Hyperloop is a High-Speed transportation system in which a low-pressure tube is constructed as a medium to transport pods. Pods carry passengers or materials. These pods can achieve an unbelievable speed of 1200 Km/Hr. This speed is more than the speed of sound.
Basically, a pod-like structure carries passengers and it travels through a pipe which nearly air free. It also works on Maglave technology so that minimum friction in pods and pipe result to maximum speed.

The idea of Hyperloop came from Elon Musk. He is a great entrepreneur, He created Tesla Motors and SpaceX Company. Elon is well known for his innovative ideas to make human life easier. He is also the founder of Solar City. Every entrepreneur must follow or read about Elon Musk to achieve success. He thought about hyperloop in 2012. Cities traffic does not allow fast and safe transport so he thought there should be another transportation way that can connect cities faster than an airplane. This is how the hyperloop company formed.

Such hyperloop is coming to India. In mid-2018 Maharashtra government got a proposal from Virgin Hyperloop and the project gets sanction in August 2019. This project will connect Pune and Mumbai which are two major cities of Maharashtra.

Here are 10 main Key Points of Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop,

• 1) Why hyperloop for Pune and Mumbai? 

Many people said that the Pune Mumbai route already has expressway, Both cities have airports, then why wasting money on Hyperloop like projects? But there are many points which should be considered. Like expressway is not enough for heavy traffic. Pune and Mumbai both have high logistic needs. Railways, Roads, and flights are always full on this route. Road transport takes 3 hours, air transport time is 40 minutes but check-in and check-out time of the airport is very high. Trains are always overcrowded. Most importantly time travel through Hyperloop on the Pune Mumbai route will be 20 minutes. Yes, it’s less than a normal mealtime. This huge benefit will help people a lot. Less time in travel is more time at work. If a person saves a daily 1 hour time in transport then he saves more than 3 working days. And here you can save 5 hours daily. There are many people who travel frequently on this route. It will be like a dream for such people. Mumbai-Pune in 20 minutes is the main reason that the Pune-Mumbai route needs Hyperloop. 

• 2) Who is the developer of hyperloop?

Maharashtra government is the main developer of the Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop project. ‘Hyperloop One’ is the company that bags the contract for construction work. Mr. Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is the owner of the Hyperloop one. The company is formed in 2014. It’s an American company. Maharashtra CM Mr. Devendra Fadanvis visited America in 2017. This year only he wishes to construct Hyperloop in Maharashtra. This is how the Hyperloop one got the contract. Currently, Hyperloop is developing a10 Km test track for the project. India might be 1st country in the world which will have Hyperloop. This is why the testing track is a must as Hyperloop is not common in the world. DP world who is the Global ports owner will also jointly work with Virgin company to complete the project.

• 3) What will be the Max speed of Hyperloop?

The maximum speed of the Hyperloop is more than sound. 1200 Km/Hr is the maximum speed of Hyperloop. This speed is more than the speed of the road, Rail, Bullet train and even more than an airplane. The operating speed of the Hyperloop will be close to 1000 Km/Hr. This is the thing which makes Hyperloop very special.

• 4) Route and stations of Hyperloop

As mentioned earlier Hyperloop will run between Pune and Mumbai. These are the most important cities for Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital of India and Pune is the 6th largest metro. The distance between these cities is 150 Km. Usually, it takes 3 hours by road. But road traveling is not safe and heavy traffic causes delays. Let’s talk about the route of Hyperloop. Route will start from Central Pune to Mumbai via Navi Mumbai International Airport, Means, There will be 3 stations which are Central Pune(Wakad), Navi Mumbai International Airport, Mumbai (BKC) respectively. This distance will be covered around 20 Minutes. 

• 5) Budget 

Not a single hyperloop is fully operational in the world. Most of the hyperloop is under testing. Hence the budget of the project is high. It is expected that the project will cost up to 70,000 crores. It will benefit more than 75 lakh people annually.

• 6) Funding

It is unclear how funding will be arranged by the state government of Maharashtra. DP World may invest 35,000 crores in the project. The government may collect funda through bonds or public-private partnerships. But yet there is no official announcement about the project fundings.

• 7) Construction Details

The length of the route will be around 117.5 Km. It will start from the Wakad area of Pune to BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) in Mumbai. There will be 3 stations on the route. The middle station will be at Navi Mumbai International Airport. The length of the pod will be 8.7meters. Width and height will be 2.7 and 2.4 meters respectively. Several pods will travel simultaneously in the tube. The tube will be partially vacuumed. The pods will be levitated through a magnetic effect to reduce friction and to give maximum speed. Energy will be required at the start of the pod movement about 150km further distance will be without any external force. Huge fan in front will suck the remaining air in the tube and will transfer it to the rear.

• 8) Problems in hyperloop construction

There are many protests in India against hyperloop construction. Many political parties are against the government for this project. Reasons are given that it is a waste of money. It will harm beautiful nature Etc. As no hyperloop is operational in world hence it is very challenging to start it so soon in India. Test pod achieved a maximum speed of 385 Km/Hr. which is not sufficient, but it will surely attain max speed soon. Land acquisition is one of big challenges in India. This project also faces the same problem.

• 9) when will it complete?

It is said that actual construction time is 7 years for the project. The state government wants this project to compete by 2026. But as mentioned earlier many challenges in the project are delaying the project. If the project gets all land and funding then it will take 7 years to complete the project.

Pod

• 10) Do we really need a Hyperloop?

It is a debated question. There are many pros and cons to the project. If you see the need then around 75 million people travel on this route every year. many people have time problems due to traffic. for such people, Hyperloop will help a lot. At the same time, a project is very costly. Investing 70,000 crores for a project in a country where basic education and clean hospitals are not available is a big thing. It’s necessary to maintain a balance between growth and equality. If 25 million travels early through hyperloop then it will be a successful project. Let’s see…