Virgin Hyperloop One to invest Rs 3,000 crore in Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop track

Virgin Hyperloop One will be building a 15 km-long hyperloop demonstration track between Mumbai and Pune at an estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crore. The complete investment of making this demonstration track will be borne by Virgin Hyperloop One.

As per a report in Hindustan Times, the hyperloop route will link central Pune, Navi Mumbai International Airport, and Mumbai in 25 minutes. It will require at least two to three years to complete the demonstration track and the company will need to obtain various certificates for operationalising the project.

Kiran Gitte, Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) commissioner, said: "The track is intended to be a predecessor to the formidable Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop commute project." Gitte was a part of the chief minister’s delegation that visited the hyperloop test site in Nevada desert in US.

He further added that the land for the proposed project will be between Wakad and the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s Gahunje Stadium along the expressway. He said, “The company will make a 100 percent investment and the state government will provide the land for the project.” It is estimated that the cost for an effective demonstration of the track will be around Rs 3,000 crore. The route will be finalised soon after a team from Virgin Hyperloop One visits Pune.

According to PMRDA, three lakh commuters and 1.10 lakh vehicles including 80,000 buses and 6,000 cars, travel between the two cities daily. The futuristic hyperloop technology has pledged to cover the distance in 25 minutes with 5,000 commuters travelling in one direction per hour.

Hyperloop is the future of commuting across the globe. It is a pod-like vehicle which travels through a tube at a speed that is more than the usual airline speed.