Virgin gets it right in a giant loop for humankind

First human passengers on a HyperLoop, Virgin’s chief technology officer Josh Giegel and director of Passenger Experience, Sara Luchian, reached speeds of up to 172 kmph.

Creating history, Virgin HyperLoop on Monday had the first human passengers travel safely in a hyper-fast HyperLoop pod at the company’s DevLoop test facility in the United States. Pune-based Tanay Manjrekar will be the first Indian to take the test, early Tuesday morning.

Virgin’s chief technology officer Josh Giegel and director of Passenger Experience, Sara Luchian reached speeds of up to 107 miles per hour (172 kmph). Manjrekar, Virgin’s Power Electronics Specialist, is next in line.

HyperLoop has already struck a chord with Indians, with Virgin striking a deal last month with the Kempegowda International Airport to link the airport with the city. A technical, economic and route feasibility study will explore how a HyperLoop corridor could carry thousands of passengers at 1,080 kmph, hitting the city from KIA in under 10 minutes.

The company had also signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government for a Mumbai-Pune HyperLoop project and with Punjab.

“I can’t tell you how often I get asked ‘is HyperLoop safe?’’’ said Jay Walder, Virgin’s chief executive officer (CEO). “With passenger testing, we have answered this question, demonstrating that not only can the HyperLoop safely put a person in a pod in a vacuum environment, but that the company has a thoughtful approach to safety which has been validated by a third party.”

The occupants made their maiden voyage on the newly-unveiled XP-2 vehicle, designed by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and Kilo Design. It was custom-built with occupant safety and comfort in mind. While the production vehicle will be larger and seat up to 28 passengers, this two-seater XP-2 vehicle was built to demonstrate safe travel.

The human testing, from the beginning stages to Monday’s demonstration, was overseen by the Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) Certifer, Virgin informed.

Maharashtra had approved the Virgin HyperLoop-DP World Consortium as the Original Project Proponent (OPP) for the Mumbai-Pune HyperLoop project.

Following the regulatory guidance document issued by the United States Department of Transportation’s Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council, Virgin said it was looking to work with Indian authorities to explore a regulatory path for HyperLoop here.