NEW DELHI : Niti Aayog will decide the fate of a proposal to set up a hyperloop transportation system in the country with the ministry of road transport asking the official think tank to do a viability check.
According to a top government official, a committee under Niti Aayog would now look into the feasibility of having hyperloop transportation — where a podlike vehicle is propelled through a near-vacuum tube connecting cities at high speeds matching that of aircraft — in the country. “We had received a proposal from the company which has now been referred to Niti Aayog,” the official said.
US-based Hyperloop Transport Technology (HTT) during a meeting with road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari had suggested such services to connect various major Indian cities and had also sought land for a pilot project.
Gadkari had shown initial interest in the project, given the leapfrog transportation technology it offers.
The transport minister is keen on having the new technology as a future mode of transportation. “We have no resistance to the upcoming global technology. The minister has already given his go ahead for the Delhi-Manesar project which involves running overhead pod taxis,” the official said. “However, since the hyperloop technology is yet to be operational anywhere in the world, we need to know how feasible it is,” the official said.
The hyperloop concept is a brainchild of Tesla founder Elon Musk. HTT said it costs $40 million, or about Rs270 crore, per kilometre to build hyperloop while building high-speed train line would cost almost twice as much. The hyperloop system is being designed to be used to transport passengers and freight. The company said it can work well on the renewable energy as well. “The company had suggested various routes including the one connecting Delhi with Gurgaon and further ahead,” the official said.
Separately, Indian Railways is also considering hyperloop technology for a greenfield dedicated freight corridor.
“They came to us earlier this year for a presentation. Their claim is impressive. However, we are not considering them for passenger transportation. We could consider them for a greenfield dedicated freight corridor for movement of containers and white goods,” a senior railway ministry official said.
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