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mediaviasetait · 3 years

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La gara Cina-Giappone sui treni ‘Maglev’ da 600 km/h per aggiudicarsi un mercato multimiliardario

23/05/2021

Lo Shanghai Transrapid: si tratta della prima linea di trdeni Maglev (a levitazione elettromagnetica). Lunga 30 km collega il Pudong International Airport con la stazione della metropolitana Longyang Road a Shanghai, con una velocità massima di 430 km/h. James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images

La rivalità sistemica tra Cina e Giappone ha trovato un nuovo terreno di confronto: la gara per mettere in servizio per primo un treno commerciale superveloce basato sulla tecnologia a levitazione magnetica, Maglev.

La Cina in realtà, grazie al trasferimento di tecnologia tedesca, ha realizzato e messo in esercizio una linea Maglev che connette l’aeroporto di Pudong con il centro di Shanghai, lo Shanghai Transrapid, già a partire dal 2004. Il treno impiega poco più di sette minuti a percorrere i circa 30 km della linea; i costi di esercizio sono tuttavia altissimi e la linea ha sempre operato in perdita, fino a 100 milioni di dollari annui. Lo Shanghai Transrapid, con i sui 438 km/ora rimane comunque il treno più veloce in funzione. Nel 2016 è entrata in funzione la Incheon Maglev line nella Corea del Sud ma si tratta di una breve linea a bassa velocità come la Linimo in Giappone e il Changsha Maglev Express in Cina.

La tecnologia Maglev, nonostante fosse stata presa in considerazione per lo sviluppo delle linee dei treni veloci in Cina, fu poi abbandonata a favore dei treni ad alta velocità su rotaia la cui rete a fine 2020 ha raggiunto i circa 38.000 km di estensione. Nel frattempo però la tecnologia Maglev in Cina ha avuto un revival e nel 2020 il Ministero dei Trasporti cinese ha dato via libera ai test finali per i treni Maglev superveloci che dovrebbero raggiungere i 600 km/ora. Il Maglev cinese, è stato sviluppato a partire dal 2016 come progetto tecnologico strategico e nel giugno 2020 è stato effettuato il primo test presso l’Università Tongji di Shanghai. Nel libro bianco sulle “Linee guida per rafforzare il sistema dei trasporti cinese”, pubblicato nel settembre del 2019, un intero capitolo è stato dedicato allo sviluppo delle linee Maglev tra cluster urbani strategici.

Secondo l’Accademia Cinese di Ingegneria sarebbero previste due linee Maglev, la Shanghai-Hanzhou e la Shenzhen-Guangzhou, di 164 e 110 km rispettivamente. La prima sarà una linea all’aperto mentre la seconda sarà in gran parte in tunnel. Il costo previsto è di circa 15 miliardi di dollari per linea con il possibile completamento della prima per il 2035. La sfida cinese per dominare anche la tecnologia Maglev nei treni superveloci è stata quindi lanciata.

Il principale rivale in questo settore è però il Giappone, ossia proprio il paese che ha inventato i treni superveloci, gli Shinkansen, e che al momento appare in vantaggio anche nello sviluppo delle tecnologie Maglev per linee commerciali ad altissima velocità e lunghe percorrenze. Il treno Maglev L0 della JR Central ha stabilito il record di velocità con 603 km/ora il 21 aprile del 2015.

La Central Japan Railway ha in corso di completamento la linea Chuo Shinkansen che connetterà con un percorso di 286 km la stazione di Shinagawa di Tokyo a quella di Nagoya. Il treno permetterà di spostarsi tra le due città in 40 minuti. I lavori di costruzione della linea sono cominciati nel 2014 e dovevano terminare nel 2027, data prevista per l’apertura al pubblico.

Entro il 2037 doveva entrare in funzione anche il prolungamento della linea fino ad Osaka. La linea sarà al 90% sotterranea, ma proprio questo ha suscitato l’opposizione degli agricoltori della prefettura di Shizuoka preoccupati che le acque del fiume Oi potessero penetrare nel tunnel provocando un abbassamento della portata. Nel giugno 2020 la costruzione della linea è stata quindi bloccata causando un ritardo del suo completamento per ora imprecisabile. Nel frattempo i costi per la costruzione della linea sono lievitati, secondo le stime di aprile 2021, fino a 64 miliardi di dollari. Gli elevatissimi costi sono dovuti alla realizzazione di tunnel sotterranei che devono essere in grado di resistere ai violenti terremoti che si verificano così spesso nell’arcipelago giapponese.

Il rallentamento della costruzione della linea potrebbe però costare caro al Giappone che corre il rischio di essere superato in corsa dalla Cina come primo paese ad operare una linea Maglev. Non è solo una questione di prestigio o di supremazia tecnologica, dietro vi sono enormi interessi commerciali per potersi aggiudicare una fetta consistente di un mercato valutato in trilioni di dollari. Negli Stati Uniti la Northeast Maglev ha come scopo la realizzazione di una linea Maglev tra Baltimora e Washington DC ad un costo potenziale di 12 miliardi di dollari per le 40 miglia che separano le due destinazioni. Le potenzialità del mercato sono quindi molto elevate.

Rimangono molti dubbi sul successo commerciale dei treni Maglev. Il costo di esercizio di una linea Maglev può essere da due a tre volte quello di una linea ad alta velocità su rotaia, senza contare i costi proibitivi per la realizzazione di linee dedicate che non possono essere integrate con quelle tradizionali. Il futuro dei viaggi nel dopo pandemia è però tutto da interpretare ed è possibile che gli spostamenti entro i 1.000 km saranno quasi solo appannaggio dei trasporti ad alta velocità su rotaia. In questo contesto i Maglev potrebbero rappresentare un’ottima alternativa al trasporto aereo soprattutto per la clientela business.

Fonte: Business Insider Italia

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secretagentspydetectiveninja · 7 years

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The Misadventures of Prince Kim - chapter 14

(aka the royalty AU story)

Not sure how I’ve managed to keep up with this for two whole weeks in a row so far...

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13] [AO3]

It was the start of the winter holidays, and most of the students would be going home to their families for these few weeks while the school was shut for renovations and upkeeping. Kim had been asked by his parents to come back home, but he instead wrote them a quick letter informing them that he would be going to stay with Max instead, and left before he could receive a reply. He knew they wouldn’t be happy, but so what? As a prince, surely it was his duty to visit other countries and learn about new places, getting to know other leaders in the meantime!

The journey to Kanté only took two days, unlike the slow week’s travel time it took to get to Lê Chiến. First there was a short trip on an ocean liner, then an overnight maglev train. It was the smoothest kind of train Kim had ever been on in his life.

“Maglev stands for magnetic levitation,” Max informed him while Kim was looking around the sparkly clean insides of the train in wonder. “The train is actually suspended slightly above the tracks using magnetic repulsion, leading to less friction and therefore much faster speeds and smoother travel.”

“Wait a second – do you mean to tell me this train is flying?”

“Well, hovering, yes.”

“That is the coolest thing ever! We need these cool train things in my kingdom too!” Kim ran up to the window and pressed his face against it, looking at the blur of green and yellow outside, passing by too quickly to focus on properly. “How fast are we even going?”

“300 km/h, though there are trains that have exceeded those speeds before.”

“Do you think it’s possible for a human to run that fast too? If they practised really, really hard?”

Max laughed. “Definitely not, Kim, though I know you can certainly run very fast by human standards.”

Reaching the capital city the next morning, Kim was first of all stunned at how tall the buildings were. Not only that, but they seemed to be made out of all sorts of shiny metals and glass, giving a very unique and unconventionally beautiful skyline.

As the train slowed down and made its way through the vast city on little suspended monorails, Kim was able to see that these were not the only types of buildings. There were smaller ones with beautiful architecture, painted in bright colours with mosaic patterns all over them. Max pointed them out and talked about them as they passed.

“That one is the Kubdel Embassy, it has a very stylistic design. That one over there is the National Theatre House, where you can see all sorts of traditional plays and shows. On your left you’ll see the Museum of Modern Art, it’s a very interesting place though I feel like you’re not the sort of person who would be enthusiastic about going there…”

Kim looked down at the street below, which the monorail tracks towered over like a long bridge, and saw that there were cars. Endless rows of cars, in all sorts of bright colours, and people walking around in bright, clear, patterned clothing. He had never seen anything like it. A group of small children looked up at the train and waved, so Kim happily waved back.

“Dude, your kingdom is awesome,” he said to Max. “Like, it’s actually the coolest place I’ve been to, and I thought Bourgeois was nice.”

“You’ve barely even seen this place yet!”

“But it’s so futuristic! You’ve got all these huge skyscrapers, and these magic flying trains, and so many cars there’s traffic, and a city this big it would take days to walk around, and…”

“If you think this is advanced, wait until you see Alix’s kingdom. They’ve got plants growing up the sides of their skyscrapers there. Which is impressive considering that most of her kingdom is desert.”

“You two are the luckiest ever.”

“Not necessarily, I mean, everyone’s kingdom has something special about it. I’m sure your kingdom is a lovely place too. You just like it here because it’s different.”

“Nah, it’s not just that. It looks so… you know, clean. Organized. Like a really nice place to live. Whereas sometimes back home when I’m travelling around by horse carriage I see places that don’t look so good, like I wouldn’t want to live there if my life depended on it. And I want to do something about it, because everyone deserves to live in a cool place like this country.”

“Yes, everyone deserves a nice place to live. Unfortunately this kingdom isn’t without its problems too. Poverty exists everywhere, though we can do our best to help lift as many people out of it as possible. Crime exists everywhere too, and all we can do is try to stop it and prevent it.”

“You seem to be doing a much better job than most other places I’ve been to. Everyone here looks rich.”

“Well, I suppose the city is quite affluent, though I’d say the vast majority of the population are just middle-class…”

The train pulled into the station and slowed to a halt. Kim and Max were ushered down a long red carpet from the train to a waiting vehicle, while porters carried their luggage for them.

“This is such a cool car,” Kim muttered in awe as the chauffeur opened the back door to let them in.

“It’s a limousine, or limo for short,” Max said. “They’re longer than usual cars. As royalty, we get to ride in these by default.”

“Whoa… neat…”

The ride from the station to the palace was fairly short. Stepping out of the limo and into proper daylight, Kim realized that the temperature here was incredibly warm for December, despite being well into the northern hemisphere. He rolled up his sleeves, regretting packing a lot of warm clothes. He wouldn’t need them.

The palace itself was big and painted mostly white to keep it as cool as possible, and the inside was huge and filled with marble pillars, with tiled marble flooring everywhere too. Kim was immediately introduced to Max’s family (who he had met a few times before), then shown to the guest quarters where he would be staying.

Wow… not only did this big, airy room have a brilliant view overlooking this incredible city, but it had an electric ceiling fan. An actual, adjustable, spinning fan that could be controlled by a dial on the wall. Kim spent at least 15 minutes playing around with it, watching as the blades moved quicker and quicker until they were an undistinguishable blur.

Wait, there was a microwave oven in here too??? He had only ever seen pictures of those! He pulled a half-melted chocolate bar out of his pocket, put it in, then closed the door and pressed a few numbers. It started making a whirring noise, and after some seconds it beeped. Opening the microwave door again, the chocolate bar was now a sticky puddle. How awesome!

Over the next few days, it was like living a dream. Max showed Kim all sorts of incredible things that could be seen in this kingdom – electric refrigerators and freezers, sunglasses, clothes made from a strange material called “nylon” (which was somehow a type of plastic, supposedly), and of course, helicopters. There was a helicopter pad on the roof and Max took Kim up to show him this magnificent machine, though they weren’t permitted to fly in it.

It wasn’t just all the modern inventions that made this country interesting. Max also made sure to take Kim sightseeing, though with an armed guard to keep an eye on them and make sure the paparazzi and fans didn’t get too close.

The city had some of the most splendid architecture Kim had ever seen. Many of the more historic buildings, especially the mosques and other places of worship, were so stunning that Kim was tempted to spend all his money on a camera just so he could take pictures of everything and remember it forever. Not just any camera either, but a colour camera, since everything here was so colourful, especially the beautiful robes most people wore.

Max explained while showing Kim around that although most people here spoke French, there were so many other languages spoken too that most people knew at least two or three different ones quite fluently. He also told Kim about how most of this country was either arid or semi-arid, but the rainier areas to the south were used to grow cotton and collect water, while the other areas focused more on scientific research and technology advancements, often collaborating on projects with Kubdel to the northeast.

A few days into the holiday, when Kim was finally getting used to being here, Max sent for him to be woken up fairly early.

“I have a surprise for you today,” he said, as a butler led them to the limousine. “You’ll get to see something really, really cool today.”

“What is it?”

“If I told you then it wouldn’t be a surprise!”

Kim watched out of the tinted windows as the limo set off. They seemed to be heading away from the city, as there were fewer buildings around here and the roads were wide with cars going at high speeds over multiple lanes.

He observed the signs on the sides of the road, and… wait a second, did that one say “airport”?

“You’re taking me to the airport!” Kim gasped. “Oh my gosh, you’re gonna show me what real aeroplanes look like!”

“Yep, that’s it,” Max said, grinning. “You’ll get to see them taking off and landing and I could even show you inside one if you want. And there’s another surprise in store too.”

“I can’t wait!” Kim could barely sit still anymore, bouncing around on his seat and fiddling with the seat belt impatiently.

They arrived at the airport and were immediately taken to the VIP lounge, where there were comfy sofas and a big bar to get drinks and snacks from. Kim, however, ran straight over to the window and stared out of it in amazement.

Those were planes. Those were real planes, right there, parked outside, the ones that flew through the sky like birds. They were huge, way bigger than he had imagined. They had big noses and wings and tails, and hundreds of little round windows dotted across the side, and colourful logos painted onto them…

He watched as one of the planes on a distant runway suddenly accelerated forwards, going faster and faster, tilting upwards slightly, until –

“Max! Max look! That one over there! It just started flying! It’s actually flying oh my gosh –”

“Magical, isn’t it?” Max said, coming to stand beside Kim.

“Yeah! It didn’t even need to flap its wings or anything, it just went WHOOSH and then zoom and then… MAX THAT ONE OVER THERE IS LANDING, ARE YOU SEEING THIS, IT’S LANDING ON TINY WHEELS –”

He couldn’t even express in words how incredible it was. These huge, bulky machines, could actually carry people through the sky! Wasn’t that just the most amazing thing ever? He could stand here for hours, his breath misting up the window, watching the planes going up and down the runway, defying gravity in the most magnificent way possible…

Not too long later, Max tapped him on the shoulder saying, “It’s time for the other surprise now. And, I guess, if you want to see the inside of a plane – a private jet, to be precise – you’ll get a chance to, since it’s just landed.”

“That would be awesome.”

Kim and Max followed one of the airport staff members down a few corridors and then outside. There was a smaller plane here now, with the side of it opened up to reveal cargo crates that were being carried out and put onto transport wagons by staff members.

A portable set of steps had been wheeled over to the door of the plane, providing a pathway to the ground. The door opened and out walked Pharaoh Alix and her pet snake. She quickly waved at Kim and Max and then ran down the steps to see them.

“What are you doing here?” Kim spluttered, suddenly wondering if his hair was okay, was he wearing something sensible, did he have any spots, oh wait of course she wouldn’t care about any of that, but still…

“I flew over with a trade shipment!” she said. “I’m always doing that, I love planes and it means I get to meet up with Max. And you too, this time.”

“Good to see you, Alix!” Max said. “Is your brother here too?”

“Yeah, he fell asleep even though it was only about an hour flight. It takes him like a year to wake up. I mean same, but like, how can you fall asleep on a one hour plane journey?”

Sure enough, Alix’s older brother was just exiting the plane and walking down the steps. He had plastic glasses too, just like Max, and for some reason was wearing a scarf despite the heat.

“This is Jalil,” Alix said. “And Jalil, this is Kim. Kim the Second, I mean.”

“Oh yes,” Jalil muttered, “the one who lost the race.”

“Oh come on, that was ages ago! Give him a break… Anyway Kim, have you ever seen the inside of a plane before?”

Kim shook his head. “Never even seen one in person before today.”

“Seriously?” said Jalil. “Wow Alix, you were right, they are really backwards…”

Alix elbowed him. “Shush, be nice to my best friend!” She started climbing back up the stairs. “Come on, Kim! Take a look at our private jet! Not that all planes look like this on the inside, but the good ones do at least.”

Kim followed her up the steps and into the plane. The inside looked like a modern lounge, with comfortable seats and tables that could be pulled out or stowed away. There were cabinets overhead to store things in and some kind of music was playing, though Kim couldn’t figure out where from. There must be speakers hidden away somewhere.

“Whoa, this is so cool!” he said, looking around at everything. “And what does it feel like when the plane is actually flying? Does it feel like you’re going really fast?”

“Nah, it just feels like normal,” Alix replied. “Unless you get turbulence and it’s a bumpy journey, but otherwise you forget you’re even on a plane.”

“Turbulence?”

“Yeah, like when you’re flying over mountains and stuff and the air is weird and it makes the plane ride bumpy… I don’t know the science, ask Max about that. Or Jalil, he’s an absolute nerd, by the way.”

Kim was barely listening, too busy messing around with the reclining settings on the chair. “Oh yeah, okay. Hey, what sort of trade shipment things were you transporting?”

“Just raw materials this time, nothing too interesting. The good stuff usually goes by train. Speaking of good stuff, they’re working on getting actual televisions installed on aeroplanes next so you can watch movies while you’re flying!”

“What? That’s so cool, and also so unfair.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get televisions to the rest of the world someday too, okay?”

“I hope so…”

Once Kim had finished having a good look around the plane, they went back outside. Alix and Jalil were accompanying them back to the palace for lunch, and leaving to go back home later on in the day. The limousine was easily big enough to fit them all for the ride back to the city.

“So, do you think you ever want to fly in a plane someday?” Max asked Kim.

“Heck yeah! It looks so fun! When will I get to do that?”

“You could always come to visit my kingdom next holiday, you’ll get to fly in a plane then,” Alix said. “I usually just take the ocean liner from Bourgeois to the northern port and then catch a short flight from there back to where my palace is. If you came along I could show you.”

“Wait, you mean in the spring holidays? Stay? With you?”

“Yeah, if you don’t have to go back home, that is.”

Kim tried not to read too much into that. She was asking him to stay with her for the holidays, it totally wasn’t like that meant anything, of course…

He put on his most casual tone and said, “Sure, that might be, like, a cool idea or something, I guess… whatever…”

“Awesome!”

“Not awesome,” Jalil corrected. “Do you really think dad’s going to be okay with you randomly inviting a friend over for several weeks? He barely let Max stay for two days that one time, remember?”

“It’s fine, he’s warming up to Max so he’ll warm up to Kim too. And plus, that last time was before I was crowned pharaoh. Now I’m in charge so I can do whatever I want.”

“You know that’s not true.”

“Yeah, but I like to pretend it’s true.”

“Are you annoyed that the throne went to your little sister instead of you?” Kim asked Jalil suddenly, but then regretted it the second he’d said it. How tactless was it to ask something like that? Ugh, why did his brain just not work whenever Alix was around?

Luckily Jalil did not seem annoyed at the question. “No, it’s better like this. Ruling a country is a stressful job. At least this way I can choose to pursue careers I’m actually interested in instead. Like studying ancient history.”

Ah, yes. That did sound nerdy. Was that why Alix always got along so well with Max? Did he remind her of her brother somehow? That would explain things.

It was already lunchtime when they reached the palace, so they had lunch together, and then it was time for Alix and Jalil to go back to the airport to catch their flight. Apparently the planes all ran on strict schedules and if someone didn’t turn up in time, they would simply miss the flight. Of course, since Alix and Jalil were royalty their flight would just end up delayed if they weren’t there on time, but it was better not to let that happen or it would mess up the timetable completely. And there was always the possibility of getting caught in traffic in a kingdom like this. It was better to leave early rather than late.

“It was nice to meet you,” Jalil said to Kim. “I guess if you’re coming to stay in spring then I’ll see you then.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” Kim said, though Jalil was already walking off out of the room.

“See you at school, Kim!” Alix gave him a light punch on the arm (or rather, she thought it had been light – it actually did hurt, though Kim would never admit that) and started to leave too.

Kim suddenly remembered something. Was anyone else in here? No, it was just the two of them… well, and that snake on her arm, but Kim the First didn’t seem so scary these days…

“Alix, wait a second,” he said, taking her hand and trying to ignore how flustered he suddenly felt. “I just remembered, um… well you told me to remind you, so… Wait, you don’t still have a cold, do you?”

“Nope.”

“Okay good… so um, remember at the winter party? When there was that mistletoe, and you were ill so we didn’t kiss? I mean, since there’s no one else around I guess we could just do that now… if you want…”

She looked up at him, frowning. Kim started wondering if he had been too obvious that he liked her. What if she was annoyed or something? What could she possibly be thinking about?

“You’re too tall,” she said finally.

Oh, was that it? That wasn’t a big deal, Ivan and Mylène had a height difference too. “I could just–”

Before he could even react, she had somehow hooked her foot round and tripped him over backwards, catching him just before he landed on the floor.

“There we go, that’s better. Now I get to be the tall one for once.”

Kim lay perfectly still, barely even daring to breathe. She was literally holding him in her arms, her face barely a few inches above his own, strands of her pink fringe dangling over his forehead…

She leaned down to kiss him –

– and promptly dropped him just a millimetre away.

“Hey, what was that for?” Kim said, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head where it hit the floor. But then he heard footsteps. Oh, no wonder she had suddenly stopped, but come on! Did someone really have to come along and ruin this right now?

It was Jalil. He popped his head around the door and said, “Come on Alix, what are you waiting for? We have a flight to catch!”

“Yeah, I know, sorry,” she said quickly. “I was just, uh… fighting Kim. And I totally won.”

“That’s not true!” Kim said, jumping to his feet.

“Anyway Kim I’ve really gotta go now so goodbye, I’ll see you at school, just remind me about that other thing some other time, okay?”

“Okay…”

She hurried out of the room and Jalil closed the door.

Kim sighed. He had been so close. He was so sure it was going to happen that time. But still, he just couldn’t figure out her opinion on all this. Did she even want to kiss him? She didn’t exactly seem enthusiastic, but she didn’t seem annoyed either, just… apathetic. Almost as if she didn’t even care one way or another. But how?

He was still thinking about it when Max came to visit him in his room later.

“Max, I was this close to kissing her,” Kim said straightaway, holding his fingers up just a tiny bit apart. “But then her brother interrupted us, so she had to leave…” He lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling fan. “Maybe this was what Master Fu meant when he told me not to get my hopes up. That it’ll take a hundred years for it to finally happen.”

Max sat down on the bed beside him. “Kim… why don’t you just tell her how you feel? Ask her out?”

“I still don’t really feel like asking anyone out, Max. Not after Chloé. And anyway, it’s okay, Alix is my friend and I like it that way. I don’t mind. I’m just glad she likes hanging out with me.”

“Trust me, I can definitely understand that feeling,” Max said, chuckling a little. “That’s fair enough. Anyway, I was going to ask… do you want to go bowling? We have plastic skittles.”

“Plastic skittles!” Kim sat up so fast the blood rushed out of his head. “Yes please, that sounds so awesome!”

“Alright then, let’s go!”

#royalty au #i'm sorry this entire story so far has been one long geography lesson hasn't it #anyway listen. heartrate is still a good ship and i still like it #so don't think this is over yet #miraculous ladybug #le chien kim #max kante #alix kubdel #random stuff #the misadventures of prince kim #aish writes

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immedtech · 6 years

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Hyperloop is edging closer to reality

Plenty has happened in the five years since Elon Musk first published his white paper on a system he called hyperloop. Since releasing that manifesto to the world, hundreds of people, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been put to work, all of it in the service of bringing Musk's retro-futurist dream of a vacuum tube, for people, to life. And despite being less than a fever dream half a decade ago, the pace of innovation is notably increasing, with 2018 already including several big announcements regarding its future.

There are a handful of companies all competing to be the first to build a fully-working, operational hyperloop. The most notable, and the one that has achieved the most in its relatively short life, is Virgin Hyperloop One. Its biggest accomplishment was using some of the $300 million it has raised to build DevLoop, a 500-meter-long testing environment. Situated out in the Nevada desert, DevLoop is the proving ground for the company's maglev and pump technology, as well as its pod design.

Because DevLoop is just a 500-meter tube, the company can only run the pod at high speeds before a few seconds before the braking kicks in. Yet, despite this, the XP-1 test pod has reached speeds of up to 240 miles an hour, boding well for the future of the technology. Hyperloop One had initially planned to extend the tube much further, but that plan seems to have been put on hold. Instead, the company will build longer test tubes that will, eventually, form part of the first full line.

In the US, the company is looking to connect major metro areas in the northeast, like Chicago, Columbus and Pittsburgh. In the northwest, a route between Cheyenne, through Denver, and down to Pueblo is also being looked at. In the center, a route that would connect Kansas City to St. Louis via Columbia is being examined, while further south, the Texas triangle, comprising of Dallas, Laredo, Austin and Houston, is also under consideration.

It is likely, however, that the world's first hyperloop will be built outside of the US, and India has made a claim to be at the front of the line. Earlier this year, Virgin Hyperloop One signed a deal with the state of Maharashtra to examine if a link between Pune and Mumbai is feasible. Unlike many of the others, however, this deal also includes a commitment to build at least part of a test track along that route. Which means that there could be a "working," albeit short hyperloop, in operation by 2021.

Around the same time, Virgin Hyperloop One teamed up with Dubai's Road and Transport Authority to show off a concept design for a passenger pod. The design isn't necessarily final, so much as a "what if" for the wealthy emirate, with a complement of 19 people per pod. Five will sit in a gold-class section, while a further 14 sit in silver-class -- although given that most journeys are expected to be around twenty minutes, are different comfort levels really that necessary?

The other big name is Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, a crowdsourced enterprise that harnesses volunteer labor. Scientists, engineers, economists and administration staff work for the company in exchange for stock options that will, should HTT become a success, pay off. From a slow start, HTT has now shaken hands on a number of deals to work with local authorities to explore the feasibility of joining cities together.

In February, the company signed an agreement with officials in North Ohio and Illinois to look at ways to connect Cleveland and Chicago. This study, under the name Great Lakes Hyperloop, will be completed by the end of 2018 and, from there, the business of raising funds to actually build the thing will begin. Beyond that, HTT has also focused its intentions on routes in South Korea, Indonesia and the Czech Republic.

Beyond various investigations and proposals, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has reached several other milestones. At the start of 2017, the French city of Toulouse handed the outfit 3,000 square meters of space in a new innovation park it was building out of was once Francazal Airport. It appears that HTT won't, at least initially, have to pay for the privilege of using the space, although the details of the deal aren't public.

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And in March 2017, the company announced that it was building its first passenger capsule, which is expected to be finished in early 2018. The actual construction is being handled by Carbures SA, a company that builds structures for the aerospace industry. The pod itself will be 30 meters long and 2.7 meters in diameter, weighing a staggering 20 tons and capable of supporting up to 40 passengers. The company says that the pod will have a top speed up to 760 miles per hour -- the theoretical upper limit for hyperloop transit.

One thing we do know is that its pod will use Inductrack, a levitation system initially developed by the American government. Inductrack is a form of passive repulsion that was designed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a way of making MagLev systems cheaper. The principles are simple enough: one object that is magnetically-charged can repulse other pieces of metal. So, rather than super-cooled, power-hungry electromagnets along the track, the Inductrack tech resides only in the pod. If you're curious how that would work, check out our video exploration of the Hendo Hoverboard, which uses the same principles.

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There have been missteps, and the company's use of voluntary, as-yet unpaid labor raises questions over if it is a functioning business. A couple of PR own-goals haven't helped remedy an impression that HTT is, if not amateur, then an amateurish enterprise. Like when, at the end of 2016, the outfit revealed that it had raised over $100 million, except that wasn't technically true. Instead, HTT had pulled in $31.8 million in cash -- no mean feat -- and $77 million worth of "in-kind and land value investments."

Of that figure, $26 million was "man-hours and services," while land rights counted for another $22 million. Again, it's a huge achievement to convince people, and governments, to contribute anything of that value to a small company forging ahead in a brand new industry. But also, there is that faint smell of disingenuousness that lingers over all of the proceedings.

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Then there was the news that the carbon fiber composite that was planned to cover HTT's pods would be called Vibranium. The same name as the fictional Wakandan rare earth metal that is used by Black Panther and Captain America in Marvel's comics. Now, HTT has managed to successfully register the trademark in the US, both as Vibranium and Vibranium Skin. But we would imagine that, should it ever be used as a selling point, Disney's well-heeled lawyers will have something to say on the matter.

Musk's involvement in hyperloop was never meant to be more than pushing the idea out into the world and stepping back. He was, in his own words, too busy with SpaceX and Tesla to become involved with the concept. SpaceX, however, would remain on hand as a neutral arbiter, with its own tube that can be, and is, used for student pod design competitions.

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However, Musk's position began to change last year, when he tweeted that he had sought permission to build a link between Washington D.C. and New York City. The billionaire never clarified who would be in charge of building the project, although it could be presumed that it would be Hyperloop One. After all, the company was founded by his friend and staffed by former SpaceX employees. Plus, it had a few years' head start.

But it appears that the work will actually be undertaken by Musk's third enterprise, The Boring Company, which specializes in tunnel construction. Musk founded the company with the intention of reinventing roads, believing that cars needed to travel in tunnels to avoid traffic congestion. He coined the name Loop to describe a scenario where vehicles sit on magnetically-levitated sleds and conveyed through metro areas. The sleds, known as skates, would travel at around 150 miles an hour, aimed at eliminating congestion in cities like Musk's home of Los Angeles.

Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 20, 2017

As for Musk's own hyperloop, the company is now working with federal and state officials on a D.C to Baltimore route which could then be extended to New York. Both Washington D.C. itself and the State of Maryland has offered permission for exploratory digging to commence. In the former, the company is allowed to prod the soil at 53 New York Avenue, while in Baltimore, Musk is allowed to dig 10.1 miles of tunnel beneath the state-owned portion of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

At the time, we pointed out that Musk's renewed involvement poses something of an existential threat to the other hyperloop startups. After all, Musk has the financial, political and technical clout to disrupt the other entrants into the space. Not to mention that SpaceX holds the trademarks to the hyperloop name, and can force rivals to stop using the brand should it wishes. Although in a statement to Bloomberg, a The Boring Company representative said that they would only do so if the company wasn't being "truthful." Whatever that means.

If there's such a thing as a hyperloop purist, then they're probably flipping their desk at the sight of Arrivo's name on this list. After all, the company isn't proposing to put folks inside vacuum tubes and fire them across the country at high speeds. It's not even proposing to build a city-to-city network that would dramatically reduce the need for short-haul air travel.

Instead, Arrivo's plan is to use tubes at normal pressure, coupled with maglev sleds, to carry cars and trucks from one end of a city to the other. It's a hybrid of the original hyperloop concept, and Elon Musk's plans to reduce traffic congestion in LA, albeit with a different implementation. The tubes would sit in the median strip of a highway, with cars entering and departing at designated entry and exit-points.

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Once inside, cars would sit on a levitating sled that would travel at speeds up to 200 miles an hour from point-to-point. Passenger pods could also use the system to get from A to B, and in the future, the pods themselves will be self-driving taxis.

Right now, Arrivo has signed a deal with Colorado's Department of Transportation to explore ways to solve Denver's congestion problems. Cars could avoid clogging up the arteries of the city to get from one end of the other by using the tubes. If implemented, the current journey time between the airport and downtown, or Boulder and downtown Denver, would be cut by up to 50 minutes.

Arrivo's not just notable because of the system it is developing, but the people who are working to develop it. Brogan BamBrogan, David Pendergast, William Mulholland and Knut Sauer are all listed as co-founders of the enterprise. The quartet make up the "gang of four," who previously held senior positions at Hyperloop One, now rechristened Virgin Hyperloop One.

Hyperloop One co-founder Brogan quit the company in July 2016, sending shockwaves through the hyperloop community. It subsequently emerged that he was suing the company he helped found for harassment and financial mismanagement. A falling out with legal council Afshin Pishevar which culminated in an alleged death threat: Pishevar (allegedly) draping a knotted rope on the back of Brogan's chair.

Lawsuit and countersuit followed, with Hyperloop One contenting that Brogan and his accomplices had "tried to stage a coup." By November of that year, the various hostilities had been settled, with the quartet free to build their own vision of what a hyperloop is, or could be.

The company plans to begin construction on a test track in Commerce City, Colorado, at some point this year. The half-mile facility will cost up to $15 million, and will be used to identify the fastest, and cheapest, ways to build the magnetic sleds. But there are plenty of questions about how effective Arrivo's plan will be.

For instance, most tube-transit systems, like London's Underground subway, have issues with trains pushing pockets of air through the tunnels. How will Arrivo reduce the issue of all this air zooming around without creating a vacuum, or making the tube significantly larger? There's also the question of whether it's right that the city should go out of its way to spend big to further subsidize carbon-intensive car travel rather than spending the same money public transportation. Also: What happens if Arrivo's system is so popular that it, in turn, becomes the victim of a capacity crunch?

Beside these major players, there are also other people and groups working on their own hyperloops, from TransPod in Canada through to all of the academic pod design teams. All are looking to solve the technological and economic arguments that stand between us and high-speed transit. There is no guarantee that such a system will ever materialize, of course, between tight-fisted legislators and angry locals protesting where the routes will be built. But to think that all of this has been achieved in just five years is heartening.

Vacuum tube systems are nothing new, and we had working versions of the system in operation a century ago. But for a variety of technical, political and economic reasons, those attempts all failed before they could become adopted by the mainstream. Hyperloop One, with its working test track, has at least demonstrated that modern-day engineering can do what Isambard Kingdom Brunel couldn't in 1848. What comes next, however, is far harder: Whipping enough public desire to see these systems built, and working out who should shoulder the cost to do so.

- Repost from: engadget Post

#ITlive #engadget #Hyperloop is edging closer to reality

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marvinostrega-blog-blog · 4 years

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Facebook post (2019-12-19T21:46:36.000Z)

From article, (The company is working on a project with the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and a study released Monday estimated the system would cost about $40 billion depending on the route chosen and over 25 years would generate about $30 billion in profit for private investors. It promises to move passengers and freight at upwards of 500 mph, going from Pittsburgh to Cleveland in about 18 minutes and Pittsburgh to Chicago in just under an hour. The cost is estimated at about two-thirds the cost of air travel. By using solar panels and possibly wind energy to generate electricity for its magnetic levitation technology, Hyperloop TT’s design would at least meet the system’s electrical needs and could sell excess electricity to the power grid, Mr. Miller said. Mr. Miller told the tourist industry representatives he’s convinced hyperloop won’t reach the same dead end as failed transportation innovations like maglev and skybus. “This is more than a dream. We’re building it,” he said. “It’s not a matter of if it’s going to happen. It’s when it happens.”)

#IFTTT #Facebook

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baltimorecheckbook · 5 years

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Maglev supporters, including Kevin Plank, turn out for HQ event

Business and political heavyweights turned out in droves Monday evening as a group trying to connect Baltimore and D.C. with a high-speed magnetic levitating train opened its new headquarters in Baltimore. The Northeast Maglev, or TNEM, opened in 20,000 square feet of newly renovated space at 6 S. Gay St. Business leaders and politicians from both parties, including Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, Maryland State Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller Jr., members of Maryland…

from https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2019/10/22/maglev-supporters-including-kevin-plank-turn-out.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search

#Baltimore Business News - Local Baltimore News | Baltimore Business Journal

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aerotrekka · 5 years

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Shanghai – China’s largest city and its principal port, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River delta. Shanghai’s heritage is very mixed given its role as a major trading city, especially as China opened up to international maritime trade in the 18th century onwards. Much of this was forced on the declining Qing Dynasty mostly in the mid-19th century by Western powers via the “Unequal Treaties,” which remain a sensitive point to this day. The expulsion of the various foreign occupiers in the 1949 revolution and subsequent relative isolation of the city through the 1980’s by the victorious Communist regime preserved much of this environment.

Shanghai Business District – East Bank of the Huangpu River

Like many large commercial cities, it’s a fascinating place to visit with plenty to see, and is an excellent base for other China travel. The main issue is that you need to obtain a China entry visa.

Huangpu Neighborhood

Shanghai’s main city area is centered around People’s Square, a large park that also holds some museums, with largely residential districts to the west and the business district to the east. The eastern area is bordered by Shanghai’s famous Bund waterfront on the Huangpu River, with a concentration of unspoiled Art Deco era buildings that is hard to find except in other cities that grew rapidly in the mid-20th century, such as Detroit: https://wp.me/p7Jh3P-nP

The Bund

Shanghai’s layout reflects the two main 19th-20th century foreign settlements – the International Settlement (to the UK and USA) in the east along the riverfront (largely in the eastern part of the Huangpu District); and the French Concession, which runs to the southwest of People’s Square along Huaihai Middle Road and the northern part of the Xuhui District. Just south of the former International Settlement and next to the river is the old city, that was originally a walled city and which remained separate from the International Settlement to the North.

You could easily spend 3-4 days in Shanghai and find plenty to do, especially if you have never visited mainland China before. There are some pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods within the former French Concession area such as the rather upmarket Xintiandi and Tianzifang areas. The old city (start at Yuyuan Garden metro) is south and east of Renmin Road and includes some isolated archaeological remnants and gardens. Here are some ideas of in-town things to do, as well as some area side trips that I’ll write about later.

The Shanghai Museum (People’s Square – south side). If you want an introduction to Chinese history and culture, the Shanghai Museum is equivalent to a national art museum. You can get the various imperial dynasties – going back over 2,000 years – outlined in your head through the extensive watercolor, pottery, currency and other collections. I have always wondered how much of China’s historical artifacts survived the Cultural Revolution in 1966, and notably some of the material came from overseas Chinese collectors. The museum is closed Mondays and has free entry.

There is interesting transitional currency with late 19th/early 20th century bills.

The Bund and Art Deco Shanghai. Manhattan on the Yangtze: Shanghai has a high level of preservation of its buildings from the late 19th through the mid-20th century, and was a major commercial center of East Asia for the first half of the 20th century. You could be downtown in a US city that grew around that time. There are plenty of online offerings for historical tours to understand this – see below, but book ahead. China had been dealing with invasion by Japan since 1931 and Shanghai was attacked by the Japanese in 1932 and then again in 1937, being occupied until 1945.

The main business area is located northeast of People’s Square towards to the Bund, with many of the major buildings lining the Bund. If you want to pick one place to see, the Peace Hotel, originally opened as the Cathay Hotel in 1929, has an impressive Art Deco ground floor area.

Eating Around. Without getting into the usual street food obsession, Shanghai Chinese cooking works very well if you are after something light and casual, and there are plenty of formal restaurants covering the main cooking styles of China. The Shanghainese post-revolution diaspora has meant that many Shanghai specials have worked their way into the Chinese repertoire. A few key types include:

Xiao Long Bao – Soup filled dumplings, usually pork or shrimp, but vegetarian options are common.

Shengjiang Mantou – oh yeah. Soup filled dumplings with a flakier pastry shell, fried around the base.

Hongshao Rou – braised pork belly. A favorite of Chairman Mao apparently, although there are varieties nationwide.

Jiaohua Ji – beggar’s chicken. Stuffed, marinated and roasted in a paper shell.

For the most part, restaurants catering to the local crowd often offer picture menus where the menu is in Chinese. The various city shopping malls usually have a restaurant level – these are usually quite good in Asia as they are clean, bright and air-conditioned, and not at all the usual chain debacle you get in the West. Some that are worth a visit include:

Da Hu Chun (11 Sichuan Street, Huangpu) – full range Shanghai classics.

Di Shui Dong (56 Maoming S Road, Jing’an) – Hunan specialty.

Din Tai Fung ( Jing’an) – actually a Taiwanese chain (whose founder fled China in 1948) featuring Shanghainese specials and known for it’s xiao long bao, but a good entry-level restaurant with a simple menu.

Lao Fan Dian (Fujou and Juixiaocheng Streets, Huangpu) – another Shanghai standard.

Lin Long Fang (10 Jian Guo Dong Lu or SML Center, Huangpu) – great local mini chain.

Nan Ling (1238 Yainan Middle Street, Jing’an) – more formal Shanghai classics.

Shanghai Grandmother (70 Fuzhou Road, Huangpu) – multi-level family style offering.

The French Concession. The French Concession is a more residential, retail and green area, largely north and south of Huaihai Middle Road as it heads southwest from People’s Square, which provides contrast to the more urban/shopping/office focus in the Huangpu/Bund area east of People’s Park. It is also close to the Jing’an temple, which is worth a visit. It has a more relaxed and leafy atmosphere, in part because the French built wider, tree-lined streets. As mentioned earlier, the Xintiandi (aim for the metro station of the same name) and Tianzifang (southwest of the Jianguo West and Sinan Roads intersection) areas are good walking destinations.

Jaywalking on Julu Road

Dance Evening at Xianyang Park

The Jing’an Temple. The Jing’an temple, northwest of the French concession with a metro next to it, is well with a visit, centered around a great hall with a seated Buddha. There has been a temple in the area since 247 CE, and one on the current site since 1216; it burnt down in the 1970’s and was rebuilt in the 1980’s so is quite new, although various artefacts, such as the medieval Hongwu bronze bell, date back a ways. There is a good park just south of the temple to take a break and admire the greenery.

Walking Tours. Shanghai’s sights are well distributed around the neighborhoods and there isn’t a concentration of major points, so a walking tour can be useful. Here are a few and of course Tripadvisor has a selection:

The Shanghai Historical Society focuses on the 19th and 20th century and their walking tours are here: https://www.historic-shanghai.com/events/

Shanghai Walking Tours: http://shanghaiwalkingtour.com/english/walking_tours.html

Culinary Backstreets is food focused: https://culinarybackstreets.com/culinary-walks/shanghai/

Side Trips. There are a few cities in the Yangtze delta that are worth visiting, such as Suzhou and Hangzhou, about 30 and 60 minutes away by rail, respectively. You can always look for a bus or tour service, although rail is good option, connecting into the metro at both cities. Suzhou is a compact medieval city better suited to a day trip, while Hangzhou and it’s famous lake and forested hill park are more for an overnight stay.

Suzhou

Closer in is the canal town of Zhujiajiao, located in the western outskirts of the city facing Lake Dianshan, at the metro stop of the same name.

Logistics. I stayed at the Mansion Hotel (Xinle and Xiangyang Roads, Jing’an) and the Jing’an Campanile (425 Wulumuqi North Road), in the French Concession and Jing’an areas, respectively. Both have proximity to the metro which is worthwhile here. The Mansion Hotel is a one of a set of smaller hotels restoring pre-war Shanghai mansions, here designed by French architects in 1932 for a Shanghai syndicate leader and opened in 2007.

Airports. Shanghai is served by two airports – Pudong (PVG), the newer principal international gateway located east of the city on the coast; and Hongqiao (SHA), the original secondary airport located west of the city. Both have Metro stations and are about 60 and 45 minutes from People’s Square respectively. Pudong is also served by a fast (300 km/h) Maglev line to the Longyang Road Station in the eastern suburbs. This may save you some time although as you will have to change to get to the center it may be simpler to just use the metro.

Metro. The Shanghai Metro is an excellent way to get around the city. You can purchase a range of passes at the airport station or at any of the station customer service centers. Apart from individual tickets, there are 1- and 3-day passes or alternatively you can just buy the Shanghai Public Transportation Card which starts at Y100 and includes a Y20 deposit refundable on return of the card. Note that the metro stations are quite large and also have a security check (including bag x-ray machine). As to cab and ride hailing alternatives, note that Uber does not operate in China – you can try the main Chinese provider, Didi Chuxing, but check online for the latest as far as obtaining an English version of the app. Logistically, note that all metro entrances have a security checkpoint (with baggage x-ray so don’t carry a bag unless necessary) before the ticket barriers.

The Shanghai Metro is Extensive

Rail. China’s high-speed rail system is comfortable, fast, cost-effective and well worth trying. The two main issues you should factor in include the high passenger volume it manages in a country of 1.4 billion people, and the airport-style security requirements at rail stations. This means you need to plan your journey and factor in time beforehand. Many trains are 100% occupied so unless you don’t mind a “standing” ticket, you should book in advance: trip.com is a useful website. Secondly, you will need your passport to buy or pick up your ticket, after which you will go through a security check (including baggage x-ray) where you will present your ticket and passport. The ticket is scanned again when you enter the platform via the boarding gate. If you book for a certain departure time, there will be a specific departure gate that usually open about 15 minutes pre-departure. If you allow 15 minutes to buy or pick up your ticket from the ticket office queue (there are self service machines with only Chinese language access), 15 minutes to enter the station, pass security and navigate to your gate, and then assume you get in line at the gate 15 minutes pre-departure, for your first time I would allow arriving at the station at least 45 minutes pre-departure. At post-journey arrival, at the larger stations you are sent through a separated (from the departures) arrivals level and put out into a pre-security area.

Hongqiao Railway Station Main Departures Hall

Shanghai has four rail stations, the more central Shanghai Rail Station, Hongqiao (out west near the airport), the South and West stations. Note that the ticket office at the central station is in a separate building across from the main entrance. At Hongqiao, the ticket office is post-security in the main departures hall. The ticket offices are typically busy however the lines move quite fast.

Rapidly Moving Ticket Line, Shanghai Train Station

Your Chinese Language Skills. Lack of Mandarin Chinese language skills is not much of an issue; all public signs are bilingual Chinese/English – even the metro ticket vending machines have an “English” button on their touchscreen displays. Since China’s schools have had English language training from about 8 years of age for some time now, English is more commonly spoken to some extent. However, you should still either pick up a basic language guide or go to the many Mandarin Chinese language Youtube offerings in advance of the trip.

Stuck for a Gift? The First Food Hall (720 Nanjing Road East) is worth going to for a one-stop that covers Chinese products. A four-storey supermarket and food court, it has the feel of something from the Communist era and so is worth going to. Nanjing Road East is the main shopping street, pedestrianized east of People’s Square.

Craft Beer. Craft beer has reached China, or at least it’s more expat and overseas travelled populations, and it’s worth trying. Not surprisingly, the main providers are mostly in the French Concession area and you should focus on:

Boxing Cat Brewery (82 Fu Xing Road West and (under refit in July 2019) 521 Fu Xing Middle Road. My favorite I have to say, with the very floral and moderately bitter Sucker Punch pale ale, the very solid TKO west coast IPA and the excellent King Louie imperial stout.

Liquid Laundry (Kwah Centre 2/F, 1028 Huaihai Middle Road). Gastropub owned by Boxing Cat and with a solid beer menu including other beers and their own line. Good pale ales and IPAs.

Shanghai Brewing Company (15 Dongping Road). Decent craft beer selection.

Stone Brewing Tap Room (1107 Yu Yuan Road). Not entirely local as the San Diego area brewery expands globally, but worth supporting.

Shanghai’d Shanghai – China’s largest city and its principal port, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River delta.

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usgsbiml · 4 years

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Bees! Yes, we still mostly do bees, but have been targeting biodiversity surveys of the MAGLEV impact sites on the refuge. Here look at this tiny bee, as with all creatures there is a story as to why you do or do not find it somewhere. Here it is found because of sand (USGS TIP OF THE DAY. if you want regionally rare insects and plants go to sand, if you want to conserve them, keep that sand openish and don't let those darn trees grow in them), it is restricted to deep sand areas in Maryland it is in love with the little fall composites (yes, insects feel love). (Why do I still add 2 spaces to the end of a sentance?)This is just one of a handful of records on the Patuxent Refuge under the powerlines (transmission lines can often be the most awesome conservation area for plants and insects...because they have to be kept open ... or you can just mow all that goodness away with sprays and mowing...sigh) that will be impacted by the MAGLEV the area is full of lovely things like blooming liatris and other prairie and bog type species. Photo by Adam Grima.

#maglev #northeast maglev #scmaglev #bwmaglev #perdita #bees #bee #powerlines #stained glass #mosaic #wings #wing pop

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webabybouquetwastelandfan · 5 years

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The plan is to bring the entire northeast corridor closer together.

from Local News http://www.wbal.com/article/347631/124/brett-hollander-talks-to-maglev-planner-about-state-of-project-future via WBAL

#IFTTT #WordPress

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penneyvanderbily · 6 years

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Enthusiasm for ‘maglev’ train between D.C., Baltimore mounts — as does opposition

Washington Post

Opponents of a proposal to build a high-speed train line that could make the trip between Washington and Baltimore in 15 minutes are asking state and federal officials to kill the project.

Northeast Maglev, the Washington-based company behind the project, says the 40-mile “superconducting magnetic levitation train system,” commonly called a maglev, would be the first leg of a line…

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burninglandinternet · 6 years

Video

Northeast Maglev line could tunnel under Lansdowne, Baltimore Highlands https://zippyroad4880.wordpress.com/2017/11/09/northeast-maglev-line-could-tunnel-under-lansdowne-baltimore-highlands/

#IFTTT #WordPress

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touristguidebuzz · 7 years

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High-Speed Rail Plans Materialize Between Baltimore and Washington

Amtrak has struggled to expand high-speed rail in the Northeast U.S. The Amtrak Acela Express, North America's first high-speed passenger train, sits at Penn Station in New York in this November 16, 2000 photo. Reuters

Skift Take: Building high-speed rail is a terribly slow process in the U.S., but this 15-minute stretch between Baltimore and D.C. is a good start. It would be welcome news for day-trippers and business travelers. But extending it to New York? Now we're talking.

— Sarah Enelow

There are now three possible routes for a high-speed rail line that promises a 15-minute ride between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

WTOP-FM quotes Bradley Smith with the Maryland Department of Transportation in a Saturday report as saying every proposal would have a station in Washington, with stops in Baltimore and at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The system would eventually go to New York.

A federally-funded environmental study had reduced route options for the Superconducting Magnetic Levitation train or maglev.

Project director David Henley says one proposal would parallel tracks Amtrak currently uses. There are “a lot of operational issues” if sharing territory with Amtrak and Henley also says maglev does not necessarily want to operate in the same area.

Project planners hope to have a route approved by mid-2019.

___

Information from: WTOP-FM, http://www.wtop.com

This article was from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

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rollinbrigittenv8 · 7 years

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High-Speed Rail Plans Materialize Between Baltimore and Washington

— Sarah Enelow

There are now three possible routes for a high-speed rail line that promises a 15-minute ride between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

A federally-funded environmental study had reduced route options for the Superconducting Magnetic Levitation train or maglev.

Project planners hope to have a route approved by mid-2019.

___

Information from: WTOP-FM, http://www.wtop.com

This article was from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

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ramialkarmi · 7 years

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Elon Musk's Hyperloop may have competition from a government-backed maglev train

Serial entrepreneur Elon Musk wants to build a Hyperloop between Washington D.C. and New York to revolutionize East Coast transit.

But it could face competition from The Northeast Maglev (TNEM), a private company that aims to build a high-speed rail on the same route.

TNEM has secured a $28 million federal grant to study the maglev's feasibility.

Elon Musk's Boring Company has ambitious plans to revolutionize transportation by building a Hyperloop between New York and Washington D.C.

But it may have competition from a private company that has already made some progress with the US government.

The Northeast Maglev (TNEM), a private company, was founded in 2011 with the goal of building a high-speed rail between New York and the country's capital. TNEM wants to first build the route between Washington D.C. and Baltimore before eventually extending it to New York.

TNEM said its rail would be able to transport passengers between Washington D.C. and Baltimore in just 15 minutes. Traversing D.C. to New York would take an hour.

By comparison, Amtrak's Acela train, its fastest option, takes just under three hours.

The secret lies in bringing Japan's maglev technology to the Northeast Corridor, TNEM CEO Wayne Rogers told Business Insider.

Maglev technology allows trains to magnetically levitate (hence the name) above a track, allowing them to achieve higher speeds than traditional rail lines.

A maglev train built by Central Japan Railway set a world speed record of 375 mph in 2015. The maglev will eventually connect Tokyo and Nagoya, but won't open to the public until 2027.

Central Japan Railway, a private company, has said it will collaborate with TNEM on the US project.

"Our concept is to piggyback on all the work that they’ve already done," Rogers said of working with Central Japan Railway.

TNEM has acquired a railroad franchise and a $28 million grant from Maryland's Department of Transportation and Economic Development Corporation. The company has also collected $100 million in private funding.

The federal funding, secured in 2015, is being used to conduct an engineering feasibility analysis and environmental impact study for the Baltimore to Washington D.C. leg. That process could take another two years to complete, Rogers said.

Still, a maglev train won't come cheap. The Baltimore-Washington D.C. route will alone cost "north of $10 billion," Rogers said. He said tickets would cost "slightly more" than an Acela train, but declined to give specifics.

Central Japan Railways' route between Tokyo and Nagoya is estimated at nearly $100 billion, according to the Associated Press. The astronomical price mostly comes from the cost of tunneling.

Maglev trains require a straight rail in order to operate safely. To ensure the alignment is perfectly straight, the majority of the Washington D.C. to Baltimore route will need to be constructed underground, Rogers said.

"Tunneling is the main cost and the main driver of schedule," he said.

Musk's Hyperloop would also travel in a vacuum-sealed tunnel. The Boring Company is looking to cut down costs by building a tunneling machine that can dig and place reinforcements in the wall at the same time, Musk said in April.

Not only will TNEM be tasked with raising enough funds for the project, but it will also face political obstacles. A maglev train would surely pose competition for the airline industry and Amtrak.

Rogers said the maglev should be seen as yet another addition to the growing transportation infrastructure in the US. Airlines could channel their resources toward more long-distance flights; Amtrak would still be a viable option for carrying freight and people looking for lower ticket prices.

Rogers also said it's a more viable option than Musk's Hyperloop because the technology is proven.

"My personal opinion is we are 15 to 20 years away from being able to build it and safely move people," Rogers said of the Hyperloop.

Rogers' has an optimistic outlook for a plan that has been in the works for six years, but still isn't nearing construction. However, it's arguably further along than Musk's Hyperloop proposal, which has so far only secured "verbal approval" for construction.

SEE ALSO: Amtrak CEO slams Elon Musk's Hyperloop plan as unrealistic

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NOW WATCH: Elon Musk says he got government approval for an underground Hyperloop — here's the footage of the first major Hyperloop test

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