The last century has seen cars that spawned the birth of industrial society, trains that sprawled across the country and connected the coasts, and planes that could traverse hemispheres in a matter of hours. This rapid development and deep-seated desire to be faster and safer has engendered a transportation arms race, and we're the main beneficiaries. The Hyperloop combines the best of both worlds and offers jet-like speeds for the cost of a bus-fare. It looks like 2017 will see some major developments for the storied technology.

Passengers walk beneath train schedule displays listing several delays as they head to boarding platforms for regional commuter trains operated by Philadelphia's main transit agency, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in Suburban Station in downtown Philadelphia. SEPTA said cracks were discovered Friday, July 1, 2016, in beams in the suspension system on 115 of the transit agency's 120 Silverliner V passenger train coaches, which make up one-third of the agency's fleet and were immediately taken out of service for emergency repairs that may reduce train service throughout the summer.

A person walks on a snow-covered sidewalk on a bridge near a commuter rail station Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, in Wellesley, Mass. Another winter blast of snow and strong winds moved into the Northeast on Sunday to the delight of some and the consternation of others, just days after the biggest storm of the season dumped up to 19 inches of snow in the region.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A seaplane that crashed in Sydney on New Year's Eve killing six people, including the chief executive of British catering company Compass Group Plc, was off course but the cause of the crash remains undetermined, Australian investigators said on Wednesday.