New Delhi: Virgin Hyperloop One’s, Chairman Richard Branson at the Magnetic Maharashtra Summit announced that the Indian State of Maharashtra is determined to build a hyperloop between Pune and Mumbai starting with an operational demonstration track. He also announced the Framework Agreement in the presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis to begin the building of the route.
The event was attended by various international and national industrialists, including Virgin Hyperloop One board members and key investors Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO and Group Chairman of DP World, and Ziyavudin Magomedov, Chairman of Summa Group, Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra and many more. Virgin Hyperloop One is the only company in the world that has built a fully operational Hyperloop system.
At the event, various details about the hyperloop were also discussed and what impact hyperloop will have on the lives of people of Maharashtra. The hyperloop route will link Pune, a leading manufacturing & IT hub and Mumbai, the financial capital of India in 25-minutes, connecting 26 million people and creating a thriving, competitive mega-region.
The high- capacity passenger and cargo hyperloop route eventually will support 150 million passenger trips annually, saving more than 90 million hours of travel time, and will provide citizens with greater opportunities, and social and economic mobility. Richard Branson had said the near- supersonic mode of on-ground passenger travel could cut travel time considerably and also reduce accidents. The hyperloop mode uses technology in which a vehicle in a special tunnel floats above the track, using magnetic levitation, at a top spe
ed of 1,000km per hour.
Rob Floyd, CEO of Hyperloop One recognized state government for its active interest which helped Virgin Hyperloop to speedily work on its initial feasibility study. In the coming six months Virgin will come out with the route alignment, including environmental impact, economic and commercial viability, the regulatory framework, and cost and funding model suggestions, he added.
Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, told that Rs. 500 crore MoU would be signed with the state government for the manufacture of e-vehicles. Maharashtra recently announced an electric vehicle policy with ample of remunerations for both manufacturer and consumers. Mahindra also announced the building of a Bollywood themed entertainment destination on the company’s land in Kandivli at a cost of Rs. 1,700 crore and also discussed various other projects.
