Hyperloop One’s 1,100 kmph shuttle: what you need to know

Hyperloop One, a US based company leading the effort to commercialize the Hyperloop for moving passengers at airline speeds for a fraction of the price of air travel, is planning to operate a high-speed service to Expo 2020 venue, with pods running every 10 seconds carrying 15,000 passengers per hour.

The Roads and Transport Authority signed a deal in November to look at the potential of developing a Hyperloop link to Abu Dhabi.

Hyperloop is a new mode of passenger a freight transportation that propels pod-like vehicles through a vacuum tube at airline speeds. The pods accelerate using a linear electric motor a glide above the track using passive magnetic levitation or air bearings. The tubes are able to go above and below ground and are hoped to be highly energy-efficient and quiet.

The original Hyperloop concept was made public in 2013 by the release of a design document, which included a suggested route running from Los Angeles to San Francisco, which was expected to take 35 minutes, meaning the pods would travel 350 miles at an average speed of 600 mph, with a top speed of 750 mph.

Hyperloop One and The Roads and Transport Authority are working on launching an intra-Dubai route that may run parallel to Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road.

“We would like to see people riding on a hyperloop to Expo 2020,” Gulf News quoted Colin Rhys, creative director, Hyperloop One, as saying.

"We are ready to deliver well before 2020. The technology is ready and all we need to do is put things together. Though we still haven’t finalised the exact route, we will most certainly serve the Expo."