this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2023
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Futurology
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The fact that it's such an old idea means that it probably can work at a technical level.
But the fact that it's such an old idea that hasn't been implemented means it probably doesn't work at a practical or economic level, which is why we don't have them just like we don't have personal autogyros and travel by airship.
And that's not even mentioning potential accident/disaster scenarios.
Yup. You're essentially building an oil pipeline, but bigger, and then building a maglev inside of it. But with even stricter requirements for turn radius and even longer emergency stop distances.
When it was first proposed maglev wasn't a practical thing, and on wheels there wouldn't be much point, so that's improved. The financial aspects are still questionable at best, though. Maybe if investment returns get lower across the board in the far future it could become viable.