Elon Musk's fantasy: Bengaluru to Chennai in 30 minutes
- Hyperloop is a super-fast mode of transport, faster than bullet trains.
- It is the brainchild of Tesla founder Elon Musk, who open-sourced the basic design in 2013.
- Hyperloop One and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) are among the companies implementing the technology.
FollowBillionaire investor Elon Musk had proposed the Hyperloop concept, who has now made it open source. A bullet train, according to promoters of Hyperloop, is lacklustre and Hyperloop could be a perfect replacement.
A one-way trip from Bengaluru to Chennai would take one hour by flight and roughly 7 hours by road. But, Hyperloop promises to cover the distance in 30 minutes. The idea is basically constructing massive tube fitted on concrete that run between two cities. Pods carrying people will travel through these pipes at the speed of 1223.1 kmph. Magnetic accelerators will propel the pods forward inside this partial-vacuum tube.
HTT has already inked a deal to build one between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. The company has already submitted the Letter of Intent to the Union Ministry of Road Transport. On the other hand, Hyperloop One recently tweeted out routes the company is interested in including Chennai-Bengaluru, Chennai-Mumbai, Bengaluru-Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai-Delhi.
Solar panels on top of the tubes and windmills on the pillars will help tap energy further reducing the operational cost. It apparently needs energy only when it begins the journey and can glide for over 200 miles on touching the top speed. The bullet train would cost roughly 12 million and won't run until 2023, while in comparison Hyperloop would be faster and bring new technology within 38 months but at a steep $1 billion.
While that’s a great thought, we’ve already seen a project like the Mumbai metro take nearly 5 years for completion. Abu Dhabi has a lot of barren land, but India would require land acquisition for the project. And, land acquisition and the numerous clearances that follow could take time.
Moreover, we won't be surprised to see some India-specific issues. It could easily take well over 5 years and a hefty amount to turn into reality. Though Hyperlook is a great option for improving infrastructure in India, but it also has to be within the reach of consumers.
A Bangalore-Chennai flight ticket costs about Rs 2000 - 3000, but Hyperloop's estimated ticket price is said to be about . Now, that's a deal breaker. The purpose of faster and effective connectivity will be achieved if people can use it. We’ve seen in the case of Thiruvananthapuram to Mangaluru line that was studied thoroughly, however, the decision on cost and fare resulted into a roadblock.
