That's if you believe what Elon Musk tweets.
Musk, the billionaire behind SpaceX, Tesla and super fast, super smooth transportation via hyperloop technology, tweeted that his Boring Company, which digs tunnels, received verbal government approval to build a hyperloop between the two cities.
The hyperloop would cut the nearly three-hour train ride or more than four-hour car ride down to a mere 29 minutes and include stops in Philadelphia and Baltimore.
Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 20, 2017
Hyperloop technology works by sending sleek pods through depressurized tubes. The pods levitate, creating near frictionless travel and making incredible speeds, like 700 mph, possible.
The technology is still being developed and has not been tested on a large scale yet. A team from Carnegie Mellon University is among the leaders in development a hyperloop pod prototype.
Pittsburgh is hoping to be part of a different hyperloop route. Hyperloop Midwest is an entry in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission that proposes a connecting Pittsburgh to Chicago via a hyperloop with a stop in Columbus, Ohio, William Murdock, the executive director of the planning commission, told the Tribune-Review in April. The Pittsburgh to Chicago trip would take about 45 minutes. Pittsburgh to Columbus would take about 15 minutes.
Hyperloop Midwest is a finalist in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, which would provide funding to the winning project.
"We're anxious to show that Pittsburgh, Columbus and Chicago is that route," Murdock said when Hyperloop Midwest was named one of the 12 finalists.
©2017 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
