Priyanka Tiwari
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India’s Hyperloop Test Track Plans: Steps are being taken to develop the country’s first Hyperloop transportation system capable of running at a speed of 1100 km per hour. Recently, a 422 meter long Hyperloop Test Track was successfully built in collaboration with IIT Madras and Indian Railways. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw showed off the clip on his X account. Following this, the government is now gearing up to create a 50 km hyperloop corridor. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that this might be the longest hyperloop track in the world.
So far, 3 grants of $1 million each have been received and for the 3rd grant, one has yet to be issued.
The Minister of Railways also stated that for this, new hyperloop technologies will be adopted from the competitors. Vaishnav added it is necessary that the pre-commercial model of the Hyperloop track is fully located in India. During the closing ceremony of the inaugural Globe Hyperloop Competition held in India, he gave out an ambitious challenge. According to this, we will build a Hyperloop corridor of 40 to 50 km which will allow trains on the route to be separated from other rail traffic.
What is Hyperloop Track?
Hyperloop Track is a more advanced form of traveling wherein passengers travel in pods at much greater speeds within a low pressure tube. It aims to achieve speed of up to 1,200 kilometers per hour. If this technology succeeds, it will reduce the time taken to travel between two cities significantly. This can give a better option than normal railways and air travel. For example, the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai can be reduced to 1.5 hours with this system.
First Hyperloop test track completed in December 2024
As per the TOI report, Indian Railways wants to construct a commercial test track that can provide an accurate assessment to know if this technology can be put to use. IIT Madras was able to complete the first successful Hyperloop test track in December 2028. This will enable better development of the technology in the coming years. The Hyperloop track concept was first introduced in the 1970’s by Swiss professor Marcel Zafar. A company called Swissmetro SA was set up in 1992 to work on that project, but it was dissolved in 2009.
Numerous firms across the globe are focused on hyperloop technology. Some of them include Virgin Hyperloop, which is working on its system's test in Nevada, USA, and Canadian Transpod which is building a test track to prove its design. Recently, the Ministry of Railways officially stated that besides the Hyperloop track, IIT Madras and Indian Railways will also collaborate on research and development of VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircraft.
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