HTT Plans to Build High-Speed Transportation System

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies plans to build a high-speed system for transportation in the Middle East. The system would shorten travel time between locations like Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, according to a top executive.

HTT is among the companies that are developing the hyperloop, which is a futuristic, extra fast transportation system.

The system is set to work by propelling pods while carrying people or shipments through a huge tube, travelling at 750 mph with magnets. It’s eyed as one of the solutions for long-distance travels while also a method of cutting down congestion.

HTT said on Wednesday that it will start working on building a hyperloop track in Abu Dhabi, hoping that by 2020, the system will be operational. They have recently penned and signed a deal with Alder Properties PJSC, which is the real estate developer firm behind the Formula One circuit in Yas Island.

“We conducted a first feasibility study. It was successful with the government of Abu Dhabi,” said Bibop Gresta, who is the chairman of the Hyperloop Transportation Technologies.

“And now we’re going into the next phase to actually build the first commercial line. It will be 10 kilometers of a longer network that we want to build to connect all the Emirates. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and eventually Saudi Arabia,” said Gresta.

The track is scheduled to be developed near the Expo 2000 site and Al Maktoum International Airport, close to the border of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. HTT is scheduled to build the first 10-kilometer track. The construction will be divided in several phases.

Gresta did not elaborate on how much the project is expected to cost. However, he indicated that the cost will be disclosed once the feasibility study is finished.

“The real question is about how long does it take to recoup the investment,” Gresta added. “Because every transportation system right now on the ground doesn’t make money. The hyperloop has shown, in different feasibility study, that we run around the world, (that it) can actually recoup the entire investment in 10 to 15 years,” he said.

He also clarified that the actual hyperloop systems won’t travel at 750 miles per hour, even if that was the tech’s most popular, theoretical max speed. He said that the average speed of the system will be much slower.

The system will keep the passenger feel comfortable by speeding up and slowing down slowly, according to Gresta.

“It will be like a very comfortable airplane—without the bumps and the problems of an airplane,” he said.

Gresta did not specifically mention the price of the ride, but he said that the technology utilizes renewable energy, meaning that the “price of the ticket is minimal.”

HTT is not the sole company that’s trying to harness this power of super-fast transportation. Among other startups is Virgin Hyperloop One.

Gresta has emphasized that his company was the first firm that “actually took the challenge of bringing this technology to the market.”

“We’re the only company that actually is building the first full-scare hyperloop in history,” said Gresta, stating that rivals were welcome.

He also added that the company is in talks with 11 countries, including Saudi Arabia, for future projects.

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