Delhi-Mumbai in 70 mins @ Hyperloop?

30 January 2017

Delhi to Mumbai in 70 minutes or Chennai to Mumbai in 60 minutes — take your pick. That’s the time Hyperloop One will take to transport you from one Indian city to another, faster than any existing airline and cheaper too, said senior executives of the Los Angeles-based startup, who were in the Capital on Tuesday.

Proposed by co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk in 2013, the Hyperloop concept is an alternative to high-speed train, which aims to propel freight or passengers from point A to point B in pods through reduced-pressure steel tubes. Although it may take considerable time for Hyperloop One (the company is not affiliated with Musk, since he wanted his concept to be an open-source project) to set up its steel tubes here, a top-level team from the startup is in India to scout for projects and funds.

“We are in the process of raising hundreds of millions of dollars in our series C funding. We are also talking to Indian investors,” said Nick Earle, senior vice president (global field operations) at Hyperloop One. “The largest number of entries (companies, institutions interested in technology) for our global challenge is from India. We have also planned meetings with government bodies in India and will provide all possible help in framing regulatory norms for this new technology.”

The company, which is backed by DP World, Sherpa Capital and GE Ventures among others, claims it is the only one to have a fully operational prototype and a full-blown test run is due by March in Nevada, US. It has signed up seven projects across the world including one that will connect Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the Middle East. The first commercial project is slated to be completed by 2020, according to the company which has raked in $160 million in funding.

Source – TOI