Hyperloop could cover Mumbai to Pune in 23 mins

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, August 1

India will become the first country to have a working model of the hyperloop transport project, as the Devendra Fadnavis government accorded the Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop the 'public infrastructure' tag earlier this week.

The hyperloop will run from the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai to Wakad in Pune, covering a distance of 117.5 kms in just 23 minutes.

The hyperloop is a high-speed transport system in which passengers will travel via pods which will be suspended in tubes. The air pressure in the tubes will be just nine per cent of the normal pressure above sea level, according to the concept proposed by maverick entrepreneur Richard Branson. 

The speed at which the pods will travel within the tubes has been estimated between 500 and 1500 kms per hour.

Under the plan which has been approved by the Maharashtra government, DP World FZE and Hyperloop Technologies will form a consortium and bring in the entire investment required for the project. While the state government will lease the land to the consortium for the project, the entire funding amounting to about Rs 70,000 crores will be brought in by the investors as Foreign Direct Investment, say state government sources.

At present, there is still no working model of the hyperloop. However, the proponents of the novel transport system have told Maharashtra government officials that the first version of the hyperloop can run in a time of seven years.

The Maharashtra government has allotted a 15-km test track for the hyperloop between Kiwale and Urse on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Apart from earmarking Rs 300 crore, the Maharashtra government has got the faculty and students of IIT-Bombay to participate in the project.

The pilot project is expected to cost Rs 5000 crore, according to Virgin Hyperloop One-DP World consortium.

DP World already has a footprint in India having operated in the logistics sector.

"Maharashtra will create the first hyperloop transportation system in the world and a global hyperloop supply chain starting from Pune. Maharashtra and India are at the forefront of hyperloop infrastructure building now and this is a moment of pride for our people," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The project will create hundreds of thousands of new high-tech jobs, generate over $36 billion in wider socio-economic benefits, and create a new hyperloop component and manufacturing opportunities for Maharashtra to export to the rest of the world," said Virgin Hyperloop One.

"Support for hyperloop transportation systems is mounting across the world and India has led the charge to bring hyperloop to fruition since the early stages of development," said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at DP World and Chairman, Virgin Hyperloop One.

Even though some officials have expressed reservation about the success of the Hyperloop project, Fadnavis after a meeting with Branson some years ago has been aggressively pushing this transportation concept. 

Hyperloop project

• Rs 70,000 cr Total cost of project
• 117.5 km Distance between Bandra Kurla Complex (Mumbai)-Wakad (Pune)
• 23 minutes Total journey time between 2 cities
• 4 hours Current travel time via train between two cities of Maharashtra
• 496 km/hr Speed at which hyperloop train will run on the route
• 7 years Completion time  for transport project
• Under the plan, DP World FZE and Hyperloop Technologies will form a consortium and bring in the entire investment required for the project
• While the state government will lease the land to the consortium, the entire funding will be brought in by investors as foreign direct investment   

PILOT PROJECT

• 15 km Test track between Kiwale-Urse on Mumbai-Pune e-way
• Rs 300 cr Maha govt grant
• Rs 5,000 cr Total cost of project
• IIT-Bombay faculty, students roped in

Maharashtra will create the first hyperloop transportation system in the world and a global hyperloop supply chain starting from Pune. Maharashtra and India are at the forefront of hyperloop infrastructure building now and this is a moment of pride for us. —  Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra CM