Colorado Picked As Finalist For Hyperloop Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS4) - A private company's push to move passengers through Colorado at speeds exceeding 700 mph using a pod and tube system is one step closer to reality.

Colorado Hyperloop successfully presented to Hyperloop One's panel of expert judges and advisors in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

The Los Angeles-based company announced the finalists Thursday. Two dozen other proposals outside the U.S. were picked from more than 2,000 worldwide.

There are three proposals from Colorado Hyperloop:

- One would span 360 miles and would connect Denver International Airport to Vail, Pueblo and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

- A second would run 242 miles and connect Cheyenne to Pueblo, with stops in Fort Collins, Greeley, Boulder, Castle Rock, Monument, and Colorado Springs, among others.

- A third would run 1,152 miles between Cheyenne and Houston, Texas.

Pods would run through tubes, much like an above-ground subway system, and use magnetic levitation to glide at speeds faster than airlines due to extremely low aerodynamic drag inside the tube.

Maps on the Colorado Hyperloop system say travel time between Denver and Colorado Springs would be cut down to six minutes, Fort Collins and Denver would be seven minutes, and Cheyenne and Houston would be 80 minutes.

Hyperloop One will pick three winners.

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