Policy Commission / When will the high-speed 'Hyperloop' train run in India? NITI Aayog shared this important information

Policy Commission: The dream of bullet train for the people of India is going to be fulfilled soon. After this, ‘Hyperloop’ train is expected. Let us tell you that the speed of 'Hyperloop' train is more than double that of the bullet train. Generally the speed of Hyperloop train is considered to be 1,000-1,300 kilometers per hour. If this train starts running in India, you will complete the journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in just two hours. That means there will be no need for an airplane. In simple words, Hyperloop is a high-speed train, which runs in a tube. In such a situation, can we all get a chance to travel on 'Hyperloop' train in the coming days? NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat has given information on this. He said India is unlikely to adopt hyperloop technology for super high-speed trains in the near future. This means that there is absolutely no hope that the dream of 'Hyperloop' train will be fulfilled soon.

A lot to be done in technology

NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat said on Sunday that 'Hyperloop' train technology is still far from maturity. At present it is not even economically viable. Saraswat is heading a committee formed to explore the technical and commercial feasibility of Virgin Hyperloop technology. He said that some foreign companies have shown interest in bringing this technology to India. Saraswat said, as far as we are concerned, regarding hyperloop technology we found that the proposals that had come from abroad are not very viable options. They are at a very low level of technology maturity.

How is 'Hyperloop' train different from ordinary train?

Hyperloop is a 'high-speed' train, which runs in a vacuum in a tube. This technology is proposed by Elon Musk, who owns electric car company Tesla and space transportation company SpaceX. Saraswat said that hence till date we have not given much importance to it. This is just a study program. I don't think hyperloop technology will be incorporated into our transportation infrastructure in the near future. The Virgin Hyperloop test was conducted with a pod on a 500-meter track in Las Vegas, USA on November 9, 2020. There was an Indian and other passengers in it. Its speed was more than 161 kilometers per hour. According to Saraswat, the level of maturity of technology in the offerings that have come so far is quite low. We cannot invest in this kind of technology. Virgin Hyperloop is among a handful of companies trying to build such a system for passenger transportation.

Dependence on China for lithium will reduce

On the question regarding India's dependence on lithium imports from China, Saraswat said that as of today, the production of lithium ion batteries in India is very less, so we are dependent on China and other sources for this. He said that we are more dependent on China because China's batteries are cheap. He mentioned that India has given incentives to set up battery manufacturing facilities in the country. Saraswat said that hopefully next year you will have some business houses who will come forward to manufacture lithium-ion batteries on a large scale in the country.

75 percent imports from China now

About 75 percent of lithium-ion imports are from China. On reports of India talking to Chile and Bolivia for lithium mining, Saraswat said there was a suggestion that India should go for acquisition of some mining facilities in Chile, Argentina and other places. He said that what happened was that even before the government went to these countries to acquire mines, our private sector signed agreements with the companies of these countries. They have already signed supply chain agreements for lithium with these countries.