India’s First Hyperloop Test Track Completed At IIT Madras Discovery Campus

India’s ambition to set up a hyperloop infrastructure, promising high-speed rail travel akin to air travel, has taken a significant step forward.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has successfully completed the setting up of country’s first hyperloop test track in Chennai.

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, along with ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, contributed critical materials and expertise for constructing the test track at IIT Madras’ 163-acre Discovery campus.

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.

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