The full report from the committee will also take a call as to which ministry will be the nodal ministry in-charge to look into the development of Hyperloop Technology. The choice is either the Ministry of Civil Aviation or Ministry of Railways.
NITI Aayog is close to finalising a report on technological and commercial feasibility for adoption of Hyperloop Technology in India by the end of November, according to a senior official at the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India.
In November 2020, a committee was formed headed by Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog, to look into the adoption of the high-speed transportation system in India, which is conceptualized to carry both passengers and cargo. The transportation system consists of a sealed tube with a pod with minimal air resistance and theoretically can travel in high-speed of about 1,200 km per hour.
“There was a committee which was set up, the committee is working on it. There were subcommittees also set up as a part of it. Some of the subcommittees have given their report. The final report of the Hyperloop committee is ready but has not been compiled yet, which we propose to do by the end of this month,” said Sudhendu J. Sinha, Adviser for Infrastructure Connectivity – Transport & Electric Mobility in NITI Aayog to ET Infra. Sinha is also a member of the committee on Hyperloop Technology.
The full report from the committee will also take a call as to which ministry will be the nodal ministry in-charge to look into the development of Hyperloop Technology. Sinha outlined that the choice is either the Ministry of Civil Aviation or Ministry of Railways.
“They are the natural players. The systems have a lot of inputs from avionics, and it looks like railways,” said Sinha.
The Government of India along with state governments have been giving dedicated focus on the development of multimodal connectivity and improving the overall logistics performance of the country.
The recently launched National Logistics Policy aims to bring down India’s cost of logistics operations from 13-14% of gross domestic product to single digit by 2030 and elevate the country into top 25 nations in terms of ranking in the Logistics Performance Index prepared by World Bank, while PM Gati Shakti, is aiming at improving structural component for multimodal connectivity.
BROAD CONTOURS
While Sinha did not seek to divulge the salient features of the report as it is yet to be made public, he outlined that the broad contours will include recommendations on safety and standards.
There is a need for uniform standards when it comes to development of Hyperloop Technology and only when there are certain standards to be adopted and developed, then there will be economies of scale which will make it viable, he said.
John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center under the United States Department of Transportation in a ‘Hyperloop Commercial Feasibility Report’ in 2016 had highlighted that the Hyperloop Technology will encounter and need to find safety measures related to depressurization of a Hyperloop capsule, issues associated with rapid depressurization or large-scale leaks, among others.
Another area, where the committee may delve upon could be on energy source for powering such systems. Tesla, an automotive and energy company, co-founded by Elon Musk, in a white paper titled ‘Hyperloop Alpha’ had theorized that placing solar panels on top of the tube, the Hyperloop can generate far in excess of the energy needed to operate.
INCORPORATED WITHIN INDIA
Sinha outlined that though the country will be open to technology companies from abroad coming and assisting the country in the development of Hyperloop Technology, the focus would also be to incorporate the technology within India with the help of institutions such as Indian Institute of Technologies.
Indian Railways has initially extended financial support of Rs. 8.34 crore to Indian Institute of Technology, Madras for Hyperloop Technology development.
“The idea is also that initially the technology has to be kind of brought from outside, but gradually we have to develop the capacity and the skill to go in for Make in India, it should not always be depending on external sources for Hyperloop Technology,” said Sinha. Foreign technology entities such as Virgin Hyperloop have started engagement with Maharashtra government to develop a Pune to Mumbai hyperloop transport system and other entities such as TransPod Inc, DP World Cargo Speed, Hardt Hyperloop are undertaking similar endeavour.
