Hyderabad may host India’s first Hyperloop transport system

Much before the high-speed bullet train comes to India, Telangana's capital Hyderabad will have the country's fastest mode of overland transport, if the American company Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) is able to convince the authorities here.

Conceived as the Laos-Angeles-based transport technology start-up, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc, is in talks with many Indian states to develop the next-level technology in the transportation space.

Touted to be the fifth mode of transportation after air, water, rail and road, Hyperloop system uses a capsule levitating inside a low-pressure tube to transport passengers or cargo at high speeds. Since the capsule can move at high speeds with little energy, it would also be highly fuel-efficient.

Hyperloop, which is engaged in a feasibility study to run the vehicle in India, plans to locally source a significant part of the components, including steel, if it decides to move ahead with the plan.

India, with the world's second-biggest population and seventh-biggest land mass, is an attractive market for Hyperloop. For India, which is struggling with infrastructure bottlenecks that impede rapid urbanisation, Hyperloop offers an attractive transportation model.

HTT chairman and cofounder Bibop Gresta, who is in the city to meet Telangana government officials, said Hyperloop will not be just the fastest mode of mass transportation but also the safest. "Hyperloop has the benefits of an airplane but without any of its risks," Gresta said. "Hyperloops are built on pylons or underground.''

In case of any emergency, the tube can be sealed, or air can be re-injected and people can be evacuated, Gresta said, adding that the emergency response time is just around 6.4 seconds, making it one of the safest proposed transport systems.

Gresta said, on an average, a hyperloop project would cost around $20-40 million per km but it would vary from place to place and could be brought down depending on the access to new technologies and resources in a particular region.

For India, looking to build transport infrastructure and improve its facilities to attract companies to invest in the country, the hyperloop is an attractive option.

The Narendra Modi government is planning to invest a record Rs396,000 crore ($59 billion) to build and modernise its railways, airports and roads.

For India, which lacks extensive transport infrastructure, investment in the new technology will also not involve any legacy issues and it could be built on existing infrastructure and at a much faster way - leapfrogging from basic rail and airways transportation to pod transportation, rather skipping bullet trains.

The futuristic technology could involve travel at speeds of 1,200 kmph, ie, to say that the pod can cover Mumbai to Delhi in just 55 minutes. The technology has been in offering for about a decade now but it was only when Tesla's Elon Musk proposed it in a white paper that it began to be taken seriously.

HTT has already spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in San Francisco and shared the idea with him while also having some talks with transport minister Nitin Gadkari and the Niti Aayog team.

Gresta said Hyperloop will help overcome the challenges of high energy consumption and losses with the currently available transport systems as it would cut down on the travel cost and also give almost 30 per cent of the energy back to the system, thus making it extremely efficient.

The company is talking to 10 different companies and institutions in India so as to sign partnership deals that can help them build the system and provide it with the materials.

In addition, Gresta said, the company had discussions with five state governments – AP, Maharashtra, Goa, Jharkhand and Orissa. ''I would also be very delighted to meet the Telangana government and discuss launching a feasibility study here in the State,'' he added.

For India operations, the company is looking at an investment of $200 million for its first project through a PPP model with the state's involvement being up to 30 per cent. Globally, HTT has already completed a feasibility study in UAE and Gresta is hopeful that by end of this year they will start construction of their first Hyperloop in Abu Dhabi.