Virgin Hyperloop One on Thursday entered into a pact with the Maharashtra government to conduct a preliminary study to identify potential routes for the new transportation mode and analyse its economic impact. The US firm signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) and will also identify the potential routes for hyperloop transportation. Watch Below the Hyperloop Complete Its First Successful Test Ride
The company said it will work with its partners in the region and the PMRDA will help navigate the regulatory requirements and support the report with data. “A hyperloop solution could revolutionise the transport experience,” the company said, adding that it would take just 14-minutes to travel between Mumbai and the fast-growing city of Pune – a journey that currently takes up to 3 hours by car.
The preliminary study is intended to analyse the applicability and benefits of hyperloop technology, identify high priority routes within the state based on demand analysis and socio-economic benefits and inform the government in any future decision to progress to the full project stage. The hyperloop mode uses technology in which a vehicle in a special tunnel floats above the track, using magnetic levitation, at a top speed of over 1,000 km per hour.
“As it is the only company in the world that has built and successfully tested a full-scale hyperloop system, there is a growing demand for a hyperloop from governments and private sectors across the world,” Virgin Hyperloop One said. It is working on projects in UAE, the US, Canada, Finland, and the Netherlands.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “A hyperloop route requires high-density traffic to become viable as a means of rapid public transit. “Mumbai and Pune, the most and seventh most populous cities in India respectively, have the potential to provide an optimal route with a high density. By reducing travel time to under 20 minutes, a hyperloop route will help intensify the connectivity between the metropolitan regions of Pune and Mumbai, transforming the two cities into India’s first and largest Megapolis, he added.
Huge potential
The company said in the statement said that looking at the present traffic scenario in Mumbai, Virgin Hyperloop One can reinvent and transform transportation in Maharashtra as it redefines speed with minimal time consumption.
A hyperloop solution could revolutionise the transport experience, it said.
It would take just 14 minutes to travel between Mumbai and Pune, a journey that currently takes up to three hours by car. It could also streamline airport connectivity, such as connecting Pune’s new Purandar Airport to the city center or Navi Mumbai International Airport to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
It could look at connecting Nagpur, which is in the easternmost part of Maharashtra, with Mumbai and Pune to vastly improve passenger and freight transportation, the statement said. Managing Director (Middle East & India), Virgin Hyperloop One, Harj Dhaliwal said that his company is the only one in the world that has successfully built and tested the first full-scale hyperloop system.
With this report, the State government will be able to identify viable routes that link commercial and knowledge hubs dispersed throughout the region with greater mobility and unparalleled efficiency, he said in the statement.
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