PUNE: Officials of the PMRDA on Monday said that the high-capacity passenger and cargo hyperloop Pune-Mumbai route is expected to support 150 million passenger trips annually. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently visited Virgin Hyperloop One’s testing facility in Nevada, Los Angeles, USA. The chief minister, along with PMRDA Commissioner Kiran Gitte and the Board Members of Virgin Hyperloop One including CEO Rob Lloyd, witnessed a live demonstration of the 500m test-track at their full-scale facility. PMRDA officials said that if Hyperloop comes into reality it will save more than 90 million hours of travel time, and will provide citizens with greater opportunities and social and economic mobility.

PMRDA will soon be identifying a 15-km demonstration track of Hyperloop that would be set up once the feasibility study is completed. The feasibility study will analyse and define the route alignment including environmental impacts, the economic and commercial aspects of the route, the regulatory and safety framework, and cost and funding strategies to deliver the project. 

A significant proportion of the Virgin Hyperloop One system components are expected to be manufactured locally, especially in Maharashtra.

“I am incredibly excited to see this Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop project transform from an idea to reality as it starts detailed planning. The opportunity is enormous to connect 26 million people with access to affordable infrastructure that will unlock significant economic and social value,” said Richard Branson, CEO Virgin Group. The group is eyeing using the Hyperloop system for rapid movement of freight and light cargo between the port of Mumbai and Pune, creating a robust backbone for on-demand deliveries, supply chains and next-generation logistics.