New Delhi, March 3 -- On 25 February, the Avishkar Hyperloop student team from IIT-Madras and the railway ministry along with ArcelorMittal, Hindalco and Larsen & Toubro unveiled the Hyperloop test track. Once commissioned, it could cut Delhi-Jaipur travel (250km) to 30 minutes compared with 1 hour by air and 4-5 hours by road. Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a $1 million grant and a 40-50km track plan. IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, and IIT-Madras-incubated TuTr Hyperloop are advancing pilots, with TuTr partnering with Swisspod (backed by Elon Musk) and Tata Steel to develop the technology further.

In 1799, inventor George Medhurst proposed moving goods through cast-iron pipes using air pressure. In the 1970s, Swiss professor Marcel J...