Elon Musk's The Boring Company has received approval to construct the "Dubai Loop." This tunnel system, spanning 17 kilometers, will connect the busiest areas of the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, reports Kazpravda.kz citing Naked-Science.
The first phase plans to establish 11 stations. Passengers will travel through the tunnels in electric vehicles at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour.
The "Dubai Loop" will be capable of transporting over 20,000 passengers per hour, and in the future, the system's capacity could increase to 100,000 people per hour.
This project bears a strong resemblance to the operational Vegas Loop system in Las Vegas, which has been functioning with 5 stations since 2021.
Tesla vehicles will transport customers to their destinations via a network of one-way tunnels located beneath the streets. Musk shared the plans during a video call with Dubai's Minister of Artificial Intelligence, Omar Al-Olama, on the final day of the World Government Summit. While addressing the summit, Musk remarked:
"I think once people try it, they will say: 'Wow, this is really cool.' It will be like a wormhole. You just go into a hole in one part of the city and end up in another part."
Ultimately, The Boring Company states that its goal is to expand the Dubai ring network to cover the entire emirate of Dubai. This will allow for the transportation of up to 100,000 passengers.
The Loop system from The Boring Company resembles a highway running underground rather than a subway system like the London Underground.
Electric vehicles will enter the tunnel through a ground-level entrance at the station and follow the route until they reach the desired stop. The vehicle will then simply exit the tunnel through the station exit and merge into regular surface traffic.
The Boring Company claims this is faster than a subway train, as it eliminates the need to stop at every station along the route and offers a higher potential maximum speed. However, it remains unclear whether drivers will be able to use their own cars or if they will have to ride in one of the provided Teslas.