Who needs high speed trains?

[Cartoonist]

When you can have magnetic cars.

[SKKY]

1. The Hyperloop is basically a better design of this very thing....

...the only difference being the vacuum sealed tube that reduces friction, allowing for faster speeds.

[cstanleytech]

2. Makes sense for some cities but I am not sure if its a wise choice for cities

like San Francisco or LA due to the issue of earthquakes potentially breaking the seals thus potentially breaking the vacuum.

[SKKY]

3. I think the intention is to connect major cities...

...LA to San Fran, Miami to Orlando, Seattle to Portland, etc. And ironically enough, it was LA traffic that gave Elon Musk the idea. Go figure.

[cstanleytech]

4. Still that part of the country is prone to numerous quakes so wouldn't that be

a problem?

[SKKY]

5. I mean, sure, but technology today allows for structural integrity that can easily...

...survive an earthquake. How many buildings have collapsed in San Fran due to an earthquake? Not many. Seattle survived the 2001 earthquake (6.8 magnitude) quite well. Some road and parking garage damage, but fairly unscathed on the whole. Plus, the modular nature of it, as I understand the current plans, make it fairly easy to repair/rebuild should a section be damaged.

[airplaneman]

6. 1932 so why don't we have one. n/t.

[Cartoonist]

7. Big Oil

They don't want to lose any market share.

[krispos42]

8. This was in a Robert Heinlein book,

I forget which one, but it was a young adult book, and the main character would go watch the cars leap across a ravine or canyon or something at very high speed.