ELON Musk has announced he will build a mega tunnel loop under Dubai where cars zip along at 100mph and passengers can get anywhere in 6 minutes.
The billionaire tech tycoon unveiled the plans alongside UAE‘s AI minister Omar Al Olama on the final day of the World Governments Summit.
The tunnels will allow passengers to travel at high speeds around the city[/caption]
The new loop will enhance Dubai’s current metro system[/caption]
One of his companies has signed a deal to build an ambitious new project that will revolutionise how people travel in the UAE city.
The loop will be constructed by Elon’s The Boring Company – already known for its tunnelling prowess.
Their most famous subterranean system lies beneath Las Vegas, where passengers are shuttled around in Musk’s Tesla vehicles.
Musk was characteristically hyped his newest scheme, and said: “Once people try it out, they’re going to say: ‘Wow, it’s really cool.’ It’s going to seem so obvious in retrospect.”
He said his vision is for a “wormhole” under Dubai, allowing people to go “from one part of the city, boom, and you’re at another part of the city”.
The sprawling tunnel network, called the Dubai Loop, will extend for 17km below ground, and host a fleet of driverless vehicles.
It will shift up to 20,000 passengers each hour from more than 100 stations to major transport hubs and landmarks.
As Dubai’s population continues to bloom, the city is seeking innovative ways of dealing with overcrowding and sustainability.
Transportation is an area particularly groaning under the weight of the thousands of people flooding in each year, so Elon’s project is timely.
Digging down rather than building up is seen as a good way to deal with those considerations.
By ferrying people around underground, the new network will reduce surface congestion – instead of snarling things up further.
And there is another key benefit of the proposal: passengers will be sheltered from the blistering heat and other harsh conditions.
Elon pointed out that everything is much cooler below ground, so passengers won’t be stuck in stuffy, sweltering cabins.
He added: “If you have bad weather, like let’s say there’s a blizzard or a sandstorm, well, now nobody can fly. None of these problems exist with underground travel.”
“We have a demonstration case of this in Las Vegas, connecting the whole city with all of the big hotels and the convention centre, the airport and everything.”
Olama said the project would ease-up Dubai’s “most densely populated areas for people to go from point to point, in a seamless manner”.
He promised that he and Elon would ride in the first pod when the project is completed.
The Dubai government said the deal was a partnership to “study the implementation of the Dubai Loop” – and shared a picture of Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan overseeing the signing of it.
Elon Musk and UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence Omar Sultan Al Olama announced the new Dubai Loop[/caption]
A panoramic view of the metro station in Dubai’s financial district[/caption]
Dubai Jumeirah Lakes Towers Metro Station[/caption]
