Delft Hyperloop demonstrates lane switch technology
Hyperloop test facility at Delft University of Technology.
In June 2024, Delft Hyperloop showcased their hyperloop pod taking a lane switch during a highly anticipated demonstration event. The Delft Hyperloop Helios III pod successfully took a lane switch whilst being levitated in a scaled hyperloop test infrastructure of 63 meters in length. The significance of a lane switch for the hyperloop is clearly essential, as it will allow for the new transport mode to go in different directions. Cem Celikas, Team Captain of Delft Hyperloop, stated that “the achievement of successfully testing lane switch is an essential requirement for a future hyperloop network in Europe.”
European Hyperloop Week 2024
The lane switch will be demonstrated again during the European Hyperloop Week, which will take place in Switzerland this summer. The Demonstration Day of Delft Hyperloop was not limited to the lane switch technology, but also included presentations on research that has been performed on the infrastructure.
Design of hyperloop station and network
During the event that took place at the Technological University of Delft the design team presented a new design of how a future hyperloop station at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport could be implemented. The design is aimed at creating a seamless journey for passengers who travel with hyperloop to the airport and continue their journey by air. The hyperloop as a new transport mode will eventually become part of a European transport network. Delft Hyperloop also looked into a network of airports that could be connected with each other by hyperloop to facilitate better connections and unburden capacity constraints at busy airports.
Hyperloop station design by Delft Hyperloop.
Evolving technology
Since its start, hyperloop technology developers within the Hyperloop Development Program have worked on lane switch technology. In 2019, the first lane switch was also developed and demonstrated in Delft. This successful test was performed within a single low-pressure tube of 30 meters in length. In 2024, at the European Hyperloop Center, lane switch technology will be tested within an enclosed test infrastructure of 420 meters in length.
About Delft Hyperloop
Founded in 2016, Delft Hyperloop is a student team that is continuously developing a climate-neutral, scalable hyperloop system. Every academic year the team composition changes. Since September 2023, Delft Hyperloop VIII is working towards their participation in the European Hyperloop Week that will take place in Switzerland in July 2024.
For further information, please contact:
Steef van Marwijk Kooy, smarwijkkooy@delfthyperloop.nl