Include city in Hyperloop project, MP writes to CM

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 5

Member of Parliament Santokh Singh Chaudhary today wrote to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to include Jalandhar in the Hyperloop transport infrastructure project, which would be developed on the Amritsar-Ludhiana-Chandigarh route.

The state government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Los Angeles-based Virgin Hyperloop One to conduct a pre-feasibility economic study for the project. As per reports, the project is expected to drastically reduce travel time along the Amritsar-Ludhiana-Chandigarh corridor from five hours by road to less than 30 minutes.

Chaudhary wrote that being an ultra-high speed transport system, Hyperloop has the potential to unlock untapped potential of biggest cities of the state, leaving a transformative impact on people and economy. But he expressed disappointment for excluding his parliamentary constituency Jalandhar from the project.

“It is disconcerting that one of the most significant industrial hubs of the country, Jalandhar, has been left out of the project. It is an ancient city with many places of religious importance. The city and its surrounding areas have many large and small industrial units and products manufactured here are sold in and outside the country. The district has a population of over two millions as per the 2011 Census,” he wrote in the letter.

He said people of the city want quick travel options to capital cities such as Chandigarh and Delhi, since they have to visit them frequently.

Virgin Hyperloop One is also said to be in discussions with the Haryana Government for a separate MoU to evaluate the feasibility of a hyperloop system that could potentially extend the route from Punjab to the National Capital Region (NCR).Chaudhary asked the Chief Minister to consider public interest and economic importance of the project and add Jalandhar to the route covered by the Hyperloop corridor.