Context:
Recently, the Union Minister for Railways announced that the electronics component technology for the Hyperloop project will be developed at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.
More on the News
- Avishkar Hyperloop is the student team of IIT Madras, doing Indigenous design and development for building the first-ever self-propelled, Completely Autonomous Hyperloop Pod of India.
- The entire testing system for Hyperloop transportation has been developed using indigenous technologies.
- The 410-meter-long Hyperloop test tube located at IIT Chennai is the longest Hyperloop tube/test facility in Asia, another 40 metres will be added, and then it will become the longest in the world.
- The Railway Ministry has been providing financial funding and technical assistance to the Hyperloop project.
Hyperloop
- The “fifth mode of transport” often refers to the Hyperloop, an ultra-high-speed transportation system using vacuum tubes and pods to achieve speeds of over 1,000 km/h.
- Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, proposed the idea of the Hyperloop to the world in 2013 through a whitepaper – Hyperloop Alpha.
Hyperloop technology
- Under this technology, the capsules, called pods, float at high speeds using contactless levitation and electromagnetic propulsion systems, along with low aerodynamic drag (the force that is faced by the vehicle as it moves through the air).
- Hyperloop is based on the principle of magnetic levitation. This principle states that the vehicle can be suspended and propelled on a guidance track made with magnets.
- Hyperloop capsules may travel free of friction and aerodynamic drag at a high speed. The whole hyperloop system is powered by the solar panels mounted on the top of the low-pressure tube.
Advantages of Hyperloop transportation
- Faster Travel: Hyperloop could drastically reduce commute times, covering 60 km in just 15 minutes.
- Metro Integration: High-speed corridors can seamlessly connect with existing Metro rail networks.
- Sustainability: Operating in vacuum-sealed tubes, Hyperloop supports India’s green transport goals with enhanced energy efficiency.
- Resistance to earthquakes and weather, no traffic problems, cost of the hyperloop is low.