To conduct a feasibility study for a proposed Hyperloop corridor from Bengaluru Airport, a first-of-its-kind Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Virgin Hyperloop and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), operator of Kempegowda International Airport. According to TM Vijay Bhaskar, Chief Secretary of Karnataka State Government and Chairman of Board of Directors, BIAL, the commissioning of a feasibility study for Hyperloop connectivity from Bengaluru Airport is a major step towards developing the infrastructure that is required to define mobility for the future, allowing efficient movement of people.
The pre feasibility study of the project, which focuses on economic, technical as well as route feasibility, is expected to be completed in two phases, with each phase comprising of six months. As per the preliminary analysis, the Hyperloop with speeds of up to 1,080 km per hour, could transport thousands of passengers per hour from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport to the city center in under 10 minutes.
The airport operator, BIAL aims to transform Bengaluru Indian Airport into a transportation hub that links places and people together through various transport modes. Soon, the Bengaluru Airport, in addition to its well-established road network, will be linked with the sub-urban railway in a few weeks’ time and have Metro connectivity in a period of four years.
According to Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop, Karnataka, as the nation’s hub for innovation and technology, is embracing Hyperloop as a way to keep pace, support clean growth, as well as open new opportunities for the city. He further stated that a Hyperloop-enabled airport would allow for faster travel times as well as it would create a 21st century passenger experience. Besides, it will also expand airport’s capacity, he added. For both Hyperloop as well as air travel, passengers could streamline their multi modal trip with seamless check in and security at Hyperloop portals that are centrally located.