Are we heading towards a Futurama-like era where self-sustaining robots have their own community, wheels are no longer used in transportation, and spaceships are a common sight?

It sounds possible with the hype surrounding the Hyperloop. When Elon Musk first revealed his idea of a high-speed transportation system that would travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 30 minutes (travelling at almost 800 miles per hour), it was received with a good share of criticism (and humor).

According to Musk, the Hyperloop should ideally be:

• Safer
• Faster
• Affordable
• Immune to weather
• Solar-powered
• Resistant to earthquakes
• Not disruptive to those along the route

At this point, the Hyperloop hasn’t advanced beyond the sketch-on-a-napkin stage, but if Musk succeeds, how would the Hyperloop impact the high-speed rail industry?

For starters, the Hyperloop may not even have planners. After all, what’s there to plan? The route is set, there are no disruptions, no timetables to figure out, no workforce to plan (except for station operators) and very little (if any) maintenance. The only unplanned disruption might be the occasional earthquake but Musk has figured out a way around that.

Planners for high-speed rail networks however, have a lot to cope with; planning timetables, managing disruptions and optimizing maintenance schedules and utilization of crew. Most high-speed rail operators struggle with maintaining a high on-time rate and there’s never a single day where plans are not changed. Where does Quintiq come in?

But unlike the Hyperloop, you can be assured that a person is still in control of your mode of transport and not just air pressure.

For the sake of innovation, credit still goes to Musk for coming up with the grand idea for a sustainable mode of transport. I, for one, hope we’ll be whizzing through elevated steel tubes sometime in the near future (even though Musk has already diverted his attention to a James Bond submarine).

Do you think the Hyperloop could make the giant leap to reality? Tell us in your comment below or drop us a tweet @Quintiq.