It was supposed to be the next big thing when it was announced and demonstrated just a few years ago and Missouri was one of the first destinations mentioned, but now it's just a memory. Missouri was in line to get a Hyperloop bullet train so what happened?

To refresh your memory, the Hyperloop was created in the mind of Elon Musk in 2013. It was his vision of a public transportation system that would revolutionize traveling long distances by land with pods exceeding 600 mph. It became more than a theory, but a working model was created and demonstrated in 2020. Missouri was one of the first states expected to see this bullet train deployed.

Business Insider via YouTube
Business Insider via YouTube
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Is there any serious progress making a bullet train from StL to KC?
byu/Bluemanbob inStLouis

There's even a Missouri High Speed Rail Alliance which is seeking to upgrade train transportation in Missouri.

Missouri High Speed Rail Alliance
Missouri High Speed Rail Alliance
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With all of these grand plans, why did the Hyperloop never become a reality? The short answer - MONEY

The Missouri Hyperloop Wikipedia page says that Hyperloop One shut down at the end of 2023 because they failed to secure any contracts to actually deploy a line. West Virginia was initially announced to get a bullet train before Missouri, but they didn't get one either.

It also appears that efforts to get Missouri politicians to find funding for a high speed rail system or research for it has failed also. Perhaps someday this will get revisited as I would imagine a Kansas City to Columbia to St. Louis, Missouri line would be heavily-used. Or, maybe this vision of a Hyperloop will fade into the world of vaporware that was a grand idea never meant to be.

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Gallery Credit: obsoleteVoids via YouTube

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