Virgin Hyperloop One strengthens efforts to launch routes in UAE

Monday, August 20, 2018

An American firm is behind plans to establish a supersonic transport system with the aim of accelerating its efforts to launch the world’s very first service in the UAE.

Officials at Virgin Hyperloop One said the company is set to open an office in the emirates as the project continues to develop.

The proposed scheme would witness high-speed trains, or pods, transport passengers at up to 1,200kph along a vacuum-sealed track.

Possible routes include a line between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and between Mumbai on India’s west coast and the inland city of Pune, according to the company.

Harj Dhaliwal, managing director for the Middle East and India told a leading news media platform that they had been establishing their first office outside of the US in Dubai.

The hyperloop concept was first conceived by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2013.

The technology leverages electromagnets to accelerate trains through a low-pressure tube, allowing the vehicle to glide silently with little to turbulence.

By December last year, Virgin Hyperloop One had raised $295 million (1.08bn) in private finance and had demonstrated a form of the propulsion technology at a test site in Las Vegas, California.

Presently one of two companies is vying to build the first such a system in the UAE, with the other being Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), another California-based firm.

Under the proposed UAE scheme, Virgin Hyperloop One’s pods will take just 12 minutes to cover the distance between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It currently takes around 1hr 20 min to drive between the two cities.

Burj Khalifa in Dubai and Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi have both been identified as possible stations on the Dubai to Abu Dhabi route.

The company is also studying the possibility of operating the pods alongside highways, according to Dubai Tourism.

Phase one of the project could involve building a 20km corridor running parallel to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed highway, serving areas such as Dubai South and Dubai Investment Park, it added.

There is currently no timeline for Virgin Hyperloop One’s Dubai project, according to Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority. Feasibility studies are ongoing.

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