Virgin has carried out trials involving passengers on its Hyperloop service in the US for the very first time.

Staff at Virgin Hyperloop – took a journey inside the pod that lasted 15 seconds, travelling along a 500m test track in Nevada and reaching speeds of 107mph (172km/h).

The end goal of the travel speeds for this system are much higher. Virgin Hyperloop stated that the speed for this service will reach up to 670mph (1080km/h).

In an interview with BBC News shortly after the trial, Luchian spoke of how the journey was ‘exhilarating both psychologically and physically’.  

Sara Luchian, director of customer experience at Virgin Hyperloop, also commented on the logistical problems that could arise in the build-up to launching Virgin Hyperloop, such as the network of tunnels between destinations that will need to be constructed.

“Of course there’s a lot of infrastructure to be built but I think we’ve mitigated a lot of risk that people didn’t think was possible,” said Luchian.

“Infrastructure is such an important focus for so many people in government. We know people are looking for solutions. They’re looking for the transportation of the future.”