Proponents of a privately funded magnetic tube link that could zip passengers from Calgary to Edmonton in 30 minutes hope the province comes on board with the concept.

They say the previous NDP government had offered up land to host a 10-kilometre test line along the west side of Highway 2 between Olds and Didsbury for the so-called hyperloop, something their UCP successors have ignored.

“We can’t get any traction or interest from the province,” said Sebastien Gendron, CEO of France-based TransPod.

When he presented the proposal to Alberta’s premier while he was stumping for federal Conservative candidates in Ontario earlier this fall, Jason Kenney rolled his eyes, said Gendron.

But there’s nothing pie-in-the-sky about the concept that could fulfill an oft-recurring dream in Alberta to link its two major cities with a high-speed rail connection, he said.

A letter of support from the provincial government would unleash $100 million to $200 million in private investment funds to build the test line, the success of which could lead to the construction of the entire $6 billion to $8 billion system before 2030, said Gendron.

“It’s a fair deal. We’re not asking for public money from the province … There’s no risk,” he said, adding he’s headed to Alberta next week to drum up backing for the idea.

“We’re only looking for a letter of support from the provincial government.”

While the NDP government showed some interest in the concept, TransPod and its investors balked when the province demanded the test line be dismantled after its use — infrastructure the company wants to incorporate into any finished network, said Gendron.

The technology — first brainstormed by futurist entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2013 — would consist of two steel tubes elevated on concrete footings that would propel magnetically-levitated pods at speeds rivalling those of jet airliners, said Gendron.

“It’s essentially an aircraft without wings,” he said.

The line would shave five hours off of the six-hour round trip between the two cities, says TransPod.

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