Maglev train gets a boost from Congress

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin ^ | 11/17/2005 | Chuck Mueller, Staff Writer

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

VICTORVILLE - With high gasoline prices forcing Inland Empire commuters to reshuffle their budgets, many are expected to welcome the concept of a super speed train propelled by electromagnets., Congress has authorized spending $45 million for maglev in the current federal transportation bill, said Bruce Aguilera, chairman of a bi-state commission overseeing the $12 billion project. Visionaries say the proposed maglev train eventually may whisk passengers the 269 miles between Anaheim and Las Vegas in 86 minutes.

Under the maglev system, short for magnetic levitation, trains propelled by electromagnets would zip along elevated guideways instead of rails, reaching speeds up to 300 mph.

The 16 members of the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission will meet in Las Vegas in January, Aguilera said, to determine where the congressional appropriation will go.

"The $45 million shows that Congress has faith in the project," he said. "We must capitalize on this by showing we're making progress. And we will have to find additional sources of funds, such as tax-free bonds, stock sales and private money."

Some of the appropriation is likely to go for an environmental impact statement, while other portions will launch maglev operations along the first 40 miles of the route, from Las Vegas to Primm, at the California state line.

Victorville Mayor Mike Rothschild a member of the commission, believes maglev would get commuters and other motorists "out of their autos and make us less oil-dependent."

The system is already used on a limited basis in trains in China and Germany. "It's the technology of the century, 100 percent proven," Rothschild said.

In his 34 years in the High Desert, he has witnessed the region's spectacular growth and its increased freeway congestion.

With maglev, it's conceivable that the number of cars and trucks that clog the 15 Freeway could drop by one-fourth, the mayor said.

"I believe it's realistic to say that 25 percent of the 70,000 vehicles using I-15 daily could be pulled off the freeway within 10 years," said Rothschild.

"Think what that means: an immense saving in gasoline, a sharp drop in roadway congestion and a huge improvement in air quality. And no other mode of transportation can match maglev in cost-efficiency."

Under the maglev proposal, trains would carry passengers from Anaheim to Las Vegas in 86 minutes, said Dennis J. Papilion, vice-president of Santa Ana-based URS Corp., environmental consultant for the project.

Plans call for the first 40 miles of the route to link Las Vegas with Primm, in just 12 minutes. Victorville and Barstow are designated as stops along the route paralleling the 15 Freeway across the High Desert.

The Nevada Department of Transportation, Caltrans and the Super Speed Train Commission are working with the Federal Railway Administration to find funding for the project.

Rothschild believes the maglev concept, potentially leading to a national network of guideways, could reduce the country's thirst for oil.

"It will allow us to slowly get away from our dependency on oil," he said. "And beyond the system now proposed for super speed trains, some day we may see trucks and autos operating on electric-powered platforms paralleling existing roadways."

Under the California-Nevada maglev proposal, trains would carry about 12,000 passengers hourly in each direction on a typical eight-car train.

"Maglev will help make the High Desert a destination for visitors and will generate all types of new business," said Rothschild. "And it could make long-distance commuting financially viable. Passenger costs on Maglev are expected to be half the price of an airline ticket."

"The super speed trains would be powered by 3.5 megawatts of electricity," said Larry Blow, national project manager for Transrapid International, the train's designer.

"Victorville is well-positioned to provide electric power for maglev," Rothschild pointed out. "We have already opened a 760-megawatt natural gas-fueled power near Southern California Logistics Airport, and plan to build a second, comparable plant."

He notes that the existing High Desert power plant, owned by Baltimore-based Consellation Energy Group, would use only one-seventh of its electric production to power 20 maglev trains between Anaheim and Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, city officials envision opening a second 760-megawatt power plant. "With a second plant to provide electricity for maglev, we could make it the most cost-effective super speed route in the country," the mayor explained.

[Willie Green]

What is High Speed Ground Transportation?

High-speed ground transportation (HSGT)-- a family of technologies ranging from upgraded existing railroads to magnetically levitated vehicles-- is a passenger transportation option that can best link cities lying about 100-500 miles apart. Common in Europe ( The European Railway Server) and Japan (Japan Railways Group), HSGT in the United States already exists in the Northeast Corridor (Amtrak Expands Acela Express Service) between New York and Washington, D.C. and will soon serve travelers between New York and Boston. 

HSGT is self-guided intercity passenger ground transportation that is time competitive with air and/or auto on a door-to-door basis for trips in the approximate range of 100 to 500 miles. This is market-based, not a speed based definition. It recognizes that the opportunities and requirements for HSGT differ markedly among different pairs of cities. High-speed ground transportation (HSGT) is a family of technologies ranging from upgraded steel-wheel-on-rail railroads to magnetically levitated vehicles.

The Federal Railroad Administration has designated a variety of high density transportation corridors within our nation for development of HSGT:

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For more information, please visit the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA’s) High Speed Ground Transportation Website

[son of caesar]

willie, no no no, we know very well that congress and trains dont mix real well on the fiscal side of things. now if you were to import some guest workers to work on train stuff,from, ohhhhhhhh say a large country to the west across a large ocean, which is known for making things very cheaply. well, then we might have our trains after all, but only then, and no other way at all.

[Vaquero]

Visionaries say the proposed maglev train eventually may whisk passengers the 269 miles between Anaheim and Las Vegas in 86 minutes. WOW!!!!now I can reach Lost Wages traveling at 187.7MPH and piss away my money that much quicker..... Thank you Mr. Maglev.

[Mark was here]

Last week Congress was interested in cutting spending, now they are back to the pork.

[MineralMan]

"Visionaries say the proposed maglev train eventually may whisk passengers the 269 miles between Anaheim and Las Vegas in 86 minutes."

---

Yeah, well...visionaries also promised flying cars, monorails, and all sorts of crap that never materialized.

In the meantime, a guy can grab a flight at Burbank to Las Vegas and be there in half an hour.

[wyattearp]

Victorville Mayor Mike Rothschild a member of the commission, believes maglev would get commuters and other motorists "out of their autos and make us less oil-dependent."

And exactly how many people commute from Anaheim to Las Vegas on a normal day?

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

I think the best use for a meglev would be up a mountain as near the equator as possible to be used to put payloads into orbit.

[RayChuang88]

I think while people scream that maglevs are a money-wasting idea, the USA is actually one of the few places where maglevs actually make sense, mostly because the speed potential of maglev is better suited for for the longer distances between cities found here.

That's why the day maglevs become economically practical the first line should be located between Chicago and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area; imagine downtown Chicago to downtown Minneapolis in under an hour!

[Willie Green]

In the meantime, a guy can grab a flight at Burbank to Las Vegas and be there in half an hour.

Well it's always good to have alternatives to choose from.
I'm not certain what's available in Burbank,
but Vegas is planning to accommodate those travelers as well!
Las Vegas Monorail Is Back on Track

[HKMk23]

I smell big, fat pork-laden boondoggle.

BUT...all the same, I'm willing to keep watching and see what happens.

Of course, this will require the simultaneous construction of additional power plants so that the energy required for these trains doesn't suck the grid dry. So, if that gets done, too, then maybe there IS some tangible benefit to the average Joe.

[TexasRepublic]

Amtrak is a flop and I doubt maglev would ever pay for itself either.

[waverna]

Only Congress could turn a relatively short phenomenon like this spike in oil prices and turn it into a perpetual money machine and power grab for themselves.

[Alter Kaker]

Amtrak is a flop and I doubt maglev would ever pay for itself either.

When you figure in the cost of federal subsidies, I don't think any airline has ever been profitable. And yet we need infrastructure. Why hold trains to a different standard than other forms of transportation?

[Our man in washington]

It really comes down to how cheap you can make this. By my calculations, a trip from Washington DC to Philadelphia would take you about 40 minutes and leave you in the middle of a city.

To do the same thing by air would take you about two and a half hours if you check luggage, given that you basically have to be at the airport an hour ahead of time and it takes a while to get baggage and get from the airport to the middle of the city.

If it was less than $200 for a round-trip ticket, I would never fly that route. If it was less than $100 for a round-trip ticket, I would never drive that route. Now, if they make it so the trains had wireless internet connectivity and decent food, they could get really popular.

[Arizona Carolyn]

They tried to do this about 25 years ago and it was shot down then... it always made sense between LA and Las Vegas but the route they wanted to take at the time between LA and San Diego was the problem.

[John O]

"I believe it's realistic to say that 25 percent of the 70,000 vehicles using I-15 daily could be pulled off the freeway within 10 years," said Rothschild.

This guy is delusional. First there's the John Rocker syndrome. People don't want to be crammed into a box with people they don't like. Secondly, if traffic decreased it only means that more people will try to drive it as traffic is lighter. I'll hit the third point in a moment

"Think what that means: an immense saving in gasoline, a sharp drop in roadway congestion and a huge improvement in air quality. And no other mode of transportation can match maglev in cost-efficiency."

3) I can drive a family of six from Indiana to Florida on $125.00 worth of gas. How expensive will a ticket be from LA to vegas? They say half an airline ticket or about $150? That means I'd have to spend minimum of $450 to get from one to the other. Probably more. I can drive it for much, much less than that.

Does the business traffic (single traveler) really account for enough share of the road traffic for it to make sense? I don't think so.

Rothschild believes the maglev concept, potentially leading to a national network of guideways, could reduce the country's thirst for oil.

Never in a thousand years. While maglev is a great technology and I'd love to see one built with private funds (although I'm not stupid enough to spend my own hard earned dollars on it) it would never make a profit. Mass transit just isn't a good idea in most places (yet)

Under the California-Nevada maglev proposal, trains would carry about 12,000 passengers hourly in each direction on a typical eight-car train.

So the traffic load on the freeway is more than 24,000 people per hour between LA and Las Vegas? And that many will pay more to travel from one to the other crammed into a box with people they don't like? I find this hard to believe

"Maglev will help make the High Desert a destination for visitors and will generate all types of new business," said Rothschild.

How many people go to Disney world just to ride the monorail? I'd guess the number is far less than what Disney spends to operate it. How many people go to the Dallas/Forth Worth airport just to ride the train there? How many people go to San Fran just to ride BART (The transit system, not the fairy)? Transportation systems don't make anything a destination. They simply make it somewhat easier for people already there to get around.

"And it could make long-distance commuting financially viable. Passenger costs on Maglev are expected to be half the price of an airline ticket."

It would have to be a really great paying job to suck up $150 per day in commuting costs, plus three plus hours commute time, plus car rental (or taxi) costs on one end.

[TexasRepublic]

I am not in favor of subsidizing either. And I am certainly not against trains. But trains have so far failed to catch on with the public in a big enough way to survive unsupported.

[Alter Kaker]

I am not in favor of subsidizing either. And I am certainly not against trains. But trains have so far failed to catch on with the public in a big enough way to survive unsupported.

My point is that planes have certainly caught on, but there's still no way the airline industry could ever survive unsupported. If you cut out subsidies, you quickly run out of affordable long distance transport options.

[TexasRepublic]

If you cut out subsidies, you quickly run out of affordable long distance transport options.

"Affordable" is a relative term. Someone (probably you the taxpaper) is paying subsidies to keep the airline solvent whether you fly or not. How affordable is that?

[Alter Kaker]

"Affordable" is a relative term. Someone (probably you the taxpaper) is paying subsidies to keep the airline solvent whether you fly or not. How affordable is that?

Affordable. Because I doubt I will ever be rich enough to afford an FAA.