On 2 December 2025, the UIC Intercity & High-Speed Committee held a joint technical session for two strategic high-speed projects – Optimum Speed for High-Speed Rail (OptSpeed) and High-Speed Systems Transport Comparison (HSTC) – in Veendam, the Netherlands, gathering together operators, infrastructure managers, researchers and technology developers from across Europe and beyond.
Hosted by Hardt Hyperloop at the European Hyperloop Center, the event enabled participants to discuss UIC’s ongoing high-speed research, discover innovative approaches in the high-speed domain and benefit from an introductory presentation on Hardt’s development programme and technological roadmap.
During the morning session, UIC and the project expert presented findings from the HSTC project, which benchmarks three advanced transport concepts – conventional high-speed rail, Maglev and Hyperloop – across criteria such as safety, operating costs, capacity and speed–frequency dynamics. Research contributors from EY Italy, the University of Naples, the University of Southampton and the University of Beijing shared insights on technology maturity trends, performance comparisons and risk evaluation frameworks.
The afternoon session focused on OptSpeed, UIC’s renewed study on optimum commercial speed, led by Fundación Caminos de Hierro. The study explores how operating speeds influence system performance, passenger travel time, energy consumption and long-term sustainability in the context of evolving technological capabilities.
Following the presentations, participants enjoyed a technical visit to the European Hyperloop Center – including demonstrations of Hardt’s prototype vehicle, switching technology and the 420-metre test tube enabling future testing up to 700 km/h. The facility is intended to provide a scalable platform for validating autonomous capsule operations and lane-switching, which represent key engineering challenges for next-generation mobility.
UIC thanked the project funding members – SNCF, FSI, DB and ADIF – as well as Hardt Hyperloop’s leadership for hosting the session and supporting constructive dialogue. The visit underscored the relevance of industry partnerships in enhancing knowledge exchange on future high-speed mobility ecosystems.
This meeting forms part of UIC’s ongoing work within the Intercity & High-Speed Committee to provide members with comparative analysis, decision-making frameworks and technological foresight as the sector advances towards higher performance, sustainability and emerging mobility models.
