Virgin Group has been working on its own superfast transportation system 'Hyperloop One', and will be opening the world's first-of-its-kind transportation service in India. The Hyperloop One will connect the city of Pune, the upcoming international airport in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai in just 25 minutes, as opposed to the current three hours taken for the same distance. Virgin Group founder Richard Branson announced the project on February 18, 2018 in Mumbai at the Magnetic Maharashtra Convergence 2018. Branson has signed the framework agreement to begin the development of the route. While the first demonstration track will be built in the next two to three years, the second phase will see the Hyperloop One being built for commercial use in five to seven years.
If the project goes through as planned, India could be one of the first markets globally for the super fast transportation system ahead of North America, the Middle East, and Europe.
Virgin Group's Hyperloop One is essentially a tube based transportation system that aims to load passengers in a pod, which will accelerate at airline speeds in a low pressure tube. Virgin says its technology would use magnetic levitation in low-pressure tubes to transport people and goods at airplane-like speeds. The system is expected to support 150 million passenger trips annually with savings of up to 90 million hours in travel time. The Hyperloop One is capable of travelling at speeds up to 1000 kmph.
The Hyperloop One system is already being tested in Nevada
According to an initial study by Virgin Hyperloop One, the Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop project could result in socio-economic benefits of about $55 billion over a period of 30 years. What's more interesting is the fact that Virgin plans to keep the Hyperloop One accessible to masses, and hence, prices won't be back breaking.
The Pune-Mumbai hyperloop project could result in $55 billion in socio-economic benefits over 30 years of operation, according to an initial study by Virgin Hyperloop One. The system is also said to reduce gas emissions of up to 86,000 tons over 30 years. The company has already been testing the system in Nevada, US with speeds in excess of 386 kmph.
The Pune-Mumbai project will be the first such corridor as part of a national hyperloop network, as per Virgin and will dramatically reduce travel time between most of India's major cities to under two hours.
