Virgin Hyperloop One

Hyperloop is coming to India.

The western-central Indian state of Maharashta plans to build a Virgin Hyperloop track between Pune and Mumbai, British entrepreneur and Virgin boss Richard Branson announced on Monday in a blog post.

Virgin Hyperloop One will start by building a demo track, with the aim of eventually supporting 150 million passenger trips per year. It should reduce the 2.5-hour car journey or 3-hour train journey between the two cities to just 25 minutes, and will also stop off at Mumbai airport.

Virgin Hyperloop One is one of two main companies currently trying to bring Elon Musk's vision for the future of intercity transport to life. Previously known just as Hyperloop One, it received significant investment from transportation giant Virgin in October 2017, leading to a rebrand. Branson was announced as chairman of the company in December.

"Virgin Hyperloop One could have the same impact on India in the 21st century as trains did in the 20th century," said Branson. The proposed route is "an ideal first corridor as part of a national hyperloop network," he added.