Nagpur: Nagpur, Gurugram and Varanasi, have been shortlisted to test the ambitious rapid transport systems SkyTran pod cars —driverless vehicles that run along a predetermined course.
US-based skyTran Inc., which is developing pod car systems for urban transport, is ready to build a one-kilometre pilot track in India at its own cost as required by a government panel, a company executive said.
Varanasi is the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while Nagpur is that of transport minister Nitin Gadkari. The three cities may see the first rapid transport systems using pod cars being built by US space agency Nasa’s SkyTran and UK’s Ultra Global PRT, initially over a 1km test stretch each.
WHAT IS PODCARS ? HOW THEY WORKS ?
“The expert panel formed to lay down safety standards for pod taxis in the country has shortlisted the two cities in addition to Gurugram for the companies to build a prototype for a 1km stretch to showcase their technology. Two of these three cities will finally showcase the prototypes from the respective firms,” said a senior government official requesting anonymity.
New Zealand’s Metrino Personal Rapid Transit along with Ultra Global PRT and SkyTran were among the three companies that had bid for transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s pod taxi project in India last year. All the three companies that won approval from the government to build a pilot stretch are to showcase their technology to implement the projects by forming joint ventures with Indian companies.
“The panel was asked to shortlist three sites. Since the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), which is responsible for implementing the project, had already invited tenders for Gurugram, they were to choose two more. They chose Varanasi and Nagpur. The prototypes will be built on only two sites as one of the three contenders has backed out,” added the official cited above.
Transport expert and former transport adviser at NITI Aayog Manoj Singh says, “Varanasi is a good choice. It’s a congested city and overhead pod taxis can be experimented with to see how this mobility solution works. Besides, being a heritage city, pod taxi can be a tourist attraction if managed and planned well.”
“This is one of the multiple solutions being explored. Apart from being a viable solution from the cost-per-passenger-km point of view, there are certain advantages to it such as the speed at which it can be constructed as compared to a metro rail system,” said Sanjay Garg, partner and leader, capital projects, at PwC.
In the past six months, India has emerged as a hot destination for several transport technology giants, including Hyperloop and Hyperloop I who are looking to sell rapid transit systems.