First Hyperloop Will Connect Dubai and Abu Dhabi in a 12 Minute Commute

November 10, 2016

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November 10, 2016 – When Elon Musk in 2013 mused about the potential of a hyperloop network joining San Francisco to Los Angeles it seemed more like a fantasy than a technology that would actually get built. But Hyperloop One is about to make history in the United Arab Emirates. The company, based in Los Angeles, has announced this week the first commercial hyperloop transportation system covering a distance of 159 kilometers (99 miles) linking Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and turning a 2-hour automobile commute into 12 minutes of high-speed travel. Hyperloop One or H1 will partner with Dubai Roads and Transport Authority.

H1 on its website states that it is not selling transportation, it’s selling time. In a graphic illustration it depicts exactly what it means by this.

Seen above, the infographic shows transportation modes and times in traveling between Melbourne and Sydney in Australia. What would take a car 8 hours plus in travel time, or a an over 5 hour trip by air including ground transport to the airport, wait time, flight time and deplaning, would take a hyperloop 41 minutes.

The installation of the hyperloop between the two locations in the Emirates includes portals and the hyperpods in which people would travel. The entire system would be autonomous.

Watch the video to get a sense of just how revolutionary this type of travel can be. H1 will be doing a full-scale prototype test of its system early in 2017 in the Nevada desert. The company describes its as its “Kitty Hawk” moment.

H1 is not alone in trying to take Musk’s vision from concept to reality. Engineering consulting firm AECOM, Boeing and Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum have also gotten involved. Could we be witnessing a transportation revolution in its initial birth, akin to the Wright brothers first powered flight back at the turn of the 20th century? We’ll soon know.