News Brief
India’s First Hyperloop Test Track Completed At IIT Madras Discovery Campus
Hyperloop test track
India’s ambition to set up a hyperloop infrastructure, promising high-speed rail travel akin to air travel, has taken a significant step forward.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, sharing visuals of the 410 metre hyperloop test track on the X platform, extended congratulations to the Indian Railways, IIT Madras, Avishkar Hyperloop, and Tutr Hyperloop teams for their achievement.
Two teams associated with IIT Madras, the student-led Avishkar Hyperloop and the startup Tutr Hyperloop, are spearheading the project.
Their hyperloop system aims to transform travel experience as such a system, if deployed, would enable passengers to cover the 350 km stretch between Chennai and Bengaluru in just 30 minutes.
The hyperloop operates using magnetic levitation within low-pressure tubes, allowing goods and passengers to travel at speeds comparable to airplanes.
The low energy requirement and technological elements of this project can also aid India’s efforts in becoming carbon neutral.
Key partners in the project include the Union Ministry of Railways and steel major ArcelorMittal.
ArcelorMittal stated that the project’s primary aim is to advance and commercialise hyperloop technologies to provide high-speed, affordable, reliable, and sustainable transportation solutions.
In March 2022, IIT Madras proposed a collaboration with the Ministry of Railways to develop a contactless pod prototype and establish a first-of-its-kind Hyperloop Test Facility at its Discovery campus in Thaiyur.
The project, estimated at Rs 8.34 crore, is expected to facilitate further hyperloop research for the Indian Railways.
