The hyperloop pods from Spanish company Zeleros will apparently be able to travel at a whopping 1,000 kilometres per hour

Picture this: you step into a pod in Paris, settle down for a nap and in just over an hour you’ve been whizzed all the way to Berlin. That’s over 1,000 kilometres in less time than it currently takes to fly between those two European capitals.

But this isn’t all some far-fetched fantasy: it’s the future currently being proposed by Zeleros, a Spanish hyperloop company. Hyperloops are essentially pod- and tube-based transportation projects that minimise air resistance and so have the potential to enable people to travel long distances much, much quicker than

Zeleros’ designs feature air-locked, pressurised pods that will be able to carry up to 200 passengers at 1,000 kilometres per hour. Excitingly, Zeleros’ hyperloop is also 100 percent electric, meaning that, if supplied with renewable energy, they could be remarkably good for the environment. Here are a few renders and images of the designs.

Right now, an airplane-free future seems attractive for other reasons than just saving the planet. Since demand for air travel returned following the pandemic, the aviation industry has struggled with delays, cancellations, lost baggage and lengthy queues. A future without all that stressful stuff seems very enticing indeed.

And it isn’t just between Paris and Berlin that Zeleros is planning on building its hyperloop routes. The company is planning a global network of tubes that could slash journey times between cities around the world. Routes such as San Francisco-Los Angeles, Paris-Barcelona, Sydney-Melbourne and Boston-Washington DC could all be cut down to under an hour.

When exactly Zeleros’ plans are expected to be put into action aren’t yet known, but you can find out more about them and the wider network here.