First step for Europe’s hyperloop vehicles with test launch [Video]

The dream of hurtling between European cities at speeds of more than 700 kilometres per hour moved a step closer Monday with the first successful vehicle tests at the European Hyperloop Centre.

Hovering inside a sleek 420-metre (1,377-foot) white tunnel, a dark and light grey striped pod levitates at the order from the mission control centre, before powering away using magnetic propulsion and with no one aboard.

For the moment, the speed is relatively slow at 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) per hour but operators hope to reach 100 kph (62 mph) by the end of the year as they race towards rolling out a system by 2030.

“We will be ready to transport passengers in a vehicle like that by 2030,” Roel van …