INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Maharashtra is exploring hyperloop technology to cut the travel time between the two key cities.Mumbai: The
travel time between Mumbai and Pune, which now is around four hours, will get reduced to just 25 minutes if a high-tech transportation
system being explored by the Maharashtra government is implemented.The government is exploring the hyperloop technology to drastically cut
the travel time between the two key cities, located around 200km away from each other
It has approached a US-based firm, Virgin HyperloopOne, for the modern train project.Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, currently in the US,
visited the Virgin HyperloopOne test site in Nevada and met the company's CEO and board member, Rob Lloyd, a statement from the CMO said.The
Government of Maharashtra is exploring this transportation technology (hyperloop) for the Mumbai-Pune route with an aim to reduce the travel
time between them to just 25 minutes, said the statement.Virgin HyperloopOne plans to send engineers to Pune shortly to conduct a study, it
said.The Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) has identified a 15-km long demonstration track for hyperloop
It is noteworthy that 70 per cent of materials and components required for hyperloop can be sourced within Maharashtra itself, the statement
added.Virgin HyperloopOne founder-chairman Richard Branson had announced a framework agreement for the project in the presence of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Fadnavis during his visit to Mumbai for the `Magnetic Maharashtra' conclave held in February.The company
recently completed a pre-feasibility study for the Mumbai-Pune route.The electric efficient hyperloop system will ease expressway congestion
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 1,50,000 ton annually, the statement added.
