First glimpse of Sharjah's high-speed electric sky pod

uSky Transport's rail system will have capacity to operate at up to 500kph, transporting cargo and passengers between cities

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.

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Passengers have stepped on board the UAE’s first high-speed electric sky pod for the first time.

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

It does so smoothly and efficiently at speeds approaching 50 kilometres per hour during tests.

The National was given an exclusive tour on the pod system on Sunday.

Its developers, uSky Transport and Unitsky String Technologies of Belarus, will take development to a bigger test track by November, before constructing a permanent commercial line.

Longer tracks using super-strong string rail technology will have capacity to operate at up to 500kph, transporting cargo and passengers between key points across cities.

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

“We have had great interest from all over the world, but primarily in the UAE with some prominent developers here."

The alternative transport system offers safety, comfort and affordability, he said.

“The first commercial project will be available in the UAE by September 2023, with construction due to begin very soon," Mr Zaretskiy said.

The elevated system was designed in Minsk by Dr Anatoli Unitsky, a scientist and member of the Russian Cosmonautics Federation.

A cargo version would be capable of delivering 12-metre containers at high speed, which could take heavy goods vehicles off roads and into the sky.

Points across a network of suspended steel cables will deliver hubs for residential or office space, all connected by high-tensile steel wire.

Pods move independently, rather than on a conventional pulley system of a cable car that limits speed to around 12-15kph.

The technology provides high-speed intercity travel at a fraction of the cost of other regular transport systems, at less than $200 a metre, the company claims.

The company has 600 engineers operating a test site in Belarus at the Echotechnopark in Maryina Gorka, where a further five 800-metre tracks are in operation.

A longer test track in Sharjah will stretch across 2.4km, with eight interspaced steel support structures and concrete structures acting as anchors at each end.

The cost of construction largely depends on terrain and eventual passenger flow across a completed network.

Mr Zaretskiy said a passenger line is likely to be built ahead before a cargo service.

“It gives us an advantage to compete with other transport systems, as it will be more financially viable,” he said.

There system has enormous potential, Mr Zaretskiy said.

"The UAE is our base. It is the most promising country for our technology and we have a lot of support in Sharjah.

“It is not just a transport system but an ecological solution to a world already congested with traffic.

The pods' carbon footprint is also lower than regular rail travel, with electric emergency batteries partially powered by renewable energy.

Feasibility studies into cargo costs along a network have been estimated at $1 per 100 tonnes for every kilometre travelled.

Dzianis Yunitski, managing director of uSky Transport, whose father Dr Unitsky developed the system, said the prototype track was the culmination of decades of research.

"This makes us all very proud, we have all worked very hard alongside my father towards making this project a reality," he said.

"My father trusted his research and has so many other ideas to improve global transport.

“From the very beginning we had faith that this would one day happen.”