Hyperloop One signs agreement with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority
Hyperloop One has signed an agreement with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to explore high-speed routes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The RTA runs all the public transport (road, metro, maritime) in Dubai and connects with the infrastructure of greater UAE and the Gulf region beyond.
With this agreement in place, Hyperloop One can move forward with plans to test the possibility of building the first Hyperloop system in the UAE.
Hyperloop One claims that the system will shuttle people and cargo from Dubai to Abu Dhabi – a distance of 99 miles – in just 12 minutes.
In a statement posted on its blog yesterday (8 November) Hyperloop One said: “This feasibility study with the RTA is our second agreement in the UAE, following our deal to explore a cargo system with DP World in August, and it’s our sixth route study overall. We’re going to spend the next 12 weeks working with design and architecture firm BIG, transportation consultants at McKinsey & Co., and the RTA to figure out where and how to build what would likely be a hybrid passenger-freight system in Emirates. We proved our ability to work fast at the Dubai Future Accelerators, where the RTA was our partner. With this next step they become our customer and will sponsor this study.”
People and cargo will get on board the Hyperloop system at “Hyperportals” (the equivalent of stations or airports) and they will travel in autonomous “Hyperpods” that dock into a Hyperloop One transporter for longer distance travel but otherwise zip around town on their own.
Hyperloop One added: “Our infrastructure doesn’t have to work with our pods alone. We can turn it into a platform that works with self-driving Teslas, BMWs, or any of the urban mini-cars on the horizon. And we’ll partner with companies like Uber and Didi to build networks in cities everywhere.”
Hyperloop One’s driving force, Elon Musk, is, of course, also the CEO of Tesla and the SpaceX project – so the group is exploring just about every facet of futuristic, space-age travel.
