Hyperloop One has signed an agreement with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority that could see the firm’s technology applied in the UAE in a new feasibility study.
The new feasibility study — exploring potential in the greater Dubai area and in the UAE as a whole — will be performed by Hyperloop One with aid coming from McKinsey & Company and the Bjarke Ingels Group.
The new press release also showcased a new concept for the use of the technology in the region, as well as renders of possible Hyperloop One Portals (stations) and Hyperloop One Pods. The concept is based on the idea of people traveling in autonomous pods from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in just 12 minutes (typically a ~2 hour drive).
“Technology is evolving and transforming how we live, yet we lack real innovation in mass transportation and the current system has stagnated. Hyperloop One is focused on transport that’s far more efficient, fast and clean. It will change the dynamics of how we move goods and people,” stated Shervin Pishevar, Executive Chairman of Hyperloop One, during a press conference on the matter at the Burj Dubai. “Dubai makes perfect sense for Hyperloop One because this is the 21st century’s global transport hub and its leaders understand that Hyperloop One is ushering in the next era of transportation.”
The chairman of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Mattar Al Tayer, commented: “This is an opportunity to help transform the UAE from a technology consumer to a technology creator, incubating expertise for a new global industry, in line with the UAE’s Vision 2021. With Hyperloop One, we will create a new means of transportation, keeping our region at the forefront of transportation technology and innovation.”
As always with news on Hyperloop One, it’s hard at this point to know what to make of the company and its technology. We’ll probably get a better idea soon enough though, as full-scale testing of the technology will begin in Nevada in early 2017. Barring serious issues, it will probably be less than a few years before we get to see if the system can prove itself commercially useful.
The company claims that “multiple operational Hyperloop systems” will be active within 5 years.
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