Firm behind Sharjah's electric sky pods unveils plan for Dubai network

USky Transport released a video of how its system could run alongside traffic on Sheikh Zayed Road

A prototype uCar running on the high-speed electric sky pod system being developed by uSky Transport in Sharjah. All photos Antonie Robertson / The National

The four-seater uCar takes less than a minute to travel the distance of the 400-metre test track at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.

Running on string-rail technology, during testing the uCar travelled at speeds approaching 50 kilometres per hour. This compares with speeds of 12-15kph achieved by conventional cable cars.

Oleg Zaretskiy, chief executive at uSky Transport. His company is developing the system in partnership with Unitsky String Technologies of Belarus.

An end view of the uCar on the suspended test track at Sharjah. Developer uSky Transport is working on a system that can both run cargo and passenger vehicles.

Oleg Zaretskiy examines the uCar pod terminal. Developers predict that they will be able to achieve a speed of 150kph, and later up to 500kph through super-strong string-rail technology.

'We are now riding the future with this system,' said Oleg Zaretskiy, uSky Transport chief executive.

A longer test track stretching 2.4 kilometers, with eight steel support structures and concrete structures acting as anchors at each end, is being built in Sharjah.

The cargo version of the uSky Transport system would be able to deliver 12-metre containers at high speed across key points of cities, say developers.

A leading contender to provide Dubai with a groundbreaking new mass transport system suspended on rails released details of how its city sky pods could be used.

USky Transport, using Unitsky String Technology designed in Belarus, revealed its first prototype passenger line in Sharjah this week.

The Minsk company is one of several bidding to develop a commercial passenger line in the UAE over the next two years,

Scientists revealed expansion plans for a uSky research and development centre in Sharjah.

The Skyway Innovation Centre will be developed on the current testing site at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.

It will include several lines using super-strong string technology to carry passenger and cargo pods at speeds ranging from 150kph to 500kph.

"There is huge potential here," said Oleg Zaretskiy, chief executive of uSky Transport.

“We want to move transport to the next level where there will not be obstacles on the ground or more traffic.

“It is offering people the concept of the future.”

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In Minsk, five test lines are already operational using either a flexible, semi-rigid or rigid track structure.

Steel casing encloses the railhead, body frame, steel string and filler and is considerably cheaper than existing transport infrastructure.

Structural anchors are spaced out every 50 metres, with pods elevated 15m from the ground.

The system requires minimal land acquisition for construction to carry aerodynamic pods with high energy efficiency between transit sub-stations.

In 2019, the uSky Transport system, formerly named Skyway Greentech, signed an agreement with the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai to develop futuristic solutions to traffic congestion.

A similar deal was recently signed with Zhong Tang Sky Railway Group to explore "futuristic transport systems", after the Chengdu company unveiled its prototype of a panda-themed monorail in 2016.

The Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy aims to convert 25 per cent of all journeys in the city to autonomous by 2030.