New high-tech ‘Hyperloop’ transport system planned for Dubai

Dubai Future Foundation plans to build a high-speed transport system that would connect Dubai to Fujairah in just 10 minutes.

Known as ‘Hyperloop’, the technology would cut travel time from the roughly two hours it currently takes to join the east and west emirates, according to Time Out Dubai.

And now, in a series of tweets, the Dubai Media Office has said it is looking for someone “to shape the future of transportation”, launching a global competition for Hyperloop designs that takes place in the UAE in September.

A 48-hour event known as 'Build Earth Live' will feature more than 100 participants, six teams and a panel of leading international judges.

Hyperloop will boast potential speeds of 1200km/h and is backed by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, one of the world's pre-eminent engineering brains.

The technology, which had its first scale model testing in May, is relatively straightforward.

Sealed concrete or steel pipes, installed either above or below ground, are pumped permanently to remove air and, thus, resistance to the trains, while electric motors create a strong magnetic field that allows carriages to coast in a frictionless environment.

SpaceX is also studying the viability of an aquatic version that can be used to transport cargo from ships to newly created ports some 10 miles from land.

"If the UAE wants it, it could be operational before 2020," tech entrepreneur Peter Diamandis said during a visit to Dubai last October. "Hyperloop is about reinventing transportation. This is about the future. Similar to how the mobile phone reinvented the world many times over."