CHANDIGARH (Metro Rail News): The Punjab government is exploring the feasibility of connecting major city the state through hyperloop transport system so on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US firm Virgin Hyperloop One to conduct a pre-feasibility economic study for a proposed Hyperloop corridor between Amritsar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh. Hyperloop is a rapid transport system which will provide travelling speeds of up to 1,000km/hr and more
The study of another hyperloop project in India is expected to take up to six weeks. Virgin Hyperloop One is already in discussions with Haryana for a separate MoU to evaluate the feasibility of a Hyperloop system that could potentially extend the route from Punjab to NCR.
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh said that Punjab is keen on becoming the second state in India, after Maharashtra, to build a Hyperloop system. Specifically, we would like to explore a Hyperloop project through Punjab, connecting with other metropolitan centres in the country. In future, this project could link beyond Punjab to connect to the NCR. After the pact was signed.
In Hyperloop mode of transport, electromagnetically levitated pods, each with a seating capacity of 78 people, are propelled through tubes/tunnel in near-vacuum conditions at speeds between 1,000km/hr and 1,300km/hr. Punjab additional chief secretary Shri Vini Mahajan, Investment promotion said the objective was to improve inter-city transport in the region and make it seamless. Los-Angeles based Virgin Hyperloop One is supported by Dubai-based DP World, its largest investor, in the project.
The MoU was signed by Punjab secretary (transport) K Siva Prasad, and Harj Dhaliwal, Virgin Hyperloop One managing director for the Middle East and India, in the presence of Captain Amarinder, and DP World Subcontinent CEO and managing director Rizwan Soomar
Travel Time reduce from 5 hours to less than 30 min
The Hyperloop project along the Amritsar-Ludhiana-Chandigarh corridor could reduce travel time from five hours by road to less than 30 minutes as per Virgin Hyperloop One’s initial estimates. “The pre-feasibility study will be completed in six weeks. It will evaluate several measures such as cost, demand, and socio-economic benefits of the corridor,” added Invest Punjab adviser Moshe Kohli.
“The Hyperloop route in Punjab can be transformative for the state and we look forward to moving ahead on this project, just as have we done in Maharashtra. There is tremendous economic potential in connecting some of Punjab’s biggest cities, such as Amritsar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh among others, in northern India,” said Dhaliwal. “DP World and Virgin Hyperloop One are pleased with the discussions with the government of Punjab. This marks a second state, after Maharashtra, for a prospective Hyperloop network in the country,” said Soomar.
