Passenger Trains > Maglev backers hope to outpace Acela

Backers of a Maglev Train Hope to Outpace Acela in the Northeast Corridor

New York Times
by RON NIXON and JONATHAN SOBLE
OCT. 22, 2014

> WASHINGTON — A group of Washington investors with high-level
> political backing and a $5 billion commitment from the Japanese
> government is pressing ahead with its vision of a high-speed train
> that could whisk passengers between New York and Washington in about
> an hour.
>
> The train, which uses a technology called magnetic levitation, or
> maglev, to float above the track on magnets instead of wheels, would
> travel at twice the speed of Amtrak’s Acela. It is one of several
> high-speed rail projects proposed for the heavily trafficked
> Northeast Corridor, where chronic traffic congestion and flight
> delays are expected to get worse.
>
> At a total estimated cost of $100 billion, critics say a maglev train
> on the East Coast is little more than a pipe dream. But that has not
> stopped the investors from pushing the project.
>
> On a test track in Japan on Tuesday, a prototype train whooshed a
> group of visiting Americans through mountains at a top speed of 314
> miles per hour — so fast, in fact, that Christie Todd Whitman, the
> former New Jersey governor and one of the Americans on the ride, said
> trips on Amtrak between Washington and New York were “embarrassing”
> by comparison.
>
> To Ms. Whitman, the train is a solution to transportation problems
> back home, where the Acela — the fastest train in the United States —
> takes 2 hours 45 minutes to travel between New York and Washington.
>
> Ms. Whitman is part of a high-powered advisory board for the
> Northeast Maglev, a private Washington-based company with a goal of
> building the Washington-to-New York line. The group, which regularly
> visits Japan to pursue the project and has taken at least three test
> rides on the train, is trying to convince skeptical American policy
> makers and investors that the maglev makes financial and political
> sense.
>
> The advisory board includes former Gov. George E. Pataki of New York;
> Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader, who also rode on the
> train in Japan on Tuesday; former Gov. Edward G. Rendell of
> Pennsylvania; and Mary Peters, who was a secretary of transportation
> in the George W. Bush administration. Since 2010, the group has spent
> $1.4 million lobbying Congress and meeting with state and local
> officials to build support for the project.
>
> To try to win public support, the group has commitments from the
> Japanese government to invest about $5 billion to pay part of the
> cost of construction of the first leg, an estimated $10 billion route
> between Washington and Baltimore. The maglev would enable travelers
> to go between the two cities in as little as 15 minutes...

Full story:

Backers of a Maglev Train Hope to Outpace Acela in the Northeast Corridor

Ha Ha Ha......doubt it....

Maglev has been around for nearly half a century and doesn't seem to be getting anywhere, despite grandiose plans.

The Board seems to consist of a parade of disasters as far as passenger rail successes is concerned. :)

Where do I sign up for my free fact finding trip to ride the Japanese express

Jishnu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Board seems to consist of a parade of
> disasters as far as passenger rail successes is
> concerned. :)

Thank you. Ms. Whitman has been trying desperately for years to be Relevant and Important.

njmidland Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jishnu Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The Board seems to consist of a parade of
> > disasters as far as passenger rail successes is
> > concerned. :)
>
> Thank you. Ms. Whitman has been trying
> desperately for years to be Relevant and
> Important.

And Ed Rendell? As long as he is properly compensated, he'll support anything.

What will a five billion dollar commitment get them? Maybe what
they wanted all along was a headline in a major Northeastern newspaper.

They got that...

I used to be against such Maglev proposals because rail would allow more flexibility on any routing beyond the endpoints.

I'm starting to have a change of heart. Almost nothing is going on with needed NEC investments. If private investors were successful and skimmed the NY-DC time sensitive market, the NEC still would have its hands full with regional, LDTs, and commuters, and Maglev's capacity increment would be welcomed.

If the project went bust before it was completed, you might have some cleared ROW that you could convert to a HSR alignment.

<Private investors> Bring it on!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/14 11:32 by ts1457.

All the talk about High Speed Rail or MagLev seems too fascinated with the technology and oblivious to the biggest challenge: the right of way.
Getting a "footprint" in downtowns, suburbs, and through the industrial and institutional land holdings is the hard part.
A boring little detail for strategic thinkers and nerds perhaps....

railstiesballast Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> All the talk about High Speed Rail or MagLev seems
> too fascinated with the technology and oblivious
> to the biggest challenge: the right of way.
> Getting a "footprint" in downtowns, suburbs, and
> through the industrial and institutional land
> holdings is the hard part.
> A boring little detail for strategic thinkers and
> nerds perhaps....


A large percentage is proposed to be built underground.

I mean, a REALLY large percent.

I'm glad their are some out there who are forward
thinking, but 100 billion dollars - good luck.

I say, take the money and run - build from DC to
Baltimore.

/Mitch

Jishnu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Board seems to consist of a parade of
> disasters as far as passenger rail successes is
> concerned. :)

Well, Pataki did bring us the RTL-III Turboliners! They were pretty cool to ride on for the 12 months or so that they actually operated.

railstiesballast Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> All the talk about High Speed Rail or MagLev seems
> too fascinated with the technology and oblivious
> to the biggest challenge: the right of way.
> Getting a "footprint" in downtowns, suburbs, and
> through the industrial and institutional land
> holdings is the hard part.
> A boring little detail for strategic thinkers and
> nerds perhaps....


Absolutely. Look at the NEC. The largest impediment to higher speeds is not the train technology, it is the right of way and infrastructure. And just improving that is expensive. Building an entire duplicate maglev system, or even replacing the NEC infrastructure with maglev? Astronomical cost.

Z

hsr_fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jishnu Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The Board seems to consist of a parade of
> > disasters as far as passenger rail successes is
> > concerned. :)
>
> Well, Pataki did bring us the RTL-III Turboliners!
> They were pretty cool to ride on for the 12
> months or so that they actually operated.

That was part of the walking disaster I was alluding to. Pataki mostly just enriched his friends and left everyone else holding a bunch of lemons. And of course Boardman faithfully did his boss' bidding on that one too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/14 14:57 by Jishnu.

$100 billion? Ya think maybe that is a low ball cost estimate?

But hey, some pundits got ink and three (so far) free trips to Japan. Is this a great country or what?

timecruncher

hsr_fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jishnu Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The Board seems to consist of a parade of
> > disasters as far as passenger rail successes is
> > concerned. :)
>
> Well, Pataki did bring us the RTL-III Turboliners!
> They were pretty cool to ride on for the 12
> months or so that they actually operated.

now theres the hsr_fan we all know and love ...

Posted from Android

NewRiverGeorge Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Where do I sign up for my free fact finding trip
> to ride the Japanese express

I'm with you there!

I feel ripped off (and stupid) because I went on a fact finding trip on my own dime. I posted a quick report about the Maglev Test Center on the International Board back in March.

Compared to how this country is still way behind with HSR, Maglev should be in the same department if not further back since this seems like a pipe dream from the getgo!

zephyrus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Absolutely. Look at the NEC. The largest
> impediment to higher speeds is not the train
> technology, it is the right of way and
> infrastructure. And just improving that is
> expensive. Building an entire duplicate maglev

Is it? Or is it a lack of will to focus capital spending on areas where it would make a difference?

Currently $450M is being sunk into possibly saving 1-2 minutes between Trenton and New Brunswick by going 160 mph instead of 135 mph. I think it is very likely that a similar amount of money put into select curve easements at Frankford Jct. and Elizabeth and de-bottlenecking impediments like Zoo, Metropark, Swift, and terminal improvements would save 10 times as much travel time.

Running on clear blocks from Trenton to New York the other day took my Keystone just 43 minutes. That means 10+ minutes are wasted by trying to cram too many trains down Portal Bridge and the North River Tunnels.

A 2 hour travel time is within reach for 1/10th of the cost of Maglev, and 1/100th of the disruption to outside property.

X train in the Northeast, anyone???