Indian Railways and IIT Madras to develop hyperloop transportation system in India

Chennai, India (Urban Transport News): In a significant development, the Indian Railways and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras are jointly working to set up a center of excellence in the IIT-M campus for the development of Hyperloop Transportation Technology at a total estimated cost of Rs.8.34 crore.

"Proposal submitted by IIT Madras for collaborative working with Indian Railways for indigenous development and validation of "Hyperloop" technology-based transportation system and its subsystems and setting-up of a Centre of Excellence for Hyperloop Technology at IIT Madras at a total estimated cost of Rs.8.34 crore," said the official release by Southern Railway (SR) of Indian Railways.

Indian Railways gives a big boost to the 'Make in India' initiative by collaborating with IIT Madras to develop a futuristic Hyperloop technology-based transportation system that will significantly reduce carbon emission & revolutionize the transportation system, twitted Ministry of Railways.

Hyperloop technology is the 5th mode of transportation where a high-speed train in form of a capsule travels in a near-vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach speeds of more than 1,000 kilometers per hour. 

The announcement came after the visit of Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Railways, Electronics Information Technology on May 19, 2022, at IIT Madras where he inspected the demo of the "HyperLoop" Project, which has a bearing on the future technology for Railways and transportation.

"Indian Institute of Technology Madras students team Avishkar Hyperloop is working on the emerging domain of Hyperloop-based transportation solutions for the futuristic commuting experience. The model proposed by the team Avishkar can achieve a top speed of over 1,200 kilometres per hour. It is completely autonomous, safe and clean," said Railway Ministry.

Earlier, team Avishkar Hyperloop received investment from L&T Technology Services Ltd (LTTS) to develop innovations in the Hyperloop landscape. LTTS is providing funding and technical support to Team Avishkar on their hyperloop project. However, the funding amount was not yet disclosed by the LTTS.