[imagesource: Virgin Hyperloop One]

Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop, formerly known as Hyperloop One, was claiming (with a concept video, too) to set the standard for 21st-century travel.

Branson proudly spoke of passenger pods that can go at speeds of 670 miles per hour (more than 1 070 kilometres per hour) from one major city to the next.

Five years ago, the company said that we should see “working hyperloops around the world… by 2020”.

That date was later pushed to 2021 before everyone had a hold on how long the COVID-19 pandemic would last.

It is 2022, and there are currently no working hyperloops doing the rounds.

Now, Virgin Hyperloop has completely pivoted its focus, which means the promise for those futuristic pods going breakneck speeds has officially been shattered.

The company will be using its existing technology research to create a cargo-delivery system instead, reported Input Mag.

Last week, Virgin fired 111 of its employees, two of whom said the layoff announcement came via a video conference call.

While about half the company’s workforce was let go due to this pipe dream never becoming a reality, only one former employee expressed actual surprise.

Virgin Hyperloop’s change from people to freight hasn’t exactly been because of some Icarus phenomena but rather a result of the economic changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and pesky global supply chain issues.

In fact, Virgin did manage to complete a successful hyperloop trip with human passengers in late 2020, although the trip was only 500 metres at just 100 mph.

Not even Elon Musk’s SpaceX, largely credited for bringing the Hyperloop concept back into the cultural consciousness about a decade ago, has managed that.

But despite this inkling of progress, the Hyperloop has always been a far-fetched pipe dream, and generally considered impossible.

The biggest obstacles, besides attracting enough funding and the right talent, are cost and time, issues that have only been compounded by the pandemic.

Per Fortune, bringing the venture to fruition is clearly just too expensive:

In 2016, leaked documents showed Virgin Hyperloop estimated its proposed hyperloop line connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco would cost roughly $84 million to $121 million per mile.

Another proposal linking Abu Dhabi with Dubai was quoted at $52 million per mile.

So the recent cuts and changes will allow the company “to respond in a more agile and nimble way and in a more cost-efficient manner,” according to a spokesperson for Virgin Hyperloop.

I guess we should all kiss the dream of being flung down a vacuum-sealed tube in a speeding pod goodbye.

[sources:inputmag&fortune&verge]