Almost half of all U.S. residents report being more concerned about traveling than in the past. However, a new U.S. technology company is hoping to eliminate this stress by dramatically cutting down the travel time with their new transportation innovation.
The California-based company Hyperloop One has recently signed a deal with emirate country Dubai to create a train that looks like it’s right out of the future. This electromagnetic train will run at 500 mph and will connect Dubai to Emirati capital Abu Dhabi in just 12 minutes.
The distance between these two cities is 90 miles.
Instead of using traditional wheels, the Hyperloop One train will use electromagnetic technology. The train will be composed of wheelless pods that travel within an enclosed low-pressure tube. This technology will allow the train to travel at an unprecedentedly fast speed.
Electromagnetic travel was the brainchild of Tesla and SpaceX founder and CEO, Elton Musk. Hyperloop One is just one of the companies looking to bring his idea to life, while the other — Hyperloop Transportation Technologies — is currently working with French railway company SNCF to develop high-speed transport all throughout France.
Hyperloop’s CEO Rob Lloyd explained to the Telegraph, “from a technological point of view, we could have a Hyperloop One system built in the UAE in the next five years.”
The company then hopes to expand its projects to neighboring Gulf countries. Their next goal is to complete a trip between Dubai and Saudi capital Riyadh — a trip that typically takes two hours by plane — in under 50 minutes.
However, Mattar al-Tayer, Dubai Road Transport Authority’s director general, explains that the cost of building this futuristic system is a crucial factor in their decision-making process, in addition to safety concerns.
Earlier this spring, Hyperloop One completed their first public test of this technology in the desert outside Las Vegas. Their train pods were able to achieve a speed of 750 mph.