If bullet trains in India weren’t enough, hear this — The Hyperloop Project, a transportation system propelling people with speeds of up to 600 miles/hr, has been acknowledged as an “infrastructure project” by the Maharashtra state government of India.
Acknowledging Hyperloop as an “infrastructure project” is a phenomenal victory for India. This is because the project will be treated like any other infrastructure projects such as roads, highways, buildings etc.
The project aims to cut down travel time between the 150-KM Mumbai and Pune stretch to a mere 30 minutes journey. Thus, turning the entire region into a megacity. It is claimed that over 150 million people will use this service annually.
The state government cabinet approved Virgin Hyperloop One and its partner shipping giant DP World as its Original Project Proponent (OPP).
The only part that remains is for the local government to start bidding on the project. If all goes well and smoothly, the Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) will start offering construction tenders by mid-August, as per officials.
The project will be implemented in two phases — first a test track on an 11.4km corridor from Gahunje to Ozarde, followed by the final 117.5km track. The DP World will cover the cost of building phase one, committing over $500 million for the section. The state government will handle the logistics and land deals required under the project.
Virgin Hyperloop, which partnered with the state government, has shown quite a bit of interest in the region. In fact, many other companies have shown interest in building Hyperloops in the country.
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