Work on Hyperloop passenger tubes begins
Construction has begun on the first full-scale Hyperloop passenger tubes in preparation for the next stage in a development that could revolutionise travel in the UAE.
A set of tubes measuring four metres in diameter have been moved from the development centre in Spain to Toulouse in France, where the next stage of testing is to shortly get under way.
Technicians at Hyperloop Transportation Technologies plan to have a closed 320-metre system ready for testing this year. A second, full-scale 1 kilometre-long system elevated by pylons to 5.8 metres will be completed next year.
Both systems will be utilised by Hyperloop TT and partner companies. The full-scale passenger capsule, near completion at Carbures in Spain, is scheduled for delivery to the facility this summer for assembly and integration.
“Five years ago we set out to solve transport’s most pressing problems – efficiency, comfort and speed. Today, we take an important step forward to begin to achieve that goal,” said Hyperloop TT chief executive Dirk Ahlborn.
“Hyperloop is more than just displays of rapid acceleration and more than just breaking speed records.
“The real opportunity is to create an efficient and safe system with an unparalleled passenger experience.”
Other tech firms like the Hyperloop One system are developing similar versions of passenger pods, while market newcomer TransPod, a Canadian start-up, is planning a prototype track in Limoges, France.
Developers at HTT hope their system will be the first to make the long-held dream of supersonic public ground transport a reality.
The company has completed a feasibility study to bring to the UAE the travel system that uses electro-magnetic levitation technology to fire pods at speeds of up to 1,200kph.
Founded in 2013, Hyperloop TT is a global team of more than 800 engineers, creatives and technologists in 52 multidisciplinary teams, with 40 corporate and university partners with its headquarters in Los Angeles.
Hyperloop TT has satellite offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Bratislava, Toulouse, Contagem in Brazil and Barcelona.
As well as in the UAE, the company has signed agreements in the United States, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, France, India, Indonesia, Brazil and Korea.
A public unveiling of the Toulouse facility and prototype track is due later this year.
“Building in full-scale means we’re committed to innovation in the long term,” said Bibop Gresta, HyperloopTT chairman. “We’ve pioneered the technology, proved feasible and insurable by the world’s largest reinsurance company, Munich RE.
“Hyperloop is no longer a concept, it has become a commercial industry.”