The future of overland cargo shipment and human travel is taking shape in the deserts of Dubai.
The Daily Mail writes that billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, founder and CEO of Virgin, is getting behind the development of what is called hyperloop technology.
Daily Mail Hyperloop uses a pod and tube system in which the pods are levitated and accelerated through the tubal system through electromagnetism, reaching speeds of up to 760mph. Working in the desert kingdom, a company called Architect Foster and Partners “has designed concept pods that can move cargo at these incredible speeds at the same cost as existing systems and with less pollution,” writes the Daily Mail. By teaming up with Branson’s company, the project receives deep pockets and the idea of expanding the hyperloop into the realm of commercial travel for humans. The cargo version, being overseen by DP World, will handle the delivery of material and products within the country by 2021. A system is planned to run from Dubai and Abu Dhabi after that. Eventually an intercontinental system running from the Middle East to Asia and Europe is also in the conception stage.
Daily Mail Branson’s Virgin will lead the development of ‘Virgin Hyperloop One’ that looks to have a functioning network by 2025. ‘The movement of people and goods is part of the vital infrastructure that binds all our cities together – and cities are the future of our society,’ said Norman Foster, founder of Foster and Partners.
‘As hyperloop looks to reinvent urban transport and logistics, the city of the future is closer than we think,’ he continued.
‘It is important we develop an integrated sustainable vision of infrastructure that will enable us to evolve and adapt our existing cities, and design new ones that will be in harmony with nature and our precious planet.’
