Virgin Hyperloop's Mumbi-Pune travel to be competitively priced

Virgin Hyperloop on Sunday signed an "intent agreement" with Maharashtra to build a hyperloop transportation system between Mumbai and Pune, which would help reduce the travel time between the country's financial capital and the manufacturing and IT hub to just to 20 minutes against three hours at present.

The proposed Virgin Hyperloop One transport system envisages initial average speeds of 350 km per hour, with speeds going up to 500-1,000 km per hour with the evolution of the complete infrastructure and it will be priced at an affordable rate comparable with an airfare or a cab transport.

As per the framework agreement signed by Richard Branson-backed Virgin Hyperloop One, the cost of travel will be pegged at almost the same price as travelling in a cab or an airplane.

The company will first build an operational demonstration track and the first hyperloop route will link central Pune and Mumbai via the Navi Mumbai international airport, the foundation stone for which was laid by Prime Minister Narenda Modi on Sunday evening.

Virgin Hyperloop One chairman Richard Branson announced the framework agreement in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at the Magnetic Maharashtra investor summit here this evening.

"We have signed an agreement with Maharashtra to build a Virgin Hyperloop between Mumbai and Pune, beginning with an operational demonstration track in the region," Branson announced on the first day of Magnetic Maharashtra event.

With easier access to airport gates, the loop will be able to ferry 150 million passengers every year.

"The proposed hyperlook transportation system will transform the transportation system and make Maharashtra a global pioneer in the space. The socioeconomic benefits of the project is $55 billion," Branson said, claiming that the project will create thousands of jobs.

"Mumbai-Pune is one of the most busiest routes in the world, anybody who uses it regularly knows it can be unpleasant route to travel on. The study just shows that the opportunity is enormous and the government is welcoming it with open arms and they are working very closely with us to make it happen. Three years from now we will finish the test run on this route and six to seven years from now the route will be commercially opened," Branson added.

"Preliminary study showed that Mumbai-Pune was one of the most economically viable routes we have ever studied. It is one of the most economically powerful routes, which is why construct of PPP will be well received. We have looked at numerous routes around the world. But this was the most viable and lucrative option seen," added Branson.

Emphasising on the need for faster modes of overland transport, Branson said Indians waste a lot of time travelling from one part of the country to other and road travel in India is the most unpleasant experience.

If it was trains that opened up India in the last century, he believes it could be Hyperloops in the coming century, he said.

"If I was an Indian, a lot of my life, would have been spent sitting in traffic jams. It is a miserable ways of spending one's life in traffic, it is waste of one's life and waste of productivity, there are better way in which one can spend one's life or time," added Branson, which hyperloops can address.

Rob Floyd, CEO of Hyperloop One credited state government for its active interest which has helped Virgin Hyperloop to swiftly work on its initial feasibility study. In the coming six months Virgin will come out with a detailed framework on engineering, sourcing, PPP etc.

Details such as the project cost and a time-line are yet to be announced. The hyperloop route will be a fully electric system and will have the capability travel up to 1,000 km per hour.

The proposed project will begin after a six-month in-depth feasibility study which will analyse and define the route alignment, including environmental impact, economic and commercial viability, the regulatory framework, and cost and funding model suggestions.

The government will help Virgin move to the next stage of feasibility study while most of the funding will come from private sources. The company is currently in discussion with various business houses and groups for selecting an Indian partner for the project.

Apart from Maharashtra, Virgin Hyperloop has been in active discussion with Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka state government to introducing hyperloops in those markets.

Besides Branson, other key investors in Hyperloop One include Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO and group chairman of DP World, and Ziyavudin Magomedov, chairman of Summa Group.