India is getting Hyperloop technology, will reduce more than an hour’s journey into 5 minutes!

India has contacted a US-based research firm to develop a 27-mile vacuum tube on the cutting-edge Hyperloop transportation tube technology, connecting two cities in its south-western province Andhra Pradesh.

A high-speed transportation system would be developed by the Hyperloop Transportation Technologies in the province of Andhra Pradesh, connecting the cities of Vijayawada and Amaravati. The journey spanning over 27-miles, which now takes more than 70 minutes to complete, will be reduced to mere 6-minutes as the people travel in the World’s first operating Hyperloop on speeds approaching to that of sound.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) says that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) for development of a Hyperloop tube between the two cities. After signing the documents, HTT says that it is going to carry-out a feasibility study of the project. The 6-month long survey will find out the best possible route between the cities before the final construction is triggered.

As of now, there hasn’t been any indication as to what exact amount is India is going to pay to get this technology. The project might take over $200 million and would be completed within a year after the initial research and approvals, a APEDB representative told IndiaTimes.

The CEO of the company, Dirk Ahlborn, believes that they indeed have the technology to build the system which would include a near-vacuum tube to minimize the air resistance and several ‘levitating pods’ carrying the passengers will be propelled in it.

The concept of Hyperloop was first introduced by Elon Musk after he observed the ever-increasing influx of traffic on the roads. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is one of the US-based research organizations which is using crowd-sourced collaboration to materialize the concept. HTT is also going to develop such projects in South Korea and Abu Dhabi.

Source — Wired, Image — Carnegie Mellon Hyperloop