In a first, the Maharashtra government is attempting to examine the feasibility to drastically reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Pune…
In a recent MoU between the government and Virgin Hyperloop One, the travel time can possibly be reduced to less than 20 mins over the current three hours by road.
What is a Hyperloop?
A Hyperloop is a proposed mode of passenger and freight transportation, that comprises a sealed tube through which a pod may travel free of air resistance or friction conveying people or objects at optimal speed and acceleration.
CM Devendra Fadnavis was quoted stating, that a hyperloop route requires high-density traffic to become viable as a means of rapid public transit. Mumbai and Pune, thanks to their population, have the potential to provide an optimal route with a high density. By reducing travel time to under 20 minutes, a hyperloop route will help boost the connectivity between the metropolitan regions of Pune and Mumbai, transforming the two cities into India’s first and largest megapolis.
We talked to Puneites to gauge their reaction on the need for the Hyperloop.
Radhika Parashar: It is a matter of development at the end of the day. Hyperloop between Pune and Mumbai is a modern and big project. It is a very important addition to the face of the smart city infrastructure. The technology would be modern, including the Internet of things and more. Internal city modifications will take time because there are innumerable problems which need attention. Development is growth and it does not matter from where it starts as long as it starts at the right time.
Parth Welankar: We don’t need a hyperloop between Mumbai and Pune. The existing infrastructure is good and with the proposal sanctioned to further widen express highway, it will cut down the journey time further. Infrastructure like the hyperloop should be used to cover longer distance like Mumbai-Delhi, Delhi- Kolkata etc. or else we might just have another empty mode of hi-tech transport running on the wrong routes, like the Mumbai- Ahmedabad bullet train project that has been proposed.
Ankit Gohel: If this is successfully built, the technology will also reap hidden benefits other than saving the travelling time between the two metros. The infrastructure development will create the much needed employment and bring the latest technology to the country. If the travel time reduces to just 20 mins, new migrants would start shifting to Pune instead of already over-populated Mumbai, thus, leading to less stress on the coastal metro city.
Sneha Salian: The idea is good. Given the population explosion Mumbai is experiencing, its quite difficult to find a home so if it really happens people working there can have a house in Pune and can travel daily. My concern is really whether this will be cost effective and can the government work simultaneously on both hyperloop and the metro for Pune.It is known fact now that the present government comes up with ‘great concepts’ and ‘good intentions’ but they are poorly executed, most often.
Mehul Desai: What the world needs right now is disruptive tech like Hyperloop to ease transportation woes in major cities around the world. We all are aware that despite so many options to travel between Mumbai and Pune, if someone decides to go in either direction, it almost takes 4 hours on a door to door basis and this is to be entirely blamed on the internal traffic of both the cities. If hyperloop gets you to and fro in 20 minutes, the door to door travel time will come down to 2 hours which is phenomenal, as it gives you lots of options to finish your work, engagements etc. and head back home without feeling exhausted. I travel to Mumbai at least thrice a week and I am really looking forward to this path breaking technology to ease my travel woes.
Sakina Godhrawala: Hyperloop is a very futuristic technology and there are many who question its legitimacy and feasibility including myself. Currently it’s just in the testing phase. Also with the Elphinstone Road station incident so fresh, and the hue and cry being raised about whether we require to spend on Bullet Train, Shivaji & Sardar Patel statue, Hyperloop etc. or just use the same money to uplift our entire infrastructure, I would support the latter because if someone would want to reach Mumbai or Pune in 20 minutes, they would only be those who could afford to own their own choppers and take the ride. Personally speaking, I am someone who travels to Mumbai probably 3-4 times a year and it really does not matter if the journey takes 20 minutes or three hours. I would urge the government to make my three hours journey more pleasurable rather than spending on such sci-fi stuff.
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#All views expressed in this feature are those of the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.
Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
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