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Showing posts from October, 2018

Can Maglev trains make the US a leader in high speed rail?

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In the context of the wide outreach to politicians and the media by the Japanese rail consortium to promote their magnetic levitation train system (Maglev) for use in the US, the Baltimore SUN was in Japan to test the trains and investigate the topic in detail. The first route is supposed to run between Washington and Baltimore. The Sun covered its findings in a detailed and largely impartial report which covered three and a half pages in its print section. However, the author of this article believes that many relevant questions were not asked. This article is intended to put them on the table. Maglev, the big disrupter? When it comes to magnetic levitation trains proponents stress the superlatives: The speed (311 miles per hour), the fact it can't derail, the precision (0.5-3.7"), the cost ($10-15 billion for 30 miles between DC and Baltimore), and the technology itself. Happy for the support: Northeast Maglev CEO, Wayne Rogers with Maryland influenzers Mike Miller, Kevin Pl

How to fix the downward spiral of American Transit

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Transit ridership fell in 31 of 35 major metropolitan areas in the United States last year, including the seven cities that serve the majority of riders, with losses largely stemming from buses but punctuated by reliability issues on systems such as Metro, according to an annual overview of public transit usage. ( WP , 3/24/18) US Transit Ridership decline 2014-17 (APTA) When Lyndon B. Johnson was President, America still dreamed big: Civil rights, ending poverty and subways for American cities. Washington got its beautifully designed "Great Society Subway"system, San Francisco got BART, two of the at the time most advanced, comfortable and spacious metro systems in the world. The Washington Metro opened in 1976 with a network that expanded to six lines, 91 stations, and 117 miles.of  route .  In spite of Washington's much smaller size, its Metro is now #3 right behind New York and Chicago. back then, as crumbs off the table, Baltimore and Atlanta each got a subway, too,