Hyperloop: First public test of proposed high-speed transport system
An high speed transportation system which aims to whisk passengers at speeds of up to 750mph has been tested in America.
US firm Hyperloop One said that it had completed its first public test of the system - which travels through low pressure tubes - at 100mph on Wednesday.
During the seconds-long test, the start-up accelerated a test vehicle known as a "sled" down a 1,500ft rail track in a desert near Las Vegas.
And using the same motor it could enable a more aerodynamic vehicle in a friction-less tube to hit speeds of 700mph, the firm claimed.
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk unveiled his plans to create the crash-proof supersonic transport system back in 2013.
He visualised pods of up to 28 people rocketing through a solar-powered network across vast distances.
Mr Musk claimed the Hyperloop One system could get travellers from Los Angeles to San Francisco, some 350 miles away, in just 30 minutes.
Under the current design, electromagnetic propulsion technology would levitate the pods on a small cushion of air in the fully autonomous, electric-powered system.
Recently Hyperloop One announced it raised had £55m in funding from investors including France's state-owned railway company, SNCF.