Chennai's Integral Coach Factory to develop Electronics component technology for Hyperloop

Chennai: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday announced that the electronics component technology for the ambitious Hyperloop project will be developed at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, after witnessing a live demonstration.

Vaishnaw visited the IIT Madras’ Hyperloop Facility, the longest Hyperloop test facility in Asia and appreciated IIT-M and the Avishkar team for developing the entire test systems using indigenous technologies.

”India will soon be ready for Hyperloop transportation, as the technology, which is currently under development, has yielded good results in the tests conducted so far,” he said, adding that the Railway Ministry has provided financial funding and technical assistance to the Hyperloop project.

The electronics technology for this Hyperloop project will be developed at ICF Chennai, he said, adding that highly skilled experts at the ICF have successfully developed large electronics systems for Vande Bharat trains.

The Hyperloop system envisions transporting passengers in pods through low-pressure tubes at speeds exceeding 1,000 km/h. This technology could enable travel that covers 350 km in just 30 minutes.

The Hyperloop is a high-speed travel system designed for long distances. It uses special capsules that move through vacuum tubes, enabling trains to reach exceptional speeds. It involves an electromagnetically levitating pod within a vacuum tube, eliminating friction and air drag, potentially allowing the pod to reach speeds up to Mach 1.0. A Mach is approximately 761 miles per hour at sea level on a standard day.