Gatwick to Heathrow in three minutes

Backed by Richard Branson, Virgin Hyperloop One is developing a project that could reduce actual transfer time between Heathrow and Gatwick to just 3min, a conference in London hosted by the Financial Times heard last week.

The idea is not as fanciful as you might think, with the Branson-backed company already having signed a contact with the Indian state of Maharashtra for a link between Mumbai and Pune airports to be tested in 2021 and up and operating by 2025.

Hyperloop is a 4.7m tube that hosts passenger pods that are boosted to near the speed of sound for their short journey. The tube can be above or below ground level. While any UK activity is some way off, in places such as India and in the Gulf States planning is much simpler and practical.

An example was shown with such a system based in London where each pod is designated for an individual town and ready to welcome the traveller. 

While the scheme on first observation seems far-fetched, who would have imagined just 25 years ago the power, or even existence, of the internet?

Between 1978 and 1986, British Caledonian Airways operated a helicopter service between Gatwick and Heathrow with a flight time of 15min. Currently, BA recommends allowing 3hr.

https://hyperloop-one.com

https://live.ft.com/Events/2018/FT-Business-of-Aerospace-Aviation-Summit

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OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

Philip Smith, Maidenhead

3 minutes from LHR to LGW assumes some things that are extremely unlikely if not physically impossible. The straight line distance between the two is about 40 Km. Accelerating and decelerating at 1/3 g which is more than usually assumed in passenger transport and with a speed limit of 760 mph, very close to the speed of sound, the travel time is 3 minutes 42 seconds. In real life the acceleration and deceleration should be a more realistic 0.1 g and the top speed, let us say, 670 mph. That gives a minimum travel time of about 7 minutes 13 seconds. This would be very satisfactory, but neither the acceleration and more particularly the deceleration will be constant and it allows no time for opening and closing doors and so on. It also seem unlikely that a straight line route is feasible let alone affordable. The hyperloop is a wonderful concept but it is a shame that it is being promoted with unrealistic travel times that are sure to result in disappointment.

Philip Smith, Maidenhead

3 minutes from LHR to LGW assumes some things that are extremely unlikely if not physically impossible. The straight line distance between the two is about 40 Km. Accelerating and decelerating at 1/3 g which is more than usually assumed in passenger transport and with a speed limit of 760 mph, very close to the speed of sound, the travel time is 3 minutes 42 seconds. In real life the acceleration and deceleration should be a more realistic 0.1 g and the top speed, let us say, 670 mph. That gives a minimum travel time of about 7 minutes 13 seconds. This would be very satisfactory, but neither the acceleration and more particularly the deceleration will be constant and it allows no time for opening and closing doors and so on. It also seem unlikely that a straight line route is feasible let alone affordable. The hyperloop is a wonderful concept but it is a shame that it is being promoted with unrealistic travel times that are sure to result in disappointment.