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to explore Cleveland-Chicago routes