Bringing high-speed travel ‘to the people’: Hyperloop One sets Kansas City arrival date
July 31, 2019 | Startland News Staff
Long Awaited, Virgin Hyperloop One will finally cruise into Kansas City … just not permanently — at least not yet, the company announced Tuesday.
“When government and investor delegations come to our test site, seeing the technology makes it real for them,” Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One, said in a release.
“Not everyone can come to the Nevada desert, so we’re bringing our technology to the people — the American people who will be riding this new form of transportation within a decade,” he added.
With the announcement, Hyperloop One formally launched its U.S. Roadshow, which will put its XP-1 hyperloop pod on public display in cities across the country, the company explained.
Kansas Citians will have an opportunity to investigate the pod Sept. 14 during the American Royal BBQ at the Kansas Speedway.
“There has been so much excitement and interest in this technology, and we know the Kansas City tech community and general public will be receptive to the demonstration and learning more details,” said Ryan Weber, president of the KC Tech Council.

During an April visit to the metro, Walder revealed Missouri was a serious contender in the fight to house Hyperloop One.
“What if I told you that I’ve been CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One for five months and this is the first trip I’ve taken to a state where there has been [a feasibility study conducted]?” Walder told a crowd gathered for a KC Tech Council discussion about the future of Hyperloop One.
“I think that’s a vote of confidence,” he quipped.
Click here to find out what three words Walder has for Kansas Citians hungry for Hyperloop.
XP-1 will be on display in Columbus, Ohio and Arlington, Texas before its arrival in Kansas City.
Stops at diners, hotels, museums, parks, state houses, and stadiums are planned along the pods 4,000 mile route across the country, the company said.

Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Children’s book turns KC’s Mayor Sly into time-traveling history buff
Kansas City’s colorful mayor was made for the pages of a children’s book, Audrey Masoner said. He gets his hand-drawn debut in “Mayor Sly and the Magic Bow Tie,” a project co-authored by Masoner and Mayor Sly James’ daughter, Aja James. The book is featured in Startland News’ 2017 Made in Kansas City Gift Guide.…
Storyteller sketches path from former Soviet Union to KC-based Sibukop
The teeth marks on Jasur Rakhimov’s Apple Pencil aren’t his own. They belong to his young daughter, Jasmira, who — despite a new protective pencil box — still loves to chew on the tools of his trade, he said. “Everybody and everything has its own story,” reflected Rakhimov, running his fingers across the indentions from…
MTC renews 2018 support for LaunchKC grant contest
Despite the government program’s uncertain financial future, the Missouri Technology Corporation will inject $250,000 into the popular grants contest LaunchKC for 2018. After having its budget slashed from nearly $23 million in 2017 to $3.4 million in 2018, the MTC announced Friday that it will once again support the Kansas City-based grant contest, which has…
CasaiQ announces name change, high-profile investors in $1.5M round
Techstars Kansas City graduate CasaiQ is hoping a new funding round — and new name — will accelerate the development and deployment of its smart home tech. Led by former Brightergy exec Adam Blake, CasaiQ announced Friday that it raised a $1.5 million round, which includes a handful of local investors. The KCRise fund, Techstars…

