One of the most remarkable infrastructures in Las Vegas is the Hyperloop underground tunnel network made by The Elon Musk-owned Boring Company, which received the city's approval for its expansion with 21 new stations.
The Vegas Loop has been approved to be expanded to a 68-mile or 109-kilometer tunnel network, with all the stations to be located within the city's boundaries.
While there are still no trains yet, The Boring Company's Hyperloop tunnels, like the one in Las Vegas, prove to be an ideal and extremely useful public transportation system by moving electric vehicles (EVs) at high speeds more efficiently inside them.
The company has already been working on several proposals for the Hyperloop transportation system to connect cities over longer distances.
Vegas Loop Expansion: 68-Mile Plan Approved by the City
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that The Boring Company's planned expansion for the Loop has received approval from the Las Vegas Council. The initial plan for the Vegas Loop was only for 51 stations and 29 miles.
But following the expansion approval, The Boring Company plans to build 81 stations and 68 miles of tunnels in Las Vegas for Tesla and other EVs to drive into, the longest the company will develop for its country-wide underground tunnel network operations.
In the past weeks, The Boring Company has also revealed that the tunnel and station between the Encore and the Las Vegas Convention Center were already under construction and set to open during the first quarter of 2024.
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Elon Musk's Proposal
Elon Musk's proposal to build an underground transit system stemmed from his concern about vehicle congestion in large cities. He pondered making the Loop and developing high-speed trains after he was caught in a traffic jam in 2016.
However, the train remains a concept after many years, while Musk's Tesla launched EVs to transport passengers through the tunnels.
The Boring Company's Hyperloop Transportation System
If the surface is already congested, why not try going underneath? The underground Hyperloop transportation system is Elon Musk's answer to this question, as heavy traffic is happening in many big cities.
For many years now, Las Vegas has been a testament to Musk's idea and has been contributing to the city with the renowned Vegas Loop. In Sin City alone, it promises a ride from the airport to the Las Vegas Convention Center in under two minutes, faster than one's average drive without traffic.
The Boring Company does not focus on one location alone, as it aims to expand its tunnels to more cities in the United States or inter-city travel in the future.
Vegas Loop's success is only proof that tunnels in the country would work, and it will continue beyond the city as the company is eyeing an expansion to more locations.