ContiTech supplying air springs for 'hyperloop' high-speed train

Hanover, Germany – Continental Corp. has supplied air springs to Dutch company Hardt for its first European hyperloop system, which will start trial runs soon.

The system, based on the principle of reducing the usual resistance of regular trains in tunnel-like tubes, will allow for the transport of people and goods at speeds of more than 1,200 km/h – similar to those achieved by aircraft.

Hardt, said a ContiTech statement, has completed its first Hyperloop test track in Europe – a 30-metre long track in Delft, The Netherlands. 

Capsules will “soon” be able to bullet through the tubes on a trial basis, said ContiTech, adding that 10 of its air springs are suspended in the hyperloop to provide “the sophisticated capsule running gear with secure bearings.”

The hyperloop can potentially reduce travel time between Stockholm and Madrid to less than three hours, compared to four hours by air. 

The advantage over air transport, according to ContiTech, is that the hyperloop is sustainable and efficient, with ‘far lower energy consumption’.

Over the next two years, a European Hyperloop Centre is set to be built, housing a research and development facility, an exhibition centre, an adventure centre and a three-kilometre test track. 

The centre will coordinate all European activities in the field of hyperloop technology, in order to ultimately standardise European hyperloop infrastructure.