Elon Musk’s Chicago High-Speed Underground Transit Gets Approved

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the city would be granting approval for Elon Musk’s aptly named Boring Company to build and operate a multibillion-dollar rapid transit that would connect O’Hare International Airport and the city’s downtown. A tweet sent out by the Boring Company responded to the announcement by saying, “We’re really excited to work with the Mayor and the City to bring this new high-speed public transportation system to Chicago!”

The project plans to transport passengers between the busy airport and downtown in approximately 12 minutes, which is typically a 40-minute trip when using Chicago public transportation. Passengers would be transported using electric vehicles that would run through massive tunnels carved out by the Boring Company’s machines.

Today we're announcing the selection of The @BoringCompany to build & operate express service to transport people to O'Hare Airport from downtown in 12 minutes on electric vehicles in underground tunnels. The project will be funded by the company with no taxpayer subsidy. pic.twitter.com/zwfsQDk9Zf

— Archive: Mayor Rahm Emanuel (@MayorRahm) June 14, 2018

Amazingly, the project will be funded entirely by the company, without any taxpayer subsidy. This is one of the reasons Mayor Emanuel decided to give the approval to begin the process, citing the major benefits it would afford Chicago residents, without using taxpayer dollars. In a statement, Mayor Emanuel said, “Bringing Chicago’s economic engines closer together will keep the city on the cutting edge of progress, create thousands of good-paying jobs and strengthen our great city for future generations.” He continued, “This transformative project will help Chicago write the next chapter in our legacy of innovation and invention.”

Chicago isn’t the first place that Elon Musk and his Boring Company have scouted out to build these massive underground transit stations. The company is still negotiating the rights to dig a 6.5 mile test tunnel directly under Los Angeles, and has even received preliminary permits to begin digging in Washington D.C.

In a town hall meeting recently held in Los Angeles, Musk fielded questions regarding how this new transit system would work. He stated that tickets would be as low as $1 per person, much lower than the rates of existing forms of public transportation in crowded cities like these. He also said the transit cars would carry about 12 passengers per car, and would be entirely powered by Tesla batteries, making it a clean energy project.

Eventually, Musk hopes he can bring the next generation of public transit, called the Hyperloop. The Hyperloop is a supersonic system that he hopes to connect New York City to Washington D.C.. However, for now, Boring Company is focusing on working on a more viable way to improve the ever progressing traffic problem that plagues cities like these.