Beam me up, Scotty
High-speed hyperloop(ish) coming to Front Range

Colorado has a lot of “firsts” to its credit: first state to give women the vote; first state to host a rodeo; and first resident to trademark the name “cheeseburger.” More recently, we’ve added self-driving beer delivery trucks and legal recreational marijuana to the list. And now, apparently first to travel by tube may not be far off.

On Tuesday, the Colorado Department of Transportation, along with the E-470 Public Highway Authority announced a joint venture with Los Angeles-based Arrivo to test and build a “hyperloop-inspired super-urban network” to serve the greater Denver area.

If successful, it would be the first rapid-mass transit system of its kind in the world.

But first, let’s back up the hyperloop train. To be fair, the system would not be a true hyperloop (think a vacuum sealed tube like the one at the bank drive-thru) but more of an enclosed electro-magnetic superhighway. Reaching top speeds of 200 mph, it is estimated the system, called the “Arrivo City Zipper,” will trim the trip from Denver to DIA to nine minutes, and the rush-hour trip from Denver to Boulder to eight minutes.

BamBrogan

“Twenty-first Century transportation technology is finally arriving, and Denver is positioned to be the early benefactor,” Arrivo Co-founder Brogan BamBrogan (his real name but more on that later), said Tuesday in a press release. “Everyone is a winner with our technology. Passengers and cargo arrive quickly and efficiently at extremely low cost. Our high-throughput enables more total miles traveled to support growth and economic firepower.”

In October, the state agreed on $760,000 in grants to Arrivo over five years in exchange for the company opening a new $4.4 million research facility, which is expected to create some 200 high-paying tech jobs. The incentive, however, must be matched by local governments before the state’s Office of Economic Development signs off. Overall, Arrivo is expected to invest $10 million to $15 million into the research and development of the track. This includes the new research center as well as a half-mile test track adjacent to the E-470 Tollway, which will ultimately be the first leg of the Denver network if all goes well.

“Colorado’s rapidly growing population and booming economy makes for the ideal location for the development of an Arrivo system,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said. “Arrivo’s additional decision to locate their test facilities (in

Denver) is a testament to the culture of innovation that drives our economic engine.” The system will be designed for “maximum versatility,” accommodating not just passenger vehicles but cargo and freight as well as multi-passenger pods. The “proprietary” technology uses magnetic levitation to make the vehicles float, and electric power to move them forward. It could revolutionize mass transit, with pods leaving every second or two instead of every 10 minutes.

“Arrivo’s system is an additional layer of transportation designed to complement existing modes of transportation, connect with the airport, the metro, and even allow people to use it with their own car,” BamBrogan said.

Before starting Arrivo, BamBrogan (who is rumored to have legally changed his name to be a combo of his and wife, Bambi’s) was an engineer on the SpaceX “Dragon” rocket project. He also was a founding partner in Hyperloop One, but left last year after a bitter legal dispute. That company has since re-branded itself as Virgin-Hyperloop One after Richard Branson bought in (along with former Uber tycoon Shirven Pishevar.) Virgin is said to be testing its own prototype in the Nevada desert. (To be fair, Elon Musk, of Tesla fame, is credited for first publicizing the idea for high-speed tube travel in 2013.)

If all this is starting to make your brain go into hyperloops, you have time to digest. It is estimated the first commercial route will not be operational for another four or five years. And there’s no plans to magically swoosh us West Slopers over the passes to the Front Range – at least for now.

“Arrivo has a unique and practical approach to implementing hyperloop technology to eliminate traffic and dramatically improve the way people and goods move,” CDOT Executive Director Shailen Bhatt, said. “As part of the next steps, we are committed to working with Arrivo on the feasibility of how we address mobility in our state.”

To think, we used to balk at the idea of moving the airport from Stapleton. And no, we’re not shitting you.