India may be the newest testing ground for US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to perform its trials. If media reports are to be believed, the company has proposed to link Mumbai and Pune with its ultra-high speed transport system.
If this proposal is accepted, the three-hour travel time between Mumbai to Pune will be reduced to a mere 25 minutes. Bibop Gresta, Chairman and co-founder of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has reportedly submitted the proposal to Nitin Gadkari, Union Transport Minister of Government of India.
Once given approval, it will conduct a feasibility study within six to eight months and, in 38 months, will start operations. As per Gresta, the cost of building a track would $40 Mn per km.
“India is the perfect mix of high-density, lack of infrastructure, and political willingness. We are talking about a feasibility study which can become a real track once the study is positive. If the government wants to do it, we are ready,” said Gresta in an interview.
Hyperloop: Revolutionising Travel
The HTT system is an entirely new mode of transport that hopes to revolutionise travel.The brainchild of Tesla founder Elon Musk, HTT is a concept where a pod-like vehicle travels through a near-vacuum that is contained within a tube. It is believed that it has a speed of close to 1,300 km an hour even when not running on full steam.
In 2013, the concept was envisioned by Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors in the form of a white paper With 45 teams working together, across 26 countries, HTT inspired to make history in exchange for stock options.
To launch this project, the company is in talks with about 20 countries. In addition, it has already signed agreements with Slovakia, Nigeria, Abu Dhabi and the state of California in the US. Furthermore, the company is considering four other routes apart from Mumbai and Pune. On asking Gresta about the other proposed routes, he declined to reveal more details.
