DeusExMachina
I was dismayed in reading these discussions, both here and in
government circles, that everyone seems to be forgetting Maglev Inc..
The federal government already had a plan in place for high speed rail
that involved magnetic levitation trains. Starting from a large group of
competitors, it was eventually whittled down to two, Maglev Inc.,
based in Pittsburgh, and a Baltimore-based project. Whichever of the
two was the final selection was to receive further federal grants to
build a test track.
Maglev Inc. by far had the best proposal. And they have solved ALL
the major hurdles. They have a manufacturing partner and a proven
technology for 300MPH+ trains, infrastructure support, and more
importantly, have already acquired geographic right-of-way for a
significant portion of their intended track roll-out.
Maglev addresses all the major issues brought up in this article as
well as in the comments, including competing with highway and airline
travel. Maglev is just as fast if not faster than flying, and considerable
cheaper, which is why one of the major investors in Maglev Inc was
the USAir.
There was no need to reinvent the wheel here. Instead of doling out
money across the country, the federal government should have made
a decision between Maglev Inc. and the Baltimore project, and gotten
things under way.
