Traffic, an ever-growing menace not just in Bengaluru but across the world, has invited various solutions, including some from big-tech leaders. Founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and other companies, Elon Musk recently unveiled his plan to build the Dubai Loop, an extension of the Vegas Loop, to ease traffic congestion in the Emirati nation.
While the loop progresses on one side of the world, the concept of ‘hyperloop’, which was Musk’s original plan, is something IIT Madras has been actively pursuing over the last few years. The intention remains the same: faster transportation.
But will it help solve India’s burgeoning traffic problem?
What is Elon’s Loop?
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Musk’s The Boring Company (TBC) have signed an MoU to develop Dubai Loop, starting with a 17 km pilot featuring 11 stations to transport 20,000 passengers per hour.
Inspired by the Vegas Loop, the system will extend throughout Dubai using eco-friendly electric vehicles. It aims to shorten travel times, boost capacity to 100,000 passengers per hour, and align with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050.
Musk virtually made the announcement at the recent World Governments Summit in Dubai.
Announcing Dubai Loop.
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) February 13, 2025
In partnership with the @rta_dubai, TBC is excited to announce Dubai Loop. @boringcompany would like to thank The Crown Prince of Dubai @HamdanMohammed and the Chairman of the RTA. pic.twitter.com/83kyuET44i
Founded by Musk in 2016, TBC initially set out to develop hyperloop, a futuristic high-speed transport system using near-vacuum tubes to eliminate air resistance and enable ultra-fast travel. However, due to technical challenges, high infrastructure costs, and safety concerns, the company shifted focus to the more practical and scalable alternative of loop.
Unlike the hyperloop, which requires vacuum-sealed tubes, a loop is a network of underground tunnels designed for Tesla vehicles, offering fast, congestion-free urban transport at regular atmospheric pressure.
The Vegas Loop, currently under development, will span 110 km and have 104 stations. It will eventually transport 90,000 passengers per hour across the city. Currently, the operational Las Vegas Loop covers about 2.7 km and efficiently connects key areas of the convention centre.
Will Musk Bring Loop to India?
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the US, Musk met with him to discuss various topics, including space, mobility, AI and innovation. Tesla is going to commence operations in India and recently uploaded job postings for India operations.
Musk’s satellite communication company, Starlink, is also looking to start operations in India, possibly to take on Jio. These are only an indication of Musk’s plans to set a strong foothold in India. Possibly, in the future, Musk might strike a partnership with the government to bring the loop system to India.
While Musk made a quick shift for practical reasons, the Avishkar Hyperloop project, a student-run initiative started in 2017 at IIT Madras as part of the Center for Innovation (CFI), was inspired by Musk’s Hyperloop.
IIT’s Tryst with Hyperloop
In an exclusive interaction, Prateek Sharma, a former team lead and final-year student at IIT Madras, told AIM: “This is a new technology and a sustainable one. But what is stopping it from becoming a reality is the technology that we currently have.”
To demonstrate feasibility, Avishkar Hyperloop constructed a 400-metre test track at IIT Madras’ Discovery Campus. “One of the first steps was to build a tube. By building the 400-metre tube, we gave a proof of concept that a thin tube with some modification can withstand the pressure that we want to run the hyperloop pod in,” said Sharma.
Watch: Bharat’s first Hyperloop test track (410 meters) completed.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) December 5, 2024
👍 Team Railways, IIT-Madras’ Avishkar Hyperloop team and TuTr (incubated startup)
📍At IIT-M discovery campus, Thaiyur pic.twitter.com/jjMxkTdvAd
As promising as it sounds, the Hyperloop project faces many hurdles, something that Musk realised a decade ago. The main challenges lie in heat dissipation and passenger safety. “The problem is, how will you dissipate the heat from your system, which is running inside a vacuum?” asked Sharma.
The team has been exploring thermal cooling using phase-changing materials, but the technology is not fully scalable yet.
Beyond engineering hurdles, the hyperloop must prove its economic and environmental viability. While initially considered a sustainable alternative, Sharma acknowledges, “There is no concrete research to back that term [Hyperloop] if it is sustainable or not.”
Yet, the potential benefits for India’s passenger and freight transport are substantial. “If we build a hyperloop corridor from Chennai to Bengaluru, the time taken can be reduced by a factor of 10,” he noted.
With India’s overcrowded railways and growing urban congestion, he believes, “A populous country like India needs it the most since even our long-distance trains run overcrowded.”
Meanwhile, the Global Hyperloop Competition (GHC) 2025 has begun at IIT Madras’ Discovery Campus on 21st Feb, featuring 10 Hyperloop teams, 200 student innovators, and 150+ industry experts.
While Avishkar Hyperloop has secured funding from IIT Madras, Indian Railways, Daimler, and Tube Investments of India, scaling the technology requires more funding and infrastructure breakthroughs.
With The Boring Company pushing the loop as a practical solution and IIT Madras working to make the hyperloop viable, the future of high-speed transport in India remains an open race.
