Dutch hyperloop centre aims to advance futuristic transport technology
The split in a hyperloop tube allows vehicles to change directions at a test facility of the new European test centre for hyperloop transportation technology, which opened in Veendam, northern Netherlands on March 26.Peter Dejong/The Associated Press
A 420-metre white steel tube running alongside a railway line in the windswept northern Netherlands could usher in a new era in the transportation of people and freight.
The tube is the heart of the new European Hyperloop Center that opens Tuesday and will be a proving ground in coming years for developers of the evolving technology.
Hyperloop, once trumpeted by Elon Musk, involves capsules floating on magnetic fields zipping at speeds of around 700 km/h through low-pressure tubes. Its advocates tout it as far more efficient than short-haul flights, high-speed rail and freight trucks.
But since Mr. Musk unveiled the concept that he said could shuttle