The Tribune

THE futuristic city-state of Dubai announced a deal yesterday with Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One to study the potential for building a line linking it to the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi.

Organisers suggest the travel time from Dubai to Abu Dhabi by hyperloop would be only 12 minutes, significantly shorter than the hour-plus journey it now takes by car between the two cities. Hyperloop co-founder Josh Giegel suggested the cost would be “somewhere between the cost of putting a road in and a high-speed rail”.

A hyperloop has levitating pods which carry passengers and cargo powered by electricity and magnetism that hurtle through low-friction pipes at a top speed of 760 mph.

In October, Dubai hosted a competition to design a hyperloop track, at which designers presented ideas for a possible track between Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, Dubai International Airport and Fujairah International Airport.

Under their plans, the hyperloop trip of 90 miles over a mountain range would be 10 minutes or less, compared to the current hour and 20 minutes by road. The deal announced yesterday would be far simpler.

There would be several stations throughout Dubai connecting the hyperloop system to Abu Dhabi. The pods would then be able to carry passengers and cargo between the cities. Yesterday, Hyperloop officials showed several circular station models for Dubai, including one at Emirates Towers on Dubai’s main artery, Sheikh Zayed Road.

However, no financial terms were immediately discussed and the technology itself remains under testing. Referencing long-haul carrier Emirates and Dubai’s driverless metro, the longest in the world, Hyperloop CEO Rob Lloyd said: “This has become a transportation hub and leader in the world. In the Emirates, we believe everything is possible.”

Already, government-backed port operator DP World has signed an agreement with Hyperloop One to explore the feasibility of the using the technology at Dubai’s sprawling, man-made Jebel Ali Port.

For now though, Hyperloop One continues its tests in the Nevada desert. “We do aspire to build the world’s first hyperloop here in the United Arab Emirates,” Lloyd said.

“That is our aspiration. We have a lot of work to do.”

JON GAMBRELL

Associated Press