The owner of The Boring Company, Elon Musk

The Boring Company has been chosen by the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT), to finance, build and operate an express underground service in the US city of Chicago. The Boring Company is owned by billionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk.

The Chicago Express Loop will transport people on a 12-minute journey between O’Hare Airport and downtown Chicago on electric vehicles in underground tunnels. The project will be funded by the company with no taxpayer subsidy, and is described as a high-speed underground public transportation system in which passengers are transported on autonomous electric ‘skates’ traveling at 125-150 miles per hour. “The Boring Company aims to alleviate soul-destroying traffic by constructing safe, affordable, and environmentally-friendly public transportation systems,” said a company statement. It said that the electric skates will carry between eight and 16 passengers, or a single passenger vehicle.

Fares have not been finalised but the company said that they will be less than half the typical price of taxi/ride-share services, though higher than the existing Blue Line. The Chicago Express Loop’s 12-minute trip will be three to four times faster than existing transportation systems between O’Hare Airport and downtown Chicago, it said, with skates leaving each station as frequently as every 30 seconds. The intention is for the loop to operate 20 hours per day, every day of the week.

The electric skates will be built on a modified Tesla Model X chassis; each will feature a climate-controlled cabin, luggage storage space and Wi-Fi, said the company.