Elon Musk Will Compete To Build High-Speed Train To O'Hare

CHICAGO, IL — Elon Musk has announced that his firm, the Boring Company, will submit a proposal to build a high-speed transportation system between O'Hare International Airport and the city centre. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is looking into options for the new express link, and is considering an underground transportation system. The chosen company would be required to fund, build and operate the high-speed loop.

Emanuel hopes the airport transportation system can be built at no cost to taxpayers, and said the chosen company could earn back its investment by operating the service.

Musk said his company's plan would involve electric pods transporting people through underground tunnels.

"A large network of tunnels many levels deep would fix congestion in any city, no matter how large it grew," The Boring Company states on its website. "The key to making this work is increasing tunneling speed and dropping costs by a factor of 10 or more."

"Fast to dig, low cost tunnels would also make Hyperloop adoption viable and enable rapid transit across densely populated regions," the website states.

The company also outlined a plan for an underground transportation network in Los Angeles, which would include cars parking on a platform that would travel along underground tracks. The Boring Company has been building test tunnels at a California SpaceX site.

Firms that are interested in building Chicago's express system have until Jan. 24 to submit their proposals. The system must transport people between the airport and the city centre in under 20 minutes, operate at least every 15 minutes and cost less than a cab or ride-share fare.

Mark Brake/Getty Images