If Richard Branson owned Virgin Hyperloop has its way, then commuter’s traveling time between Mumbai to Pune will reduce to merely 14 – 25 minutes. This is no exaggeration, but a fact that can turn into reality. And to turn this incredible feet into reality, the Los Angeles based Virgin Hyperloop signed a framework agreement with Maharashtra government in the ongoing Maharashtra Magnetic event.
The company will start groundwork for this ambitious project after conducting a six-month in-depth feasibility study, which along with analyzing and defining the route alignment, will study environmental impact as well as whether the project is commercially & financially viable.
Virgin Hyperloop claimed that this Hyperloop project will bring forth tremendous economic and social benefits for people. It claims that 26 Mn people will be connected with the hyperloop, supporting as many as 150 Mn commuters every year. In terms of pure money, this will result in benefit of $55 Bn (INR 350,000 Cr) along with a drastic reduction in accident rates.
The company also claimed that its hyperloop can travel up to the average speed of 350 km per hour and this can further increase to 600-1000 km per hour with more improvement in the infrastructure.
Commenting on Mumbai – Pune route, Branson while addressing the media described the route as “one of the busiest routes in the world” but one that is equally unpleasant route to travel on. The charismatic British entrepreneur, who is known for his flashy lifestyle, claimed that trail test of this highly ambitious project will be ready for operation three years from now and six to seven years from now the route will be opened for public.
Currently, it takes nearly three hours to travel from Mumbai to Pune as well as from Pune to Mumbai. While the current time travel is cumbersome and draining, the route through which the journey operates (Mumbai – Pune Expressway) is prone to accidents and mishaps.
Meanwhile, Barnson is not the only one who is in the fray to make Hyperloop into a mass transportation system. His high profile competitor in this space is none other than Elon Musk. In fact, the Tesla founder Elon Musk is widely considered as the brainchild of this one of its kind traveling system.