Virgin Hyperloop set to reduce travel time between Pune and Mumbai to 25 minutes

• Virgin Hyperloop signs an intent agreement with the Government of Maharashtra.
  
• The route shall extend from the Pune to Mumbai, as well as Navi Mumbai International Airport.
  
• Since the airport gates will be more accessible, the loop aims to ferry 150 million passengers every year.

It’s wonderful to live in an age where sci-fi concepts can be turned into real-life projects. Cutting down 3 hours of travel time to just 25 minutes is something that you imagine only an aircraft can do. The Hyperloop project makes it possible on-ground.

Not only is this surreal, but India could potentially be the first country to boast of a Hyperloop system in the entire world. Elon Musk’s brainchild, the futuristic transport system could be a reality in the next five to seven years.

The Virgin Group just signed an ‘intent agreement’ with the Maharashtra Government to connect Pune to Mumbai using the Hyperloop transportation system. Currently, the trip takes three hours if you take the expressway, but with the Hyperloop in place, it won’t be more than 25 minutes.

But what is Hyperloop and how can it claim to achieve such a feat?

The wonder that is Hyperloop

Hyperloop is basically an innovative transport system that uses magnetic levitation (maglev) to transport a pod on the surface through a sealed tube. It’s conceptualised that these pods should be able to reach speeds up to 1000km/hr.

Originally designed by SpaceX and Tesla, the project was then made open-source so that anyone could build on it and utilise the technology.

The reason these pods will able to travel so fast is due to the application of the vactrain concept. These capsules will be shooting with a vacuum tube (airless) allowing for speeds that could theoretically go up to 1200km/hr.

So far the main obstacle in building these routes has been the high cost of maglev and the difficulty of maintaining a steady vacuum over long distances.

The Hyperloop India team, when participating in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge said that it would be better to use aluminium rather than fibre to build the pods because it would be more scalable that way.

The route will be fully electric but the project will only take off after a six-month in-depth feasibility study has been conducted. This is essential in order to define the route alignment, environmental impact, economic and commercial viability in line with the cost and funding models that will be applied.

The critique of Hyperloop is that the possibility of an unpleasant and frightening experience happening in a narrow, sealed and windowless capsule is high. Being subject to significant acceleration and high noise levels as the capsule reaches near sonic speeds leaves a lot of people apprehensive about its usability.

Critics even state that despite the tube intently to run as smoothly as possible, all it will take a slight shift in the ground due to seismic activity, and the minor deviation could result in considerable buffeting.

Despite this, the Hyperloop India team claims that it shouldn’t be that different from riding in an aircraft. They maintain that there’s a difference between velocity and acceleration. Acceleration is what you feel as the plane takes off, but once you’re in the air, you hardly notice that you’re moving. Riding in a vacuum tube should be akin to that.

Virgin Hyperloop and the Government of Maharashtra

"We have signed an agreement with Maharashtra to build a Virgin Hyperloop between Mumbai and Pune, beginning with an operational demonstration track in the region," stated Richard Branson, the Virgin Group chairman at the first day of the Magnetic Maharashtra investor summit in Mumbai.

He added that "The proposed Hyperloop transportation system will transform the transportation system and make Maharashtra a global pioneer in the space. The socioeconomic benefits of the project is $55 billion (Rs. 3,54,750 crore),” claiming that the venture would create thousands of jobs.

Details such as the project cost and a timeline are yet to be announced.

Considering that the Hyperloop hasn’t yet become commercially operational anywhere in the world, India is competing against Dubai for the first spot. Branson maintains that the Pune-Mumbai route is the “ideal first corridor” as part of a national network that will be based entirely on Hyperloop technology.

(Image courtesy: INMA/Jarle Naustvik)