Hyderabad: India's first Hyperloop test track is ready with the joint efforts of the team at Indian Railways, the Avishkar Hyperloop team at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and an incubated startup TuTr. The 410 metres-long track is ready to be tested at IIT Madras Discovery Campus, Thaiyur.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared a video of the track, showcasing the country's advancement in transport technology.
A Hyperloop is a high-speed transportation system where passenger pods travel through low-pressure tubes, aiming to achieve incredibly fast travel speeds by reducing air resistance and friction. Research on Hyperloop dates back to the 1960s and it was popularised by American entrepreneur Elon Musk, following which many companies started to explore its feasibility.
Researchers at IIT Madras have been working on the Hyperloop project for a while. Back in August, IIT Madras Director Kamakoti told ETV Bharat that the test track will be ready for global competition in 2025, following which it will be ready for freight transport in two years.
A team of 76 students at the institution are part of the Avishkar Hyperloop team, focusing on various phases of the system, including the Loop, the Pod, and the Terminal. They've developed a modern hyperloop pod named Garuda in three phases.
The IIT Director Kamakodi explained the process of hyperloop activation, which is inspired by how planes fly faster in the air compared to cars on roads. The hyperloop uses magnetic force (levitation) to lift the pod above the track, reducing wind resistance. It allows the pod to travel at speeds of 500 to 600 kmph.
The IIT Madras aims to transport cargo through the tube in the third phase, followed by research on human travel at high speeds in the vacuum tube.
