PA: Only one of two proposed hyperloop systems involving Pittsburgh remains in active development

The Pittsburgh region now is down to a single proposed hyperloop system, one that would speed passengers to Chicago in less than an hour in special pods.

That’s because the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, based in Columbus, Ohio, has stopped actively developing a potential route linking Pittsburgh, Columbus and Chicago until the hyperloop technology receives federal government approval. It had been working for more than six years with Virgin Hyperloop One, which last month indicated it would shift its emphasis from moving passengers and cargo to mostly cargo.

The other proposal, a route from Pittsburgh to Chicago by way of Cleveland, is still under development by Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. That company is working with the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, another regional planning organization.