Mar 11, 2017 11:38 AM EST By Mark Spencer, UniversityHerald Reporter

What seems as science fiction is slowly becoming science fact. Hyperloop One is currently constructing a full-sized test track in Nevada to begin trials of the technology first envisioned by SpaceX and Tesla founder, Elon Musk.

The company, Hyperloop One, which has no affiliation with Musk, has begun construction of a full-sized test track it calls the DevLoop, in the Nevada desert. Images of the ongoing construction offer a first glimpse of what the project might look like, as it revealed the images of the DevLoop during the Middle East Rail conference in Dubai.

According to Josh Giegel, president of engineering and co-founder of Hyperloop One, they have fielded a team of 150 engineers, technicians and fabricators, in a once barren stretch of desert, and turned it into a beehive of activity to construct the test site. The DevLoop site is located 30 minutes from Las Vegas; it is approximately 1,640 feet long and 10.8 feet in diameter. The finished track will be a mile long; currently it is at 500 meters.

Hyperloop One presents the DevLoop as proof of concept and plans to conduct a public test run sometime in the first half of the year, NBC News reported. Accordingly, the DevLoop also serves as preparation for the company's planned commercial installation, which will span the stretch from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

Traffic congestion in Dubai alone is estimated by Hyperloop One, to cost $800 million in lost working hours. By using the Hyperloop technology, it would reduce travel time to just 12 minutes between the cities separated by a 100-mile (160 kilometers) distance. According to CNBC, it would normally take two hours to make the trip by car.

Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd stated that a hyperloop network in the region could make any city in the Gulf Cooperation Council accessible in one hour.

Proponents claim that, theoretically, the Hyperloop One concept is far safer than a passenger jet. Furthermore, the Hyperloop could be built at half the cost required for the development of a high-speed rail line, requiring an energy usage as that of a bicycle per kilogram-kilometer

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