Abu Dhabi signs Hyperloop study

12 December 2016

Dubai has signed similar agreement with another provider

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport (DMAT) has signed an agreement with Hyperloop Transport Technologies to undertake a feasibility study to connect Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain using a Hyperloop transport system.

The study agreement details a multi-phase rollout that includes route analysis, feasibility studies, and a cost estimate and development schedule which will be determined over the next few months, DMAT said in a statement.

“We aim to study the feasibility of developing of the first Hyperloop system,” Khalid Mohamed Hashim, acting executive director of Land Transport Sector at DMAT, said in a statement. “We hope to take advantage of this technology to connect the cities of Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain, which will result in a travel time of about eight to twelve minutes.”

In November, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) signed a similar agreement with Hyperloop One for a potential transport system that will link Dubai and Abu Dhabi within 12 minutes.

Driving distance between Dubai and Abu Dhabi is approximately 125 kilometres.

Both Hyperloop TT and Hyperloop One are California-based firms that are aiming to build the world’s super-fast transport system based on Tesla founder Elon Musk’s Hyperloop concept.

Hyperloop One is funded by venture capital, with Dubai-based DP World recently investing $50m in the firm in addition to signing an agreement to study the use of a Hyperloop in moving containers from ships docked at the Jebel Ali port to a new inland container depot.

Hyperloop TT was formed using a crowd-collaboration approach that combines what it calls team collaboration and crowdsourcing, where individuals and companies could contribute funds to the firm.

Hyperloop TT says it has an agreement with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which grants it an exclusive license to use the Laboratory’s passive magnetic levitation technology in the Hyperloop system it plans to build.

A Hyperloop infrastructure includes a station or loading platform, a capsule or pod that would carry passengers or cargo, and a tube through which the capsule will travel, which utilises electro-magnetic propulsion and passive magnetic levitation systems. It offers theoretical speeds of up to 1,220 kilometres an hour. 

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