A vactrain (or vacuum tube train) is a mode of very-high speed rail transportation. It is a maglev (magnetic levitation) line using partly evacuated tubes or tunnels. Reduced air resistance could permit vactrains to travel at very high (hypersonic) speeds with relatively little power—up to 6,400–8,000 km/h (4,000–5,000 mph). This is 5–6 times the speed of sound in Earth's atmosphere at sea level.
History[]
Early history[]
With the successful human passenger test by Virgin Hyperloop in 2020, and its inclusion in the bipartisan infrastructure bill in 2021, it was only the matter of time before hyperloop truly become a reality. Most hyperloop companies went bankrupt prior to the Market Crash of 2027.
Development[]
Vactrain development slowed considerably after the 2020s after investor capital contracted and government support to high-speed rail grew. After the development of room temperature superconductors and the emergence of the first Androids, development and operating costs fell considerably, and a new generation of startups emerged in the 2060s and 70s to build the first commercial vactrain tracks in Illinois, Texas, and California. Government regulations and high capital costs limited these tracts to be single-state lines.
The economic policies of the Lachman administration saw private vactrain lines expand exponentially, eventually replacing traditional high speed rail. This enabled anyone in the US to travel to anywhere else in the continental US in 30 minutes or less, and after connecting lines were built between the US and Mexico, anywhere on the continent. From here vactrain projects spread worldwide in a high decentralized network, with most governments only administering switching stations and ticketing infrastructure.
The vactrain network served as a major redistributor of wealth from urban areas to rural communities, and made it much easier to manage the new workforce. Rural regions grew in wealth as urban workers would relocate to buy cheap land and create high density residential developments for citizens commuting to major cities and back. The hyperloop network would be a driving force behind the Quantum Boom of the 2090s, as it made it easier for businesses to expand or be created on cheap land while still efficiently reaching customers and investors.
Nationalization[]
During the Lionel Halvidar administration, the US government nationalized most private vactrains on Earth and largely absorbed control of many damaged or bankrupt international networks to create a global vactrain network.