In an effort to reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Pune, the Maharashtra government is working on introducing the Hyperloop project. Once the project is launched, the travel time between the two cities will be reduced from 3 hours to 25 minutes. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that this project is a public infrastructure project and private organisations will be able to participate in it.
The project is being undertaken as a partnership between the Government of Maharashtra and Warren Hyperloop. According to sources, the Hyperloop demo will be conducted on a 15-km stretch in 2019 from Balewadi, Pune. The route will run parallel to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
The American firm will be spending Rs 300 crore in the initial phase of the project. Post the success of the test, full electric hyperloops will be built and supplied within four years by 2024, and its estimated cost will be Rs 20,000 crore, reports Metro Rail News.
Fadnavis visited a test site in Las Vegas, Virginia Hyperloop Forest, after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for constructing the Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop between Virgin Group and the state government was signed. Virgin Hyperloop is headed by maverick businessman Richard Branson.
Also Read: Mumbai To Pune In 30 Minutes: Here’s How The Hyperloop Promises That