Travel time of around 300 kilometres from Kota to Daipur will be completed in just half-an-hour as IIT Madras has built a 422-metre dedicated test track for India’s first hyperloop system. The track was completed with the support of the Ministry of Railways.
Hyperloop, which is termed the fifth mode of transport, is designed for very high-speed surface travel. It employs vacuum tube-based capsules for achieving hyper-high speeds with very little friction loss and almost zero air resistance. They could reach speeds potentially up to Mach 1.0, about 761 mph at sea level, it was officially announced.
The hyperloop project at @iitmadras; Government-academia collaboration is driving innovation in futuristic transportation. pic.twitter.com/S1r1wirK5o
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) February 24, 2025
The project, sponsored by the Ministry of Railways, took shape on the IIT Madras campus. “The first pod of 422 metres will go a long way in developing technologies. I think the time has come when, after the first two grants of one million dollars each, the third grant of one million dollars will be given to IIT Madras for further developing the hyperloop project,” said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The Union Railway Minister took to X (formerly Twitter) on 5 December to announce the completed 410-metre Hyperloop test track, marking yet another milestone on India’s high-speed transport ambition.
Watch: Bharat’s first Hyperloop test track (410 meters) completed.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) December 5, 2024
👍 Team Railways, IIT-Madras’ Avishkar Hyperloop team and TuTr (incubated startup)
📍At IIT-M discovery campus, Thaiyur pic.twitter.com/jjMxkTdvAd
The track was established with the collaboration of Indian Railways and the Avishkar Hyperloop team from IIT Madras, along with TuTr Hyperloop, a startup from IIT Madras.
The minister praised the team for the work they have innovatively accomplished, expressing hope for the future of Hyperloop technology in India. The Hyperloop team aims to come up with an efficient, economically viable, reliable, and sustainable high-speed mode of transportation for this initiative, aided significantly by the Ministry of Railways. After the first run at 100 km/h, it would like to try speeds even nearing 600 km/h on the extended track.
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