DOWNTOWN — Elon Musk’s Boring Company has been picked to create a high-speed rail between The Loop and O’Hare Airport.
The rail, called the Chicago Express Loop, would run in underground tunnels between O’Hare Airport and Block 37 in The Loop. Its passenger cars — called “skates” — would take an estimated 12 minutes to travel between the locations, according to the Boring Company’s website. The Boring Company has said the project will be completely privately funded.
The skates would travel 125-150 mph, hold eight to 16 passengers and offer WiFi, space for luggage and a climate-controlled cabin, according to the Boring Company. The skates would travel between the Loop and O’Hare Airport 20 hours of the day, seven days a week.
“The Boring Company aims to alleviate soul-destroying traffic by constructing safe, affordable and environmentally-friendly public transportation systems,” according to the company’s website.
The Boring Company said it will “design, build, finance, operate and maintain” the service on its website.
The skates will be built on the modified chassis of Tesla Model X, and they’ll be battery-powered with zero emissions, according to the Boring Company. The skates will run in underground tunnels, and the company claims the operations will be silent to those above ground.
Fares for the Chicago Express Loop haven’t been finalized, but the company said they’re expected to be less than those offered by taxi and car-hailing services.
Now that the Boring Company has been picked, the city will negotiate a contract and then present it to the City Council, according to a news release from the Mayor’s Office. A schedule and costs for the project will be finalized during the negotiations.
Tech entrepreneur Musk, who founded the Boring Company, has been eyeing the project for some time: He signaled that he was interested in the plan in June 2017. The company is working on similar projects in Los Angeles, on the East Coast between several major cities and in Hawthorne, California.
Suggestions for future stations can be emailed to Chicago@BoringCompany.com.
