Hyperloop One, which builds high-speed transportation between cities, has opened a vote on five potential routes in India. The five routes have been planned by teams from India who participated in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, which invited teams from across the world to submit viable transport plans for their regions that would benefit millions.
Hyperloop is a technology that was proposed by inventor and businessman Elon Musk, who is behind the electric car company Tesla and the commercial space transport company SpaceX. It involves sending magnetically levitated pods through low-pressure tubes at very high speeds, carrying goods or people. Hyperloop One is currently developing such a system between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
In the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, the company had invited people to submit viable transport plans for their respective countries. According to the company it received 2,600 registrants from 90 countries, from which it selected 35 semi-finalists across all continents. India sent in the highest number of registrants.
The five semi-finalists from India and their proposed routes are:
AECOM - Bengaluru-to-Chennai: 334 km in 20 minutes. Meeting the demand of a passenger and freight super-corridor growing at 15% a year.
LUX Hyperloop Network - Bengaluru-to-Thiruvananthapuram: 736 km in 41 minutes. Connects two major ports in southern India with population centres of Coimbatore and Kochi.
Dinclix GroundWorks - Delhi-to-Mumbai via Jaipur and Indore: 1,317 km in 55 minutes. Freight and passengers. Connects two megacities and creates seaport access for landlocked intermediary cities in the interior.
Hyperloop India - Mumbai-to-Chennai via Bengaluru: 1,102 km. 50 minutes. Phased development for freight and passengers. Boosts capacity at ports of Mumbai and Chennai, creates a Suez Canal-like link between India’s coasts.
Infi-Alpha - Bengaluru to Chennai: 334 km in 20 minutes. Meeting the demand of a passenger and freight super-corridor growing at 15% a year. Connects with major airports.
The company had hosted a Hyperloop One Vision For India summit in New Delhi on February 28 which was attended by Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu and NITI Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant. According to a Bloomberg report, Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd said the company is in early talks with the Indian government on the how to make some of these proposals come true, including sourcing materials locally.
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