Virgin to build 35km Saudi hyperloop test track

Virgin Hyperloop One is working with Saudi Arabia’s Economic City Authority (ECA) to conduct a study to build a 35km test and certification track. The company claims its technology can reduce travel times between cities: it says the trip from Riyadh to the Red Sea port of Jeddah would be slashed from 10 hours to 76 minutes, for example, with the Riyadh-Abu Dhabi route cut from 8.5 hours to 48 minutes. The study will take place in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), located 100km north of Jeddah. It w
August 1, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Virgin 8535 Hyperloop One is working with Saudi Arabia’s Economic City Authority (ECA) to conduct a study to build a 35km test and certification track.

The company claims its technology can reduce travel times between cities: it says the trip from Riyadh to the Red Sea port of Jeddah would be slashed from 10 hours to 76 minutes, for example, with the Riyadh-Abu Dhabi route cut from 8.5 hours to 48 minutes.

The study will take place in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), located 100km north of Jeddah. It will also include the construction of an R&D development centre and manufacturing facility.

Mohanud A. Helal, secretary general of ECA, says:” Having Hyperloop at KAEC is going to act as a catalyst for a Saudi Silicon Valley effect and galvanise our software development, high technology research and manufacturing industries.”

As part of the project, the Prince Mohammad bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship will publish an academic paper outlining the economic impact of a Hyperloop Centre of Excellence in KAEC. Additionally, experts from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology will visit the Virgin Hyperloop One testing facility in Nevada to conduct a technical review.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Valerann goes back to the present
    July 8, 2024
    Changing the approach to road management from reactive to proactive is about analysing data efficiently, says Valerann - and it's a technological development which will save lives
    Read More
  • Cotares adds Parking Tours to its public developer site
    February 7, 2019
    Cotares, which specialises in software for navigation and mapping, has added a tool to encourage the development of smart parking solutions to its public developer site. The firm says Parking Tours is designed for the developers of route finding and guidance systems to change their offering from ‘A-to-B’ into ‘A-to-park-near-B’ where on-street parking is available. The company suggests that route guidance can be augmented by an optimised parking search (a ‘Tour’) that adapts to driver preferences, parking
    Read More
  • Video analytics enhances urban rail safety
    December 16, 2016
    David Crawford explores some promising innovations for North American commuters. North America is experiencing a surge in commuter rail and metro development. The US now has 75 light rail and metro networks in operation; and California, in particular, is actively exploring ways of developing the state’s existing passenger rail operations into a fully integrated system.
    Read More
  • Carol Schweiger: "I never looked back"
    January 14, 2025
    Carol Schweiger is a legend of the ITS industry. She talks to Adam Hill about her career, real train sets, equity, AI, quantum computing – and the difficulty of behaviour change
    Read More

Highlighted Content