San Jose to Los Angeles in a Tunnel?

[ElectricLee]

If California was able to get a Boring Company tunnel from San Jose to Los Angeles, how would you deal with the charging? Since it will not be enough to travel 350+ miles?

Is there a way to get power inside the tunnel while in it?

What about cars like M3 SR at 220 miles on a full charge?

Would it have mini stops every 100 miles so one can charge?

 

[Magnets!]

Fantasyland

 

[Matt L]

If California was able to get a Boring Company tunnel from San Jose to Los Angeles, how would you deal with the charging? Since it will not be enough to travel 350+ miles?

Is there a way to get power inside the tunnel while in it?

What about cars like M3 SR at 220 miles on a full charge?

Would it have mini stops every 100 miles so one can charge?

More importantly, why would you want to do it?

 

[SJC3]

Probably aimed at future EVs that will have 400+ mile range. Also, why would I do it? The 5 is one boring drive and the traffic can suck.

 

[Matt L]

Probably aimed at future EVs that will have 400+ mile range. Also, why would I do it? The 5 is one boring drive and the traffic can suck.

Being in a tunnel for 5 hours will make the 5 seem like Disney land.

I enjoy driving too much to transition my life into a bank teller tube.

I can understand 20 - 30 min trips to bypass city traffic but 5 hours...nah

 

[fmm]

you can fly that route (SJC to/from LAX) for $49 one way

 

[J X 3]

This system is not aimed at such long distances, in this case the hyperloop is far more appropriate given the much higher speeds.
Slightly different solution, 3 to 4.5 times higher speed but the key to it is the same, cost of the tunnel. Work to reduce tunnel costs, maximize speed to increase capacity and lower cost/trip.

 

[RandyS]

Can they install large bug zappers periodically along the tunnel so you come out the other end with no front end bugs? That would be awesome....

 

[Lifeinabox]

Can they install large bug zappers periodically along the tunnel so you come out the other end with no front end bugs? That would be awesome....

And a chute for In N Out deliveries at speed...

 

[SJC3]

Being in a tunnel for 5 hours will make the 5 seem like Disney land.

I enjoy driving too much to transition my life into a bank teller tube.

I can understand 20 - 30 min trips to bypass city traffic but 5 hours...nah

I’m assuming I could move at 100+mph if such a tunnel existed, thereby shortening the drive down to say 3 hours? Otherwise, yes, I’d rather stare at the aqueducts and occasional dust devils on the 5.

 

[ElectricLee]

I think it would be fast and simpler to bore 400 miles with few easements issues.

 

[run-the-joules]

you can fly that route (SJC to/from LAX) for $49 one way

Other than the hour of BS dealing with the airport (either an Uber or paying for parking, plus TSA molestation, etc), renting a car (which won’t have autopilot) at the other end, etc.

 

[run-the-joules]

Being in a tunnel for 5 hours will make the 5 seem like Disney land.

I enjoy driving too much to transition my life into a bank teller tube.

I can understand 20 - 30 min trips to bypass city traffic but 5 hours...nah

I’ll take the tube if I can maintain speed. There’s nothing to see on the 5 and I do that drive overnight to avoid the worst of the traffic anyway.

 

[dhanson865]

If California was able to get a Boring Company tunnel from San Jose to Los Angeles, how would you deal with the charging? Since it will not be enough to travel 350+ miles?

Is there a way to get power inside the tunnel while in it?

What about cars like M3 SR at 220 miles on a full charge?

Would it have mini stops every 100 miles so one can charge?

You'd be guaranteed no cross winds, no rain, no snow. So the miles per kWh or wh per mile would be easily calculated.

Slope would be minimized so no huge upslope or downslope.

Curves and turns would be mostly eliminated other than exits and maybe one or two mid course curves to hit the next waypoint.

If your top speed precludes going non stop you'd just take an exit to a supercharger part way through. Supercharge for 10-15 minutes and get back in the tunnel.

Your average speed would still be higher than taking surface roads.

But then again enough years will pass between the situation described and now that a 200 mile range car won't be in that tunnel and the car that you will take will be fully self driving so you could take a nap in the tunnel assuming you are still using cars that far in the future (I don't know how old you are)

 

[TT97]

San Jose to L.A. tunnel doesn't make much sense as there is not that much traffic most of that route (and plenty of land to add an extra lane if need be).

What we need is a tunnel from San Fernando Valley to Orange County so that anyone traveling through L.A. can bypass all the L.A. traffic and will also lighten the local traffic.

 

[Eno Deb]

If you want to allow cars to drive themselves in these tunnels (as opposed to using sledges like Boring originally planned), you'll have to think hard about a way to evacuate cars that have a flat tire or other damage, otherwise traffic in a busy, long tunnel will probably rarely flow (not to mention potential safety issues).

If it was economically and technically feasible to dig a tunnel from the Bay Area to LA, it would probably be a better idea to put a bullet train in there. World's longest subway line.

 

[jerry33]

If you want to allow cars to drive themselves in these tunnels (as opposed to using sledges like Boring originally planned), you'll have to think hard about a way to evacuate cars that have a flat tire or other damage, otherwise traffic in a busy, long tunnel will probably rarely flow (not to mention potential safety issues).

If it was economically and technically feasible to dig a tunnel from the Bay Area to LA, it would probably be a better idea to put a bullet train in there. World's longest subway line.

The issue with bullet trains is the insane amount of track maintenance required. In Japan 10% of the bullet train rails are maintained every day (according to what I read a few years ago, I'm assuming this is still true. I couldn't find that particular article, but here's another one that goes into some detail about maintenance. There is no way I can see a U.S. corporation keeping up this amount of maintenance.)

 

[Solor]

I’m assuming I could move at 100+mph if such a tunnel existed, thereby shortening the drive down to say 3 hours? Otherwise, yes, I’d rather stare at the aqueducts and occasional dust devils on the 5.

You can drive that fast now on the I5 once north of LA or south of SJ.

 

[Eno Deb]

The issue with bullet trains is the insane amount of track maintenance required. In Japan 10% of the bullet train rails are maintained every day (according to what I read a few years ago, I'm assuming this is still true. I couldn't find that particular article, but here's another one that goes into some detail about maintenance. There is no way I can see a U.S. corporation keeping up this amount of maintenance.)

Yeah, but I expect that will probably be one of the easier problems to solve. The world's longest rail tunnel (the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland) is just 35 miles long and took two decades to build. Extrapolating this to the roughly 350 miles from the Bay Area to LA, I'm pretty sure none of us will be around to see it, even if Boring makes a sensational breakthrough in tunnel digging technology.

 

[Triplett]

Other than the hour of BS dealing with the airport (either an Uber or paying for parking, plus TSA molestation, etc), renting a car (which won’t have autopilot) at the other end, etc.

Take jetsuitex.