Free Republic

Supporters of a proposed maglev train from Pittsburgh International Airport to Greensburg wooed state representatives Friday with promises the project could create thousands of jobs in high-tech manufacturing, if the government could pay the $5.3 billion price tag. Building the 54-mile magnetic guideway between the airport, Downtown, Monroeville and Greensburg would create demand for an estimated 533,000 tons of steel and 712,000 cubic yards of concrete, and the precision-welding technology that would be used to turn the steel into the track could then be exported around the world, proponents told members of the state House Transportation Committee during a hearing...

Louisiana Republican Rep. Anh Cao (R) recently appeared with local Democrats at a press conference urging Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) to reconsider his refusal to support a high-speed rail link between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. But it seems that Cao hasn't given up on prodding his fellow Republican. "I was thoroughly disappointed when my state failed to file a" final high-speed rail application by the Oct. 2 deadline, Cao said today at a hearing of the House transportation committee's railroads panel. Cao called the proposed rail link a potentially "huge economic boost to the region," adding: "We worked very...

Traffic, congestion and related pollution in large cities could be problems of the past with the implementation of a futuristic, personal rapid transit system called SkyTran, according to the system’s designers.Unimodal Inc., the project’s overarching company, originally looked at ASU’s Polytechnic campus as a possible site for the first track, said Jon Fink, director of ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability. The plan fell through because the details weren’t sorted out fast enough to meet the pending deadline for a federal grant Unimodal intended to apply for. “This summer, when stimulus fund grants became available from the U.S. Department of Transportation,...

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania recently submitted applications to the federal government for $3.1 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to make high-speed rail improvements, Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today. "The applications we've submitted prove that Pennsylvania stands ready to address transportation challenges with forward thinking and community support," Governor Rendell said. "Pennsylvanians want efficient transportation that reduces congestion and is better for the environment; high-speed rail is what we need to meet these demands." The $8 billion initiative in the Recovery Act is part of President Obama's proposal to invest in efficient, high-speed passenger...

I have been reading about a fast-rail system from Anaheim, Calif., to Las Vegas for several decades, and I am convinced that this will not come about in my lifetime. It would be Third World mentality for the most technologically advanced country in the world to use 1960s bullet-train technology, as would be the case with the DesertXpress. And anyone who states that maglev is untried in this country without explaining why it works in another country (China) sounds uninformed. Twenty million miles logged by the Shanghai maglev seem like a good testament to the maglev system’s feasibility. As one...

The Maglev Washing Machine designed by Jakub Lekes completely redesigns the household standard of clothing cleaning by using construction similar to that of a Maglev train. Rather than your traditional spinning drum, the Maglev machine uses a spherical drum held in place by a series of electromagnets. One set of electromagnets keeps the drum levitating within the body of the machine, while a second set induces movement, allowing the drum to spin in all directions. Since the drum never actually contacts the body, there is far less noise than the average machine that can often sound like an 18-wheeler running...

U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey and Congressmen Bill Shuster and Mike Doyle today announced that the Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project will receive $28 million in federal funding. The funding is in the form of a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration SAFETEA-LU Maglev Program. “This $28 million award is the most significant development in the 29 years we’ve been working on Maglev,” Senator Specter said. “The vision is to have a 250 mile-an-hour train traveling from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia with intermediate stops. Such a train would be a tremendous economic boon with thousands of new jobs in the...

Over the past 10 years, our state has competed in, and won, a national competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation to build the first 300 mph magnetic levitation (maglev) train in the Western Hemisphere, with a $45 million guarantee to the state of Nevada to complete final environmental approvals and start construction. Construction on the first segment of the maglev train -- the fastest train in the world -- can begin in 2010 and would be built entirely in Nevada by hard-working Nevadans. The backers of the high-speed, conventional-rail DesertXpress would like to "reprogram" this guaranteed $45 million...

After quietly toiling for nearly five years on an environmental study, the designers of a proposed high-tech, magnetically levitating train from Pittsburgh International Airport to Downtown, Monroeville and Greensburg are seeking more than a quarter of the federal stimulus money dedicated to high-speed rail across the country. Last week, the Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project and PennDOT submitted a preliminary application for $2.3 billion to help design and build the train system, starting with the segment between the airport and Downtown. The final draft of the project's Environmental Impact Statement could be released to the public by late September or early...

Debated for years, finally hereFor those of us Pittsburghers with a half decent memory, the word “Maglev” can stir recollections of politically inspired empty promises and immensely fast bullet trains stoppable only by government funding quagmires fueled by a conservative citizenry understanding that mass transit, while sustainable, does not hold mass appeal.With President Obama now in the Whitehouse, it looks as though Pittsburgh will finally receive its own high-speed rail connector.  The Pittsburgh connecter represents one of two points in the Keystone Corridor, which is one of eleven transportation corridors identified by the congressional Transportation and Infrastructure committee as being...

I have a story up on the homepage today about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's sudden about face on one of his pet projects — a high speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. I strongly encourage you to read the full story but, in a nutshell, Reid has been championing a 300 mph, magnetic levitation train between the two cities for years. In June of 2008, Reid got a $45 million earmark for the project. And then during closed-door, last-minute "stimulus" bill negotiations, Reid succeeded in quadrupling the amount of money allocated in the bill for high...

The Senate majority leader’s about-face on high-speed rail. On Tuesday, Senate majority leader Harry Reid’s office confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the Nevada senator no longer favors publicly funding a high-speed magnetic-levitation (“maglev”) train between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, a project he enthusiastically supported for years. Instead, Reid is suddenly throwing his support behind the DesertXpress, a privately funded rail venture between the two cities. Reid is claiming that his change of heart is merely pragmatic — but the underlying circumstances of the move may raise some pertinent questions about his political integrity. The construction of a...

AP reports: In late-stage talks, Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pressed for $8 billion to construct high-speed rail lines, quadrupling the amount in the bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday. The Senate Conservatives Fund has more details: This of course exposes the little game the President is playing with the public. He tells everyone there are no earmarks in the bill but then turns around and either (a) gives the money to the states, which he knows will fund the earmarks, or (b) instructs his agencies to fund the earmarks directly. It's all very clever, if...

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons said President-elect Barack Obama's meeting Tuesday with many of the nation's governors was "productive and helpful," and he was encouraged by Obama's promise to push an economic stimulus package. --snip-- Gibbons also said that while in Philadelphia for the meeting with Obama he got an agreement from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to work on a joint effort with both states' congressional delegations to push construction of a high-speed, mag-lev train between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Plans for a levitating train from Las Vegas to Disneyland can move forward under a transportation bill signed by President Bush on Friday that frees up $45 million for the futuristic project. Derided by critics as pie in the sky, the train would use magnetic levitation technology to carry passengers from Disneyland to Las Vegas in well under two hours, traveling at speeds of up to 300 mph. It would be the first MagLev system in the U.S. The money is the largest cash infusion in the project's nearly 20-year history. It will pay for environmental studies...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Plans for a levitating train from Las Vegas to Disneyland can move forward under a transportation bill signed by President Bush on Friday that frees up $45 million for the futuristic project. Derided by critics as pie in the sky, the train would use magnetic levitation technology to carry passengers from Disneyland to Las Vegas in well under two hours, traveling at speeds of up to 300 mph. It would be the first MagLev system in the U.S. The money is the largest cash infusion in the project's nearly 20-year history. It will pay for environmental studies...

Computers, long used as tools to design and manipulate three-dimensional objects, may soon provide people with a way to sense the texture of those objects or feel how they fit together, thanks to a haptic, or touch-based, interface developed at Carnegie Mellon University. Unlike most other haptic interfaces that rely on motors and mechanical linkages to provide some sense of touch or force feedback, the device developed by Ralph Hollis, research professor in Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, uses magnetic levitation and a single moving part to give users a highly realistic experience. Users can perceive textures, feel hard contacts and...

Driving down to Austin lately has become a real trip. I-35 is usually packed for most of the 185 miles, and what used to take three or four hours now can take five or six. Flying down can take almost as long, when you figure in airline security delays, more flight delays, and the time it takes getting into and out of crowded airports. But what if it took 45 minutes to travel from the Metroplex to Austin by train or an hour to make a trip to Houston? Advocates of high-speed rail lines are floating these ideas once again...

LOS ANGELES -- A plan to accelerate transportation in the region with a $26 billion high-speed train system has received initial approval from the Los Angeles City Council as it created a joint-powers agreement with neighboring cities. The move Wednesday marked the first step in negotiations to solidify an Atlanta-based firm's proposal to construct a magnetic-levitation train system that would start at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, run through downtown and eventually reach Ontario Airport, the Daily News reported. Los Angeles City Councilman Greig Smith said American Maglev Technology would foot the bill for the system and...

Germany has come up with the funds to launch its first magnetic levitation - or maglev - rail service. The state of Bavaria is to build the high-speed railway line from Munich city centre to its airport, making it Europe's first commercial track.

Maglev Wind Turbine Technologies (MWTT), a developer and manufacturer of magnetically levitated commercial wind turbines, has officially begun operations. According to the Sierra Vista, Ariz.-headquartered company, with the use of magnetic levitation turbine technology, the wind turbine floats on a magnetic cushion and incorporates a linear synchronous motor. MWTT says that because the lack of friction allows for increased wind capture, users can generate electricity for less than $0.01 per kWh. The company is headed by Ed Mazur, a researcher of variable renewable energy sources since 1981 and inventor of the magnetic levitation wind turbine. For more information on the...

PALMDALE - Despite declining support from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a questionable financial future, plans for a high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco are continuing. Area residents may have their say on issues they would like to see studied in the environmental impact report for the rail line between Los Angeles and Palmdale during a public scoping meeting on the project Thursday. Twin meetings will run from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Palmdale City Council Chambers, 38300 Sierra Highway, in the Palmdale Civic Center. Studies on the Los Angeles-to-Palmdale...

Levitation becomes possible using superconducting materials In 1987 Ronald Reagan declared that the US was about to enter an incredible new era of technology.Levitating high-speed trains, super-efficient energy generators and ultra-powerful supercomputers would become commonplace thanks to a new breed of materials known as high temperature superconductors (HTSC). "The breakthroughs in superconductivity bring us to the threshold of a new age," said Reagan. "It's our task to herald in that new age with a rush." But 20 years on, the new world does not seem to have arrived. So, what happened? Early promise Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to scrap a statewide vote on a $10 billion bond measure for a planned high-speed rail system that would connect San Francisco and Los Angeles. The vote is scheduled for 2008, but Schwarzenegger's ambitious plans to rebuild the state's infrastructure will basically max out its bonding capacity. "When we were putting together the governor's Strategic Growth Plan, it became clear that setting aside enough bonding authority for the high-speed rail project would crowd out the ability to issue bonds for every other purpose," said H.D. Palmer, a state Department of Finance spokesman. "While high-speed rail could...

At Least 25 Die In German Train Crash LATHEN, Germany, Sept. 22, 2006 (AP) A high-tech train traveling at 125 mph crashed in northwestern Germany on Friday, killing at least 25 people in the first fatal wreck involving the magnetic levitation system. The train, which runs primarily as a demonstration by its manufacturer, was carrying at least 29 people when it struck a maintenance vehicle carrying two workers on the elevated track. Mangled wreckage hung from the 13-foot-high track, with seats and other debris strewn below. Police spokesman Martin Ratermann said the death toll rose to 25 after more searching...

A high-speed magnetic train traveling at nearly 125 mph crashed Friday in northwestern Germany, killing 23 people and injuring 10 in the first fatal wreck involving the high-tech system, officials said. Karl-Heinz Brueggeman, a rescue services official, said the death toll rose to 23 after a search in and around the wrecked train, which derailed after smashing into a maintenance cart.

Magnetic train crashes in Germany An elevated magnetic train has crashed on a test track in north-western Germany, killing several people. The train, which floats on a monorail via a magnetic levitation system called Maglev, was going at 200km/h (120 mph) when it crashed, a local official said. Some carriages were left balancing on a section of track about five metres (16.5ft) in the air after the accident near the town of Lathen. The driverless train hit a maintenance vehicle on the track, officials said. "There are some fatalities - we don't know how many yet," said Dieter Sturm, a...

China may abandon Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev line if talks with Germany fail China may abandon the construction of the four-billion-euro Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed meglev line if talks with Germany on technical transfers and other issues fail, the 21st Century Business Herald said Friday. "The line will not be built if they keep saying no," Wu Xiangming, director of the China national magnetic levitation transportation technology research center was quoted as saying in Germany. Wu is believed to be a key figure involved in bilateral talks on the building of the 200-km-long maglev track, which will be designed to allow a maximum speed...

If Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has his way, someday a superfast hovering train will whisk tourists from family-friendly Disneyland to the what-happens-here-stays-here city, Las Vegas. But so far, the Nevada senator's fascination with magnetic levitation -- the futuristic technology that would power the train across the desert at 300 mph -- has managed only to levitate a steady stream of money out of the federal budget: $54 million and counting. Few others are climbing aboard. The Transportation Dept. rejects MagLev for its steep price tag, which a 2005 study says eclipses the cost of current high-speed rail by "fourfold...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. An organisation called the 110th Street Corridor Development LLC, has announced plans to develop a large leisure centre, incorporating the largest free standing dome in North America, on the town of Edwardsville's 650-acre Riverview Redevelopment Area in Kansas. The plan envisages the world's first Ski-Trac, a two million-gallon aquarium and a 1,000-foot observation tower. "It'll be the largest free-standing dome in North America," said landowner David Assmann, adding that the refrigerated, 12-story building's hill -- a sloped, rotating disk -- is undergoing a feasibility study. The Riverview Redevelopment Area sits south...

The hurdles to an Imperial County desert airport are in sharper focus with a report on the feasibility of a maglev train from San Diego, placing costs at a minimum of $148 million a mile and one-way fares below the price of a tank of gas. The 165-page consultants' report released yesterday presents a mixed bag to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, which had kept the Yuha Desert concept on its list of airport options while the analysis was conducted on the magnetic levitation train. The cost of building the project – $15.2 billion to $18.5 billion for...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Researchers at Purdue University are mapping a plan for the future of the nation's interstate highways. They provided details Tuesday of a vision of what a road trip might look like 40 years from now. Researchers say the plan would take drivers off the roads and put them onto the rails. High-speed passenger trains would whisk people along the interstate quicker than the cars and trucks rolling alongside. A trip from Indianapolis to Chicago could take less than an hour. "If you chose to travel by high-speed rail rather than by...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. A proposed cargo airport in northeast Pennsylvania combined with high-speed rail into the New York City area could be a self-sustaining venture bringing high-paying jobs and tremendous growth to the region, U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski said. The $6 billion joint project would allow the proposed 10,000-acre cargo airport to bring goods from Asian and European markets to the United States, he said, and high-speed trains operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week would take those goods and passengers into New York City in as little as 20 minutes....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The president could address the greatest national priorities with a series of bold, proactive initiatives. When President George W. Bush delivers his annual State of the Union address Tuesday, Americans should expect lots of information on Iran and North Korea, even more on al-Qaida, and a healthy devotion to the future of Iraq. But as a people that first elected the president for his ideals at home, Americans have come to expect too little from Bush's domestic policies. With increasingly volatile energy prices, soaring medical costs and an unsustainable budget deficit...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Elevators controlled by magnetic levitation are set to debut as early as 2008, promising speedier, quieter and more comfortable lifts. These elevators use magnets in place of wheels and guide rails to travel up and down. Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corp. said the elevators would be the first in the world to employ magnetic levitation — a technology capable of suspending objects in midair through combination of magnetic attraction and repulsion. Maglev technology has already been used to develop high-speed trains. The only passenger-carrying maglev train in the world links...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to hire a firm to conduct a study that could determine the fate of a proposed rail link between Atlanta and Chattanooga. State officials say the proposed super-fast, magnetic levitation rail line could cost upwards of $4 billion to build. That's about twice as much as the state spends each year on all road and highway projects. The idea to link the two cities with the so-called maglev rail began in the late 1990s. That's when the US Congress began exploring the the technology in which...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Johnstown) has announced that the House of Representatives and the Senate last week passed legislation that includes funding for important road improvements and other transit projects, as well as community initiatives, in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties. The bill is awaiting the president's signature. Included in the fiscal year 2006 Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, and Judiciary spending bill are the following projects: Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation - bus replacements and renovation of the Uniontown transfer station, $1.5 million Waynesburg College Center for Economic Development...

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...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Trains could ascend and descend at much higher speeds One of the big questions concerning rail in the mountains has to do with how to handle the steep grades. The legendary narrow-gauge trains that made their way over Colorado's passes in the 19th and 20th centuries did it by going very slow up and very slow down. But if people are going to be convinced to leave their cars at home and take a train to the ski area, creeping down the hill to Silverthorne or Vail at 10, 20 or...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.Hannemann likes the Japanese train's speed -- to run and build NAGOYA, Japan -- Call it "The Jetsons" meet mass transit on a "maglev" carpet ride. A magnetically levitated train system that travels on air in Japan's fourth-largest city gave Mayor Mufi Hannemann and members of the City Council a look at what could be the future of rail transportation in Honolulu. "I think it's the most futuristic of all the ones that we saw, of what future transportation systems are going to look like," Hannemann said. The train cars hover above...

People will be debating the causes of the New Orleans tragedy for years to come. But one thing is already abundantly clear: For individual New Orleanians, automobility made the difference between safety and disaster. "The white people got out," an article in The New York Times declared shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit. But that isn't quite true. White families with cars got out, as did black families with cars. Families without cars, white and black, for the most part did not. Over the past century, the number of deaths due to natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and fires...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The newly reauthorized federal transportation bill allocates $45 million for a super high-speed train connecting Las Vegas to Anaheim, a project that was first proposed over 17 years ago. "I believe the Maglev train will be the future of travel between places like Southern Nevada and Southern California," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who helped secure funding. "Airports are overburdened with the amount of short-haul flights and we must start reinvesting in train travel." Maglev (magnetic levitation) uses high-powered magnets to propel trains above an elevated track. Since there is no...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. A 300MPH super-train connecting Liverpool to London in only 58 minutes is being planned. The Maglev train - which uses magnetic power to support carriages on a guide track and propel them up to speeds of 311mph - would connect London with Glasgow, via Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh, over a 500 mile route. The UK Ultraspeed consortium behind bringing the train to Britain says Liverpool could be the first link to be established. Business leaders including the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) and North West Development Agency believe the...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WARREN - TPI Composites recently won a $2.5 million Department of Defense contract to build three cabs for a truck used to transport equipment and soldiers. Senator Lincoln Chafee, who helped secure the contract, visited the company's research and development facility on Market Street in Warren Friday. During his visit, he saw a picture of the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT), which will become stronger and lighter after TPI employees finish their work. The truck's new cab will be built from composite material instead of metal. TPI's composites consist of...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Not If A Computer Science Research Group and A MAGLEV Rail Transportation Company Have Their Way and Build "The Borderline Flyer" The American Computer Scientists Association (http://www.acsa.net, ITC Reference: http://www.acsa.net/hshrt) and the Interstate Traveler Company (http://interstatetraveler.us) issue a vital notice to America regarding Homeland Security. It is possible to facilitate low-cost, joint protection of our borders: we could save a lot of money and achieve far, far more if the ITC Interstate Traveler, a high speed solar/hydrogen hybrid powered MAGLEV Rail System, were run along both our northern and southern borders....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. It's a standard Washington story of clashing forces. The president threatens a veto if Congress passes a new multibillion-dollar transportation bill costing more than his budget allows. The House goes along with the $283.9 billion he recommends, but the Senate adds an extra $11 billion. The measure heads for conference. Will Congress dare defy the president? If it does, will the president veto — or flinch? But don't be fooled. Veto or not, there will be a final surface transportation bill, a little short of $300 billion for the next five...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.Study shows new £16bn line could relieve transport chaos Described as "flying on the ground", Shanghai's 270mph magnetic floating railway has impressed British ministers. But plans to build a London to Scotland line would cost at least £16bn, according to feasibility studies sanctioned by Downing Street. Known as the Maglev (magnetic levitation) train, China's flagship transport system takes eight minutes to hurtle along a 19-mile track through the paddy fields surrounding Shanghai airport - a journey which takes up to an hour by car. The sleek white carriages, first of their kind...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Imagine being whisked from San Diego to an airport in Imperial County aboard a magnetic levitation train at speeds of more than 300 miles per hour. That's one possibility in the ongoing search for a new regional airport site, and one solidly backed by U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, whose district includes Imperial County. The first step toward that scenario will be taken if Congress agrees to provide $10 million in funds to study proposals for magnetic levitation train systems around the nation. If federal lawmakers authorize the money, the...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. American Computer Scientists Association announces it is assisting the Interstate Traveler Project, a project originated by Justin Sutton, to build the "Trailblazer" high speed hydrogen solar rail transportation system it has dubbed the: "Hydrogen Super Highway". The Project's founders claim they can produce enough clean burning hydrogen with it that, when completed, it might be able to provide 80-90% of all the power needed in America: every home, auto, business and industry in America, at 1/5th the cost of today's fuels and power or even less. Imagine traveling from NY to...

A little psychology gets us on board for this port pollution solution. State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, who in the real world once was a professor of psychology, knows how to psych out members of an editorial board. In legislative matters we are a hard sell, but when it comes to trains, we are suckers. Especially trains that would run on magnetic levitation and whisk away port cargo without clatter or exhaust fumes, and without crowding us off the freeways. That's Lowenthal's latest pitch, and we are just about ready to sign up. First, of course, we should try to figure...