Mumbai: Virgin Hyperloop One has signed a MoU with the Maharashtra government to build a hyperloop between Pune and Mumbai beginning with an operational demonstration track.
Virgin Group Founder and Virgin Hyperloop One Chairman Richard Branson said, "I believe Virgin Hyperloop One could have the same impact upon India in the 21st century as trains did in the 20th century. The Pune-Mumbai route is an ideal first corridor as part of a national hyperloop network that could dramatically reduce travel times between India's major cities to as little as two hours. Virgin Hyperloop One can help India become a global transportation pioneer and forge a new world-changing industry."
Here is all you need to know about the Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop project:
1. The Hyperloop route will link central Pune, Navi Mumbai International Airport, and Mumbai in 25-minutes. The high-capacity passenger and cargo hyperloop route will support 150 million passenger trips annually, saving more than 90 million hours of travel time, the company said.
2. The Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop project will begin with a six-month in-depth feasibility study to analyse and define the route alignment.
3. Construction of the Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop route would commence after procurement and will be completed in two phases, beginning with an operational demonstration track built between two points on the route.
4. The demonstration track will be constructed in two to three years from the signing of the agreement and serve as a platform for testing, certifying, and regulating the system for commercial operations.
5. The 100 percent electric, efficient Hyperloop system will ease severe expressway congestion and could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 150,000 tons annually.
6. The Pune-Mumbai route could result in $55 billion (Rs 350,000 crore) in socio-economic benefits (time savings, emissions and accident reduction, operational cost savings, etc.) over 30 years of operation.
7. The second phase will target to complete construction of the full Pune-Mumbai route in five to seven years. Future projects could also extend the route to link central Pune with the New Pune International Airport and Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai with Pune's industrial economic zones.
