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Coalition keeping dream of Missouri Hyperloop route alive

Posted at 8:01 PM, Oct 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-03 21:01:48-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ryan Weber is convinced humans will soon travel at speeds of up to 700 miles an hour without an airplane. 

As President of the KC Tech Council, Weber is on the new coalition committed to bringing the world's first Hyerloop route to Missouri.

"This is really the future of transportation," Weber said.

Hyperloop is a solar powered system where you would ride in a pod through a steel tube.

"Often people in the Midwest think 'Well, that's something for the coasts, that's something for another city it's not," Weber said.

Last month the company that oversees the project, "Hyperloop One," chose 10 global finalists.

Missouri fell short.

But a public-private partnership announced Tuesday puts the show-me-state back in the competition.

The coalition, that also includes MODOT, is focusing on raising at least $1 million from the private sector for a feasibility study.

"A thorough study is important because we do need to know how much this is going to cost and how much opportunity this is going to bring into the region," Weber said.

The Hyperloop route would link Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis.

The commute time between this loop? 25 minutes.

"Kansas City and St. Louis — we've had a bit of rivalry and I'll admit I usually like to keep competitive nature between the two cities but we're collaborating and not for the first time but for a really exciting opportunity to connect our cities," Weber said.

Colorado was among the global finalists for a Hyperloop route.

State officials estimate it'll cost $24 billion to build a Hyperloop system in their state.