Go from Chennai to Bengaluru in minutes? Five India routes among Hyperloop One's semifinal shortlist

Hyperloop One in its Global challenge invited universities, technology companies and governments to pitch their proposals to implement the project in May 2016. 
Burj Khalifa Hyperportal Control Center, Dubai. (Courtesy: Hyperloop website)
Burj Khalifa Hyperportal Control Center, Dubai. (Courtesy: Hyperloop website)

In what comes as a major breakthrough to save on travel time, Hyperloop One, a levitation-based technology has shortlisted the Chennai-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Chennai, Mumbai-Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram-Bengaluru corridors among its semi-finalists in the Global challenge announced in May 2016.

Conceived by Elon Musk and realised as a company by Shervin Pishevar in 2014, Hyperloop One in its Global challenge invited universities, technology companies and governments to pitch their proposals to implement the project in May 2016. 

If the proposal passes through the multiple levels, the 730 km distance between Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore, for example, can be travelled in minutes.

From 500 entries of more than 80 countries, 35 were selected as semifinalists. Other Asian corridors in the list include Shanghai-Hangzhoul, Port Connector, Seoul-Busan.

Eleven proposals from North America, one from South America, Africa, Middle East and Australia each and eight from Europe makes the rest of the list. Final list of proposals will be announced in May 2017. The semifinalists will gather at three separate occasions to pitch their plans—one in New Delhi on February 28th, in Washington, D.C. on April 6th, and in London on April 27th.

The levitation-based technology is designed to carry passengers and cargo at a speed of 700mph.

The company announced its first project in Dubai in November last year. The passengers will be able to travel the Dubai-Abu Dhabi corridor, which is a 102-mile distance in 12 minutes.

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