Democratic Party Proposes 'HyperTube' for Seoul~Busan in 16 Minutes with K-New Deal

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The ruling party has proposed that Elon Musk's concept and Tesla's development of the magnetic levitation ultra-high-speed vacuum train, the "Hyperloop," should be actively promoted as one of the future growth engines. Once commercialized, the Hyperloop could travel from Seoul to Busan in 16 minutes. In South Korea, the Korea Railroad Research Institute has been conducting research since 2016.

On the 13th, the Democratic Party's K-New Deal Headquarters visited the Korea Railroad Research Institute located in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, to inspect the site and hold a policy meeting. Attendees included K-New Deal Headquarters Chief Lee Kwang-jae, fellow party members Yang Hyang-ja, Maeng Seong-gyu, Lee So-young, Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam Province, and railway officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Representative Lee stated that the Hyperloop should be promoted as one of the K-New Deal projects, calling it "a future challenge that Elon Musk and President Moon Jae-in should join hands to tackle together." He pledged to focus efforts on expanding government and private sector technological cooperation and investment. The Hyperloop is a train that runs inside a tube with a near-vacuum pressure of about 0.001 atmospheres, traveling at speeds close to the speed of sound (1,220 km/h). Atmospheric pressure at ground level is 1 atmosphere, about 0.26 atmospheres at 10 km altitude, and 0.001 atmospheres above 50 km. Minimizing air resistance is the key.

In November last year, the Korea Railroad Research Institute achieved a speed of 1,019 km/h in a speed test using a self-developed scaled-down tube aerodynamic test device. This secured the fundamental design technology for the Hyperloop, which is faster than international flights traveling at speeds of 800 to 1,000 km/h.

If the Hyperloop is connected nationwide in an X shape, it could create a commuter living zone where major cities are reachable within 30 minutes. Gyeongnam Province is reportedly interested in this as a means to promote development in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (PK) region, which is less developed compared to the metropolitan area.

Scaled-down tube aerodynamic test device for HyperTube driving test. Source: Korea Railroad Research Institute

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.