Transforming the transport sector of the world
A mere 34 km stretch back in 1853, between Bombay and Thane took at least an hour to be commuted by the first passenger train of British-India. It was lead by three locomotives: Sindh, Sultan, and Sahib, which together schlepped the 14 railway carriages that included around 400 guests on board. It was considered as a revolution in the transport industry back in that time.
Talking about a similar break in the transport industry for India ( also the world )at present, is the Hyperloop transport. Why is it a revolution? It boasts of commuting from Mumbai to Delhi in only 55 minutes. Almost the same time it took for the train to reach from Bombay to Thane, a century back.
What is Hyperloop Program?
Proposed by the visionary genius, Elon Musk, Hyperloop is his brainchild that includes a train-system operating inside a nearly vacuumed cylindrical tubes. The passenger/freight pods are magnetically levitated which literally floats it over the rails reducing the friction and allowing it to achieve unbelievably scary speeds. The tubes are suspended above ground in order to make it weatherproof and safe from earthquakes.
The company Hyperloop One - which is responsible of bringing Hyperloop transport to life - describes it as ‘ a new way to move people and things at airline speeds for the price of a bus ticket. It's on-demand, energy-efficient and safe. Think: broadband for transportation’
How fast can the pods travel?
Suspended magnetically these pods are designed to minimise the frictional effect and glide effortlessly by using a custom electric motor to accelerate or halt the same. Due to the low-pressure environment, these pods can attain a speed of over 1000kmph. That’s faster than an average speed of a domestic airline.
What’s in it for India?
The limping transport sector of India which hasn’t seen much technological advancements can receive a major push by this program and should consider it as a must-grab opportunity for its growth - both physical and economical. A situation where inter-city travel becomes easier and more efficient than intra-city is whole heartedly welcomed. It won’t only give trade a boost - linking the land locked states to the sea ports - but also provide the cohort of service employees, a medium to commute to their offices from different states. As a cascading effect this will also relieve the pressure of population on the employer state. A classic example is of Bengaluru. The city is literally on the verge of a collapse with traffic a ubiquitous menace and shortage of water due to the high population density.
When can India see the first network?
The first circuit is already completed in the Nevada Desert. The test track is named as Dev Loop. Thus, if everything functions according to the theoretical plan, India could see it’s first Hyperloop network by 2021 linking Kolkatta and Chennai as a freight corridor. The recent conference in New -Delhi which also had the presence of Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railways and Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, shortlisted 5 viable proposals for India’s debut. They are :
Bengaluru-to-Chennai: 334km in 20 minutes
Bengaluru-to-Thiruvananthapuram: 736km in 41 minutes
Delhi-to-Mumbai via Jaipur and Indore: 1,317km in 55 minutes
Mumbai-to-Chennai via Bengaluru: 1,102km 50 minutes
Bengaluru to Chennai: 334km in 20 minutes
However as the project is still at a nascent stage in India, the optimistic delivery date given by Rob Lloyd, CEO Hyperloop One, is bound to defer. With several clearances required it’s going to be a herculean task. Further, laying of tracks and stations will require land. History is proof that land acquisitions is a major hiccup in India with several projects already in a dormant state due to the same.
In a fast paced economy like India that craves a good transport system, the market conditions for the incubation of Hyperloop-one is perfect. It has done well from bringing on paper design to its practical testing stage. However it will be more interesting to see if it manages to breeze through the largest democracy of the world and be voted as the most popular transport of India.
In an era where people don’t have much time in their busy schedule, Hyperloop-One is literally ‘selling time’ with its inventions.
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