Mumbai: Hyperloop, the next generation of mass-mobility for people to travel in a faster, safer and greener way, is likely to be operational by 2032-33. It is an inter-city mode of transport where people can travel between nearby cities such as Mumbai-Pune, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Chandigarh at ultra-high speeds.
Quintrans Hyperloop, the Pune-based startup that is driving the project since 2018, however expects to have operational cargo hyperloop by 2027-28. “While the safety aspects of the technology are still being developed, once done Hyperloop will be one of the safest modes of transportation, with the tubes providing an external shielding and no friction with less vibrations and more stability to overall structure,” CEO and Co-Founder of Quintrans Hyperloop, Pranay Luniya said.
Co-Founder of Quintrans Hyperloop, Pranay Luniya shares more details
“We are developing technology in order to make the infrastructure cost efficient. Our USP lies around making technology the easiest to implement and efficient to work with. We are targeting a capex of Rs 150 Crore per km, making it less expensive than the current bullet train project between Mumbai-Ahmedabad,” Luniya said.
When asked if the ticket rates of Rs 1,000-1,500 between Mumbai-Pune in a hyperloop will not be costly and whether people can afford it, Luniya said, “It is an open estimated amount of ticket price we are looking at. A direct flight between Pune-Mumbai costs Rs 3,000 while the travel in Vande Bharat train costs Rs 750. Hyperloop is the best of both worlds where you can travel between the cities in under 25 minutes, which is faster than an aeroplane, and at a price which is half of that,” he said.
Stating that India is touted as one of the biggest Hyperloop markets globally, Luniya said, “We have lot of developing cities with lack of good connectivity. Hyperloop can not only bring these cities closer, but we can see possibilities never imagined before where one can stay in Pune and work in Mumbai.”
Current status of project
About the current status of the project, he said, “We are currently developing a 100-meter pilot setup in Pune, where we will demonstrate all sets of technologies in a full-scale arrangement. We have been having multiple conversations with various government entities and have had positive responses from them. Currently, we are working with these entities to develop a roadmap for India,” Luniya, who co-founded the company in 2018 with three of his batchmates—Kartik Kulkarni, Aniruddha Atigre and Prasanna Kidambi, added.
In 2019, the Maharashtra government approved Hyperloop One’s plans to develop the world’s first hyperloop system in the state. The project, a joint venture between the Maharashtra government and Virgin Group-promoted Hyperloop One, aimed to connect Pune to Mumbai and reduce the time taken to travel between the two cities from three hours to 25 minutes.
Nitin Gadkari's contribution
Earlier, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) had submitted a letter of intent to Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari in 2017 who offered a huge chunk of land along westerly bypass of Pune connected to the Expressway. The idea was to enable them to run an experiment between Mumbai and Pune as a pilot project.
Despite interest from Hyperloop One and HTT, no substantial progress materialised in India. Quintrans Hyperloop is now building a working prototype that can carry cargo on a large scale before the end of this year. The startup wants to build the first hyperloop system in Asia and at a relatively low cost.
