Hyperloop One, the only company in the world that has built a full-scale Hyperloop system, announced the winners of its Hyperloop One Global Challenge on 15 September. This was a competition to identify the strongest new Hyperloop routes in the world, and two Indian teams, proposing hyperloops on two routes, made it to the winners’ list.
Following a close assessment of the proposals by a panel of experts in infrastructure, technology and transportation, ten teams from five countries were chosen from among hundreds of applicants.
The winning teams/routes were chosen based on specific criteria including well-defined routes and implementation strategies, key stakeholder involvement from public and private sectors, compelling business cases, and innovative and
creative applications of a Hyperloop system.
The winning routes connect 53 urban centers and nearly 150 million people representing Canada, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their combined distance spans 6,628 km (4,121 miles). Two routes make it to the list from India:
1. Bengaluru-Chennai proposed by the team of AECOM India, and
2. Mumbai-Chennai, proposed by the Hyperloop India team
A hyperloop promises high-speed tertiary transport, in pods, via magnetic levitation. How exactly the a hyperloop system works can be read and seen here.
(With inputs from PTI)