Pre-feasibility study for ‘Hyperloop’ transport begins

THE PUNE Mahanagar Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has started its pre-feasibility study for the proposed ‘Hyperloop’ route, connecting Pune and Mumbai. As part of the study, the Los Angeles-based company — Virgin Hyperloop One — has made field visits to the site.

Kiran Gitte, CEO and metropolitan commissioner of PMRDA, said, “The plan is to connect the metro hub of Pune and Mumbai through hyperloop transport. The pre-feasibility study is focussing on identifying the possible route, stations, alignment, and conducting a passenger survey.” Hyperloop is a new mode of transport, which carries passengers, freight in pods via electro-magnetic propulsion through a low pressure tube. It is a fast, direct-to-destination transport mode having a maximum speed of upto 1,080 km per hour.

Gitte said the study would also explore route extension to connect the international airport in Mumbai with the proposed airport in Purandar in Pune district. The pre-feasibility report would be submitted to the state government within six weeks, he added. If the state government gives a go-ahead, a feasibility report and the detailed project report would be prepared, he said.

As per the data collected to study the current number of passengers on the route, he said, about 1.10 lakh vehicles, including 80,000 cars and 6,000 buses, travel between Pune and Mumbai every day. “A total of 3 lakh people travel between Pune and Mumbai every day. This had attracted a Los Angeles-based company to explore the development of a hyperloop on the route,” Gitte said.  He added that the firm has suggested construction of the route along the expressway.

Data collected from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) revealed that 60 per cent of freight from the port goes to Chakan, he said. “It is possible that the hyperloop would be first tried for freight from port to Chakan in Pune district. It would then be tried for passenger commutation,” he added.
A meeting to discuss the matter with officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) would soon be conducted, he added.

Meanwhile, the PMRDA has started preparations for a Comprehensive Traffic and Transport System (CTTS) for the metropolitan region. “This would be prepared in one-and-a-half years, after studying the traffic and transport situation in the metropolitan region…,” Gitte said. He added that tenders for the first phase of the proposed Ring Road would be floated in January.

“The Union government has sanctioned Rs 1,500 crore for the Ring Road project. The PMRDA can begin the work on a 33-km stretch in the first phase and later explore other avenues to raise funds for the construction of other phases of the project,” he said. The PMRDA commissioner said, at present, the Pune Infrastructure Fund (PIF) has a corpus of Rs 500 crore, while the PMRDA has a target of Rs 6,000 crore for the purpose. So, it is possible to take up any mega project in the region.

“The PMRDA is aiming at land monetisation to raise the funds for PIF,” he added. The first town planning scheme of the PMRDA would be approved by end of this month, said Gitte. “The town planning scheme in Mahalunge would be approved by December-end as it is being sent to the Town Planning department for this purpose. This will be a beginning that would help get five more town planning schemes on the Ring Road route,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the department was also focussing on low-cost housing, as the state government has approved implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in the metropolitan region. “We have been giving permission to private developers to allot low-cost housing. They would be brought under the PMAY scheme. Also, there would be a five per cent reservation for low-cost housing in the town planning schemes,” he added.