Hyperloop One, a US company, has signed a deal with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) to build a Hyperloop link from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

The proposed futuristic transport system will be able to travel 150km in just 12 minutes.

In Independent‘s comparison, Birmingham is around 164km from London. A standard train journey between these two cities takes anywhere between 1 hour 25 minutes and two hours.

According to Arabian Business, the futuristic mode of transport involves using magnets to levitate pods inside an airless tube, creating conditions in which the floating pods shuttle people and cargo at speeds of up to 500 miles per hour.

Hyperloop One also showcased the first-ever routes from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, several Hyperports (the equivalent of a station or airport) throughout Dubai, and the conceptual interiors and exteriors of the individual passenger pods.

The Hyperloop will be the first train of its kind in the world.

It is similar to Japan’s maglev train but will be able to reach a top speed of 750mph.

Plans are already in motion for a 50-minute Hyperloop link to be built between Dubai and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

It currently takes two hours to make the journey by plane.