Hyperloop envisages pods or capsules
travelling at high speeds through low
low-pressure
tubes erected on columns or tunneled
underground.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop One has
signed an agreement with the Maharas
Maharashtra
government to build a Hyperloop that will cut
the travel time between Mumbai and Pune to 25
minutes from the 3 hours it now takes by road.
A 10-km
km pilot path will be built from Pune’s
Hinjewadi, but no more details are immediately
available. Branson says
ays the Mumbai
Mumbai-Pune
Hyperloop will connect 26 million people,
support 150 million passenger trips per year,
and could cut greenhouse gas emissions by up
to 86,000 tonnes over 30 years. However,
Hyperloop is currently only a concept — and
experts warn that the global hype around it
must be taken with a healthy dose of cynicism.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop One has
signed an agreement with the Maharashtra
government to build a Hyperloop that will cut
the travel time between Mumbai and Pune to 25
minutes.
THE VEHICLE
Hyperloop envisages pods or capsules
travelling at high speeds through low-pressure
low
tubes erected on columns or tunneled
underground. The system is fully autonomous
and sealed, so no driver-related
driver
error is
anticipated. In a sealed environment with almost
no air resistance, the pods are expected to
reach very high speeds.
The Science
The vehicle uses magnetic levitation,
and is propelled by a proprietary
electric propulsion system. First open-
open
air propulsion test was conducted in
May 2016, first systems test in May
2017. Motion will not involve contact,
so the vehicle will be virtually
noiseless.
The Company
The Advantage
Besides being fast, Hyperloop is “energy
“energy-
agnostic”, drawing from whichever source is
available. If that’s solar or wind, the system will
be carbon-free.
Hyperloop concept was proposed by Elon
Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, in 2012.
The idea was open- -sourced, and Hyperloop
One was founded in 2014 as one of the firms
building the high-speed
high
transportation
system. In 2017, Hyperloop One received a
big investment from Richard Branson, and
was rebranded as Virgin Hyperloop One.
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