Hyperloop, the super-fast train system was first proposed by Elon Musk, revolutionary founder of Tesla, in 2013 as a method of travel that could transport people at 740mph. In essence, he says it could take passengers from LA to San Francisco, a distance of 380 miles, in just 30 minutes - half the time a plane ride would take.
The Hyperloop consists of a long tube turned into a vacuum, with pods to be accelerated by powerful electromagnets. The suspended system protects itself from weather, earthquakes, and allows the possibility of building underwater.
In Musk's encouragement for third-party firms to develop the technology, Hyperloop One's Vice President, Alana James, said Australia would be a great place to start testing the technology. The proposed trip between Sydney and Melbourne will take just 55 minutes, instead of a 9 hour drive or 2 hour plane ride.
Another country planning to take advantage of this technology is the UAE. In cooperation with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), the initial goal is for people to travel from Dubai to Fujairah, a distance of 67 miles, in 10 minutes - a usual 2 and a half hour drive. If this proves successful, the plan is to build a transportation system between Abu Dhabi and Qatar, where the 190 mile distance can be traveled in 22 minutes.
Saif al-Aleeli, the CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, tells the Daily Mail: "Imagine that you can live in Riyadh, work in Dubai, have your dinner in Abu Dhabi and watch a movie in Qatar. Already being home to the world's tallest building, the longest driverless metro line, and touted to have the world's busiest airport by 2020, Dubai is aiming to cements its status as a global transit hub with these daring investments."
Despite a ceremony held in early October for a presentation of ideas on a Hyperloop connecting Dubai International Airport and Fujairah International Airport, some have fears about the Hyperloop. Researcher Alon Levy tells Yahoo! NZ, "it's not transportation; it's a barf ride." Mr Levy claims that the proposed lateral and vertical acceleration will mean that passengers will be subjected to motion sickness for the duration of the ride. It is, he explains, "worse than the acceleration felt by passengers on an airplane taking off".
