A transportation system that could eventually see people travel between Edmonton and Calgary in about 45 minutes has taken another step forward.

Toronto-based TransPod announced Tuesday it has secured US$550 million in financing for its multibillion-dollar hyperloop system.

UK-based Broughton Capital Group, in cooperation with China-East Resources Import & Export Co., have agreed in principle to provide a combined US$550M finance and Master EPC arrangement respectively, to accelerate the development of a TransPod Line between Edmonton and Calgary.

“To finance the first phase of the project, which consists of the airport connection of Edmonton,” said Sebastien Gendron, co-founder and CEO of TransPod.

The high-speed transportation system is being developed to carry passengers and cargo in a low-pressure tube environment at 1,000 km/h. Described as an aircraft without wings, the vehicles would be powered by electrically driven magnetic propulsion, according to the company.

Gendron said this initial investment is a key step in the overall project, because it proves there’s a market for it.

“It’s actually a recommendation we got from financial institutions,” he said. “They were saying that we may have the best tech in the world, but if there’s no market we’re not going to go really far. So that investment, it’s confirming that there is an interest to build such infrastructure.

“We have the momentum and the dynamic to develop the technology associated to this project. So that’s a key milestone for TransPod, definitely.”

TransPod said the Master EPC arrangement is expected to involve a “significant contribution” from Canadian contractors.

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