Canadian hyperloop reels in half a billion PHOTO

Faster than a jet plane and about half the price. Yes, it's another hyperloop-style vacuum-tube train – this time from Canada.

TransPod says it's started preliminary construction on a tube that'll fire you from Calgary to Edmonton in 45 minutes, The New Atlas reports.    

Unveiled last week in Toronto, the TransPod FluxJet is more than just a masterclass in bicapitalization. This ultra-high-speed ground transport system promises "groundbreaking innovations in propulsion," clean energy compatibility, and "technological leaps in contactless power transmission and a new field of physicals called veillance flux."

At its heart, it's the same old promise people have been making since pneumatic-tube message delivery systems were the new hotness back in the 1800s. Minimize wind resistance by running a pod in a near-vacuum, and then fire people and goods across the country at speeds that would require insane horsepower and heat dispersal in the open air.

The company reveals little about its "groundbreaking innovations," although we glean that the veillance flux bit relates to a visual positioning system that scans the tube ahead and adjusts the pod's position in the tube according to what's coming up. Each 25-m (82-ft)-long pod, seating up to 54 passengers or carrying some quantity of time-sensitive cargo, will have four "levitation engines" extending outwards from its upper and lower diagonals on suspension arms, and as a result, it looks totally super cool.

TransPod says it's raised US$550 million in funding and is moving to the next phase with a project spanning the 300-odd km (186-odd miles) between Calgary and Edmonton. "Preliminary construction work, including the environmental impact assessment, has begun," reads the TransPod website. This tube, which cost at US$18 billion, promises 45-minute trips between the two cities for around US$75, replacing more than three hours of driving, or a plane ticket worth around US$125.

It'll take almost a third of the traffic off the highway joining Calgary to Edmonton, says TransPod, and every passenger will save so much carbon thanks to its green power that the overall effect will be as if you'd planted a tree. The company expects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 636,000 tonnes annually.

Now, TransPod's 18-billion dollar proposal for the Calgary to Edmonton link would appear to cost this project at US$60 million per km – a number that would compete fairly favourably with other high-speed rail proposals in the area. At the end of the day, though, Canada has considered many proposals for fast train travel – but it remains the one G7 nation that's never built any. It seems unlikely that this will be the first.