Innovations May Reduce Travel Time Between Hubs
Despite technological advances in almost all the fields in the last half-century, the speed of travel has not changed much. Infact the modes of transportation have remained the same. Slowly but steadily ideas that can significantly impact the sector are moving from the labs to the commercial space. Though they still focus on reducing the travel time between larger cities or hubs.
Supersonic Aircrafts
Flying beyond the speed of sound involves technical challenges of handling the heat, fuel efficiency, airlift to drag ratio etc. Aircraft design involves compromises between these different factors. For example, the drag varies non linearly and peaks around 1 Mach (speed of sound) and falls afterwards though at higher speeds it is still more than at subsonic speeds. Smaller wings reduce air drag but also reduce the thrust. Supersonic aircrafts need more thrust when flying at supersonic speeds but generate more noise. But the public is concerned about noise and specially sonic booms. The latter can even damage the buildings. Nowadays, commercial planes fly between 0.8 to 0.9 Mach to conserve fuel besides supersonic travel on populated areas is not allowed in many countries. Only 2 planes have entered commercial passenger service so far, Tupolev-144 and the iconic Concorde.
Computer-aided designs, better body materials and engines have renewed the interest in supersonic travel. New technologies e.g. swing wings where wing spans change with speed, variable engine cycles etc are aiding this. Various startups are active now and initial flights will be over the sea to avoid noise issues in populated areas and hence will cater to various coastal commercial hubs. Aerion aims to fly its aircraft at 1.4 Mach by 2025. Boom’s target is to fly its 55 seater aircraft at Mach 2.2 by the same time. Spike’s plane at Mach 1.6 may enter service by 2023.
Boeing and Airbus are working on hypersonic (Mach 5.0) flights but are at very initial stages.
Fast trains
Maglev trains (Magnetic Levitation) float and run with the help of magnets. They are the fastest trains and in test runs, a Japanese train attained the speed of 603 KM/Hr. They do not use wheels when levitating and hence need less maintenance and more significantly there is no friction at tracks. They have smoother rides and produce less human discomfort. There are 2 systems, i.e. Electrodynamic Suspension (EDS) which uses superconducting magnets but offers higher speeds and Electromagnetic suspension(EMS) which works with conventional electromagnets but offer lower speeds. While the maintenance costs are less, Maglevs train needs to a completely new infrastructure and capital costs are at least 3 times that of conventional trains. As of now, a small number of Maglevs are in use and that too for distances less than 100 KM. Of them, Shanghai Maglev is the fastest at 430 KM/h. However, research is allowing longer distance routes to be developed including one at Tokyo – Nagoya – Osaka.
High-speed rail (HSR) refers to trains that use conventional tracks but which travel faster than 250 KM/Hr on new tracks or above 200 KM/Hr on older tracks. They need continuously welded tracks, less or no roadways crossing, less stops, larger curve radius, right of way over other trains etc. Other advances e.g. tilting, aerodynamic designs etc can increase speeds further. The former is needed to reduce human discomfort and later to reduce the air drag which is the most dominant force at high speeds. HSRs are more widespread than Maglev trains and trains cover much longer distances. China has taken the lead here and has more 22,000 KM of HSR network in place which about two-third of global capacity. The maximum operational is that of Fuxing trains in China at 350 KM/Hr while the maximum speed in test runs is held by TGV trains at 575 KM/Hr. They offer significant competition to air travel for distances less than 1000 KM due to fuel efficiency, less total time to travel, less pollution, closeness to urban centres etc and offers the best promise in practical terms to reduce travel time.
Hyperloop
Removing air drag can significantly increase the speed of both Maglev trains and HSRs. Air drag is one of the key reasons for higher speeds of aircraft as compared to that of the trains as they travel at an altitude where air is rarer. One way to do it is to put the trains in tunnels from which air has been evacuated. This is the idea behind Vactrain (Vacuum tube train) and one implementation of Vactrain is Hyperloop. Its initial implementation will be of small pods rather than a full-fledged train. The levitation could be by air jets at the bottom of pods as suggested by Elon Musk of Tesla or by a magnetic force as used by companies e.g. Virgin Hyperloop One. There have been some demonstrations of the technology e.g. by Virgin Hyperloop One in 2016 and one by Technical University of Munich in 2017 but at speeds less than 500 KM/Hr. The theoretical speeds are 10 times more. Significant challenges remain especially on safety, possible accidents, land acquisition etc. But Hyperloop One, is building world’s first operational Hyperloop system in UAE, which would see passengers travelling between the emirates in special pods at 1,200 KM/Hr and thus exceeding the speed of airplanes. It and other companies e.g. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies have signed orders for feasibility studies or building Hyperloop systems with various governments across the world.
Flying taxis
They are not meant for hub connectivity but to be used within the cities. They are close to drones technologically, will be battery powered to reduce pollution in cities and may use Artificial Intelligence. They will travel smaller distances than a Helicopter but will be quieter and more affordable. Most likely will connect important points within a city or two rooftops or 2 close by cities and hence improve point to point connectivity within the city. Various branded companies e.g. Airbus, Boeing, Uber or smaller ones eg. Ehang, Kitty Hawk, Volovopter etc. are working on it and some have even demonstrated test flights. They may become commercially operational in the next 5 to 10 years. Here issues are different as skyline getting littered by such flights or accidents that may result in debris falling in populated areas etc
Summary
Various innovations in the transportation sector that can reduce the travel time between hubs are now set to become operational. They need to surmount regulatory approvals, safety concerns, economic viability and of course get public acceptance before people start shifting from the existing modes of transportation. But now the transportation sector to ready to steal the limelight.
