From endless queues to cancelled flights and lost luggage – if you’ve experienced any of the chaos plaguing European airports this summer, it might help to imagine a future in which international travel is smoother and doesn’t revolve so much around flying.

Picture this: the year is 2045. You’re standing on a platform in Berlin awaiting a sleek Hyperloop pod that will glide into the station to a noiseless halt and then deposit you in Paris an hour later, ready for your morning meeting.

In the afternoon, you’ll take another southbound pod on a leisurely trip to Barcelona for the weekend, a journey that will take no more than 90 minutes.

The speed and ease is no longer a surprise to you, because in the last quarter-century, almost all travel throughout Europe has shifted from the skies to the ground.

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It might seem like the stuff of science fiction, but there are real reasons to believe that a future of mobility like this could be possible.

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Read more: yahoo