Dubai is working on a 1,200-mile underwater train to India
Published on Sep 11, 2023 at 6:41 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Sep 26, 2023 at 10:21 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is working on an underwater train to connect Dubai to the city of Mumbai in India.
It’s an ambitious plan, but it seems the country is now one step closer to making it happen.
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The 1,200-mile (2,000 km) journey would connect Dubai to Mumbai in a way that’s never been done before.
And the railway wouldn’t only be used to transport people but also goods and commodities, including water and oil.
And no, the irony of building an underWATER train to transport water isn’t lost on us.
The thing is, this is more than vaporware.
The Dubai to Mumbai underwater train project was first mentioned in 2018 but back then it was little more than bar talk.
Now, the United Arab Emirates’ National Advisor Bureau is working on a feasible blueprint for the railway and for the type of train that would be required.
The UAE and India have a good and close relationship, but if we had to guess, we’d say there’s another reason why Dubai wants to build an underwater train.
For so many years, the UAE was the only go-to place for technology, construction and infrastructure in the Middle East.
Now Saudi Arabia is trying to challenge the UAE’s dominance with crazy projects that are being funded with limitless cash.
The biggest and arguably most talked about project is the so-called LINE, a mega city that extends horizontally and connects the desert to the sea.
It’s an ambitious plan, and an expensive one at that, because the entire NEOM project is estimated to cost $1 trillion.
The Line alone will cost $500 billion.
Construction is underway, and Saudi Arabia plans to inaugurate the Line by the end of the decade.
This may explain, at least in part, why the UAE is keen to get started with the underwater train.
Underwater trains are not unheard of, and the Channel Tunnel that connects the UK to France is arguably the most famous underwater railway tunnel in the world.
Mind you, the Dubai-Mumbai one would be different.
Were it not for the fact you board the train near the water, you wouldn’t even you’re underwater once you’re in the Channel Tunnel.
Meanwhile, the Dubai-Mumbai one would a lot more scenic, with spectacular see-through windows to remind you you’re underwater.
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