Hyperloop One asks Indians to pick one from five proposed routes

Hyperloop One, which promises to move people and things at the speed of an airline for the price of a bus ticket, has asked Indians to pick one from the five proposed routes.

The terrestrial transportation company is in initial talks with the Indian government and companies to partially build and operate the vehicle on some routes, its chief executive officer Rob Lloyd said in New Delhi.

The proposed routes include Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Chennai, Bengaluru-Chennai, Bengaluru-Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai-Kolkata.

Hyperloop will glide silently for miles at speeds of up to 620 mph (1,000 km/h) with no turbulence. With Founder @ShervinPishevar pic.twitter.com/KDtcfqXkzK

- Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) February 27, 2017

The Los Angeles-based company is working on Elon Musk's dream idea to provide faster, safer and convenient mode of transportation. Suresh Prabhu, the minister of Indian Railways, which is world's largest public rail network, also attended Hyperloop One's Vision for India event.

"We are watching all of these (new technologies) very keenly and we are working to modernise the Indian railways," said Prabhu, while adding that all companies are welcome to explore their ideas with the government.

Hyperloop One will decide by end of this year whether it's feasible to run the vehicle in India after studying the market and will locally source a significant part of the components including steel if it decides to move ahead with the plan, CEO Rob Lloyd told Bloomberg.

"Hyperloop One will help accelerate India's growth towards building substantial infrastructure that is financially and environmentally sustainable. We are already working with the governments around the world on passenger and freight projects, and we look forward to partnering with India to support this endeavor," said Lloyd.

India, vote for your fav route from 1 of our proposed 5. Now traveling doesn't need to take days! #VisionForIndia https://t.co/TGd8IxVsKh pic.twitter.com/L7h5DPy21j

- HyperloopOne (@HyperloopOne) February 28, 2017

The company claims that it is creating a new form of transformative transportation that is two to three times faster than the fastest high-speed rail, on-demand versus scheduled, environmental friendly with no direct emissions, and less expensive than current high speed rail technology.

Hyperloop One plans to use magnetic levitation in low-pressure tubes to transport people and goods at speeds faster than the airplanes. The company claims it can cut down travel time from Delhi to Mumbai to just an hour.