埃隆馬斯克超迴路列車 夢想邁向現實

Elon Musk’s dream of ultra-high speed travel through a tube came a small step closer to reality on Tuesday, when one of the companies set up to pursue the idea announced it had raised another $80m and said it was ready to show off a key part of the technology.

週二，埃隆•馬斯克(Elon Musk)通過隧道實現超高速旅行的夢想距離現實近了一小步。爲了追逐這一想法而設立的公司之一宣佈，已再次融資8000萬美元，並表示已準備展示該技術的一個關鍵部分。

Mr Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, stirred a wave of interest in 2013 in a technology known as hyperloop — a tube from which air is pumped out to maintain a near-vacuum, theoretically making it possible for pods carrying people or freight to move at close to the speed of sound.

2013年，特斯拉(Tesla Motors)和SpaceX的首席執行官馬斯克調動起了人們對於“超迴路列車”(Hyperloop)技術的興趣。該技術涉及把一條隧道中的空氣抽出來，保持近真空狀態，在理論上可能讓裝載人員或貨物的短艙以近音速移動。

The idea was floated as a potential alternative to California’s plans for a high-speed rail line between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Coming from an entrepreneur who has come to be seen in some tech circles as a visionary, it attracted enough attention to trigger a race among start-ups trying to prove the technology is in fact practical.

這個想法的提出，是作爲加州在舊金山和洛杉磯之間修建高速鐵路線路的可能替代方案。由於源自一名在某些科技圈裏被視爲擁有遠見卓識的一名企業家，這個想法吸引了足夠的注意力，在試圖證明該技術事實上具有實用性的創業企業中引發了一場競賽。

Hyperloop Technologies, the company furthest along with its plans, said on Tuesday it had raised $80m in a second round, taking the total so far to more than $100m, with the backing of investors including GE Ventures, a unit of General Electric, and SNCF, the French national railway.

週二，在執行自己計劃上走得最遠的公司Hyperloop Technologies表示，已獲得了8000萬美元的第二輪融資，目前總融資額超過1億美元，資金投入方包括通用電氣(GE)旗下部門GE Ventures和法國國家鐵路公司(SNCF)。

It also said it would show off the propulsion system for its planned hyperloop on Wednesday on a section of exposed track near Las Vegas, and planned to have a full-scale, three kilometre trial operating in a tube before the end of the year.

該公司也表示，將於週三在拉斯維加斯附近的一段暴露鐵軌上展出用於其計劃超迴路列車上的推進系統，並打算於今年年底前在一條隧道內進行原尺寸模型的3公里試運營。

“The idea that was a glimmer in the eye of Elon Musk in 2013 will be a full-scale prototype by the end of 2016,” said Rob Lloyd, chief executive officer. “When we demonstrate the prototype, everyone will realise we can solve problems of urban congestion — we can free up land, redefine cities. It’s a big deal.”

“原是2013年埃隆•馬斯克眼中一線微光的這個想法，到2016年底將變成一個全尺寸原型機，”Hyperloop Technologies首席執行官羅布•勞埃德(Rob Lloyd)說。“當我們展示原型機時，所有人都將意識到，我們能夠解決城市擁堵問題——我們能夠解放土地，重新定義城市。那是一件了不起的事。”

Supporters of the hyperloop concept, including Mr Musk, maintain that the technologies needed to make it work have all been proven, and that the real challenges that need to be overcome involve business model and financing.

包括馬斯克在內，超迴路列車概念支持者們堅稱，把超迴路列車投入使用的各項技術都已成熟，需要克服的真正挑戰在於商業模式和融資。

Hyperloop Technologies — which on Tuesday said it was changing its name to Hyperloop One — said it was working with a number of construction and transport partners around the world to study the feasibility of individual projects, and that it expected to see a wave of interest from cities and other government bodies once it had showed off a working system.

週二，Hyperloop Technologies表示公司將更名爲Hyperloop One。該公司表示，正與世界各地大量的建築業和交通業夥伴合作，研究具體項目的可行性，同時預計，一旦展出一個可運行系統之後，會引起各個城市和其他政府部門的濃厚興趣。

Given the huge capital investment, long-distance connections between cities — the kinds of project promoted by people like Mr Musk, given the high speeds they could theoretically reach — are unlikely to see the first attempted use of the technology.

鑑於巨大的資本投資，城市之間的遠距離聯接——馬斯克等人依據理論上可達到的高速度而推廣的那類項目——不大可能第一次嘗試使用該技術。

Instead, Mr Lloyd said that connecting container ports with nearby transport hubs presented an attractive potential use, since it could free up storage space in ports and take traffic off surrounding streets. That would not require the high speeds theoretically possible in hyperloops, but would still be better than building new rail links since the systems would operate far more quietly and not raise local opposition, he added.

相反，勞埃德表示，把集裝箱港口跟附近的交通中心聯接起來，是一個有吸引力的潛在用途，因爲這能夠釋放港口的存儲空間，減少周圍街道的交通流量。他補充道，那將不需要超迴路列車達到理論上可能的高速度，但仍將比建造新的鐵路連線更好，因爲系統運行的聲音要小得多，不會引起當地的反對。

Hyperloop One is also aiming to carry freight rather than passengers to get around regulatory concerns about safety, but said it hopes to extend to moving people once the technology is proven.

爲了繞過監管層對於安全的擔憂，Hyperloop One也計劃裝載貨物而不是乘客，但表示，其希望在技術成熟時開始運載人員。

Meanwhile, another start-up hoping to build a prototype system, Hyperloop Transport Technologies, this week announced the technology for its own propulsion system, based on using powerful magnets to levitate pods above the floor of its tube.

同時，另一家希望建造一個原型系統的創業企業Hyperloop Transport Technologies(HTT)本週宣佈了用於其自己推進系統的技術——需要使用強力磁體使短艙漂浮在其隧道平面的上空。