Governor Jared Polis of Colorado visited Swisspod’s hyperloop testing facility in Pueblo yesterday, joined by local and state representatives. During the visit, the governor and Swisspod explored new business opportunities to drive economic growth and position Colorado as a global leader in sustainable transportation innovation.
The governor’s visit follows the recent official inauguration of the hyperloop facility during Swisspod’s “Hyperloop Day” event on November 20, where the company unveiled the first 200 meters (656 feet) of hyperloop tubes. This milestone marks a major step toward full-scale testing and signals a new era in sustainable, high-speed transportation innovation.
“What we’re building here in Colorado is more than a test track. It’s a proving ground for the future of mobility. This facility will house something the U.S. has never seen before: a frictionless and contactless transportation system capable of speeds of up to 640 km/h (400 mph) within a low-pressure environment. This is about more than just speed, it’s about rewriting the rules of time and distance. The State of Colorado and Pueblo offered the ideal location to bring our vision to life, enabling us to move quickly and innovate without delays”, said Denis Tudor, the CEO of Swisspod.
State and local leaders, including Pueblo’s Mayor Heather Graham, have praised the project’s transformative impact, highlighting its role in driving economic growth, creating jobs, and positioning the region as a hub for innovation.
"I think that this is going to help put Pueblo on the map. We're out here at PuebloPlex, and we have lots of room for economic development and growth here", said Mayor Graham during the on-site press briefing at the facility.
Located in the Pueblo Plex campus, Swisspod's hyperloop testing facility is set to become the world's largest hyperloop test track by the second quarter of 2025. The final construction will feature an elliptical closed-loop infrastructure enabling infinite trajectories. This is a key feature for ensuring precise performance assessments and for setting the stage for the next milestones in hyperloop technology progress: scaling to urban logistics and, ultimately, passenger transport.
The infrastructure will have a perimeter of 1.6 km (1 mile) and will cover 174,000 square meters (43 acres) — the equivalent of 25 football (soccer) fields or 12,200 parked cars. This facility will become the second largest vacuum chamber in the U.S., designed to facilitate complex testing and validation of hyperloop technologies for real-world applications.
Key milestones include plans to reveal the next-generation vehicle for testing the company’s proprietary propulsion technology in 2025.
The progress Swisspod is making in the U.S. builds on the company's proven track record in developing the hyperloop technology. Recently, the team set a world record for the longest hyperloop trial on the scaled-down infrastructure in Switzerland — the first-ever circular hyperloop test track designed to accommodate advanced and relevant assessments of the technology.
The journey covered 11.8 km, scalable to 141.6 km in a full system — approximately the distance from Geneva to Bern (Switzerland) or San Francisco to Sacramento (U.S.). The highest speed recorded during the trials was 40.7 km/h, translating to 488.2 km/h at full scale.
Hyperloop is a new, high-speed, fully-electric mode of transportation featuring autonomous pods levitating inside a low-pressure tube, at near-sonic speeds with zero direct CO2 emissions. It’s weather-resistant, energy-efficient and designed to address the growing global demand for sustainable passenger and freight transportation. By connecting cities and countries faster and greener than ever, hyperloop has the potential to redefine global mobility.
Swisspod stands out on the hyperloop market as the only player with a viable and cost-effective solution that combines innovation with practicality. The company leverages a passive infrastructure, shifting the technological complexity into the vehicle (capsule/pod). This strategic approach reduces both construction and maintenance costs, while enhancing system resilience, efficiency, and safety.