Virgin Hyperloop One has entered into a partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Economic City Authority (ECA) to conduct what it claims is the world’s longest test and certification hyperloop track.

The partnership will include a research and development center and hyperloop manufacturing facility in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) located 100 km north of the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

Virgin Hyperloop One said the test track and facility will create opportunities for the development of hyperloop technologies, which will eventually be commercialized and scaled for the country.

Additionally, a parallel study will be conducted by the Prince Mohammad bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship on the creation and publication of an academic paper outlines the economic impact of a hyperloop center.

The hyperloop concept from Virgin Hyperloop One features depressurized tubes that carry on-demand passengers or cargo pods at speeds up to 1,080 km per hour. In theory, the hyperloop can travel at speeds three times faster than high-speed rail, and do so on-demand. A hyperloop network across Saudi Arabia would allow for fast travel around the country and once expanded would increase connections across other countries in the Middle East such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman.

Traveling from Riyadh to Jeddah would take 76 minutes utilizing the land bridge for both passenger and freight movement, down from 10 hours, and traveling from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi would take 48 minutes, normally taking 8.5 hours, the company said.