Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday announced that Indian Railways will grant an additional $1 million to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras to further develop India's first hyperloop test track.
The 422-meter-long track, named 'Avishkar', enables a high-speed train to travel in a near-vacuum tube at speeds exceeding 1,000 km/hour.
This means one can travel from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, around 525 km, in less than an hour once it becomes a reality.
Hyperloop is a high-speed transport system designed to make long-distance travel faster than ever before. It uses special capsules in vacuum tubes to enable trains to travel at very high speeds.
"Bharat's first hyperloop test track…The first pod of 422 meters will really go a long way in developing the technologies. I think the time has come when after the first two grants of $1 million each, the third grant of $1 million is given to IIT Madras to further develop the Hyperloop project," Vaishnaw said in a virtual address at the closing ceremony of Asia's first Global Hyperloop Competition 2025 organized by the premier engineering institute in Chennai.
"Once we see the commercial or rather pre-commercial .where the product is ready. Then within the railway setup, we will start the commercial project. We will decide on a site which can be used for good commercial transportation of let's say 40-50 km," the railway minister added.
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The hyperloop project at @iitmadras; Government-academia collaboration is driving innovation in futuristic transportation. pic.twitter.com/S1r1wirK5o
February 24, 2025India's First Hyperloop Test Track Features
The hyperloop test track, developed by IIT Madras, will allow high-speed trains to travel in near-vacuum. With a projected speed of 1,000 km/hour when the project becomes a reality, trains with this technology will be able to cover distances at a higher speed than regular aeroplanes.
The 422-metre tube facility is the world's largest student-run hyperloop test facility, according to the official Instagram page of the project - Avishkar Hyperloop. The tube has a thickness of 6 mm and a diameter of 2 meters.
The project is jointly funded by the Indian Railways, Larsen & Toubro and ArcelorMittal.
Describing it as "futuristic transportation," Vaishnaw praised IIT-Madras for its breakthrough and announced that the railways will also fund a project at the institute for 'Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL)' vehicle technology.
The Global Hyperloop Competition was held from Feb. 21-24 at the Discovery Campus, IIT Madras.
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