A High-Speed DC-to-Baltimore Transit Option Bites the Dust

• April 19th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

If you were hype about the possibility of a Hyperloop between DC and Baltimore, it may be time to move on.

All signs are pointing to Elon Musk's Boring Company nixing this proposal, as Bloomberg News reported last week that the high-speed transit method proposed to go from DC to Baltimore has disappeared from the company's website. A spokesperson from the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has also confirmed that the company has shown no signs of intending to pursue the project any further.

As previously proposed, the Hyperloop maglev would have eventually shuttled passengers to New York City, going from DC to New York in 29 minutes at speeds of up to 700 miles per hour. Musk touted receipt of "verbal approval" for the project in 2017; the Boring Company also received permits to begin some light site work near the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue NE intersection and had gotten Maryland Department of Transportation conditional approval to do more extensive tunneling near Fort Meade.

Any mention of a Hyperloop route from DC (in addition to another route previously proposed in Los Angeles) disappeared from the Boring Company's site at some point earlier this year.

A significantly pared-back (Boring?) iteration of this concept has been unveiled this month, with a narrow, colorfully-lit, mile-long tunnel loop beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center guiding Teslas at 35-40 mph. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/another-high-speed-dc-to-baltimore-transit-option-bites-the-dust/18152.