819 RAILWAY LABOR BUILDING 400 FIRST STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON D.C. 20001-2087 D. L. LINDSEY Vice-President & National Legislative ReDres Larry D. McFather, President D. L. Lindsey, Vice President and National Legislative Representative DATE: March 8, 1990 SUBJECT: Magnetic Levititation Transportation Technology This report covers comments by various speakers who took part in the "Maglev Transportation Technology Seminar" which was held February 23, 1990 at the World Trade Center, New York. This Seminar was attended by 180 from a wide range of fields supporting Maglev and High Speed Rail. FRA Administrator Gilbert Carmichael spoke on the new forces coming on board; that the interest in these new modes of transportation was growing and would someday, in the not too distant future, be a reality. The railroads abandon rights-of-way and the Interstate Highway systems have given us tremendous assets to be used for these new super trains. These modes will help us reduce this country's dependency on foreign oil. FRA will play a major role in laying the foundation of high speed rail without any undue delay. Already, the Bechtel Corporation, one of the largest construction companies in the world, has contacted us and would very much like to be involved in building the guideways between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. They very well could be the winner in their bidding contest. President Bush has requested ten million dollars in his budget for start-up funding which will be used for further research and development of Maglev trains. Also, we want these high speed trains to intermode with Amtrak so that the public transferring from the slower system can transfer to high speed systems or passengers transferring from the high speed trains can transfer to the Amtrak system in order for them to get to their destination. These Maglev trains can move passengers at 300 mph and will be considered a mode in itself. FRA has been experimenting with the Spanish Tago trains in the Northeast Corridor between New York and Boston. Because their routes has a lot of curves, it requires special consideration. These Tago trains have a tilt mechanism built into the car that keeps it uppnnted in U.S.A. Serving Since 1863
-2- right when going into a curve. Speaker: Professor Gilbert Wray Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering Stevens Institute of Technology Before we rush headlong into this new mode of transportation, Maglev needs careful advanced planning before any development or construction takes place. The inability to expand our transportation system indicates a lack of adequate resources to meet the problem. Maglev promises to provide congestion relief on the highways and at our airports. It will be competing with other modes of transportation but one of its strongest features besides speed is its adaptability to the alignment of the interstate system. In New York State, people like to move around a lot and a as a group, it takes a lot of equipment to move them. For instance, New York City has 9,600 passenger rail cars; 11,000 buses; 3 rapid rail transit rail lines. It moves 20% of all U.S. ridership and more than 3.9 billion riders daily. This transportation circle extends some 95 miles out in all directions from the Central New York Business District. At Newark, JFK and LaGuardia, 80 million air passengers used one million flights in and out of these three airports last year. If we are to develop Maglev, we will need private and public support. We must educate the public on the advantage of using Maglev systems. Another important point that I would like to make here is that we must act quickly on the preservation of abandoned rights-of-way If we don't, these former rail lines will disappear as recreation areas or housing developments. In some cases, the Interstate Highway system will need realignment at sharp curves or over ramps and overpasses. Another important point that I would like to make here is that once the Maglev test track is built and the testing has been completed, than that test track should be included in the route alignment. This would save the public and private interests millions of dollars. Speaker: Jim McQueen, Director Office of Passenger Services Federal Railroad Administration Mr. McQueen spoke on the agencies that make up the Task Force; such agencies as DOT, DOE, Army Corps of Engineers, make up the Intermodal Task Force. Other agencies that are involved are: EPA, NASA and Commerce. Their job is to explore the role that Maglev will play in the U.S. transportation system. It is the role of these agencies to help advance Maglev technology into an operational one. Why Maglev trains? The speeds of these all-weather trains can exceed 300 mph and will be the alternative to commuter airline trips of 100-800 miles going from downtown to downtown. The Maglev systems would be integrated with our present airport systems along with Amtrak. This would give the passenger improved mobility that they need. Added to all this, Maglev is an environmental and energy efficient system.
-3- The design issues of the system will afford us the flexibility that we will need to evolve into a national network at a minimum of costs. Finally, the guideways will receive priority development in establishing these new high speed routes. In regards to other activities, the feasibility report will be concluded around June 1, 1990, which will give us further insight on how to proceed. In addition, the Army Corps of Engineers will draft an implementation plan which should be ready around the June date. Speaker: Don Itzkoff, Esquire Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay Member - High Speed Rail Government Relations Committee Mr. Itzkoff spoke on the pioneering approach used by the States of Florida, Ohio, Texas, Nevada, California and Pennsylvania, in developing their own high speed transportation projects. The Pennsylvania High Speed study was delayed because of the Governor's decision not to fund the study. The current national trends indicate increased travel demands using the nation's decaying infrastructure by a growing population, with the federal government failing to keep pace with these. The City of Pittsburgh has released the first regional effort in establishing a coalition of companies who have each contributed $100,000 in support of a regional Maglev project. This coalition is known as the Carnegie Mellon Group. In addition, each company that is a member of the coalition is required to donate so many man-hours towards the project. Their efforts to establish a model using innovative technology in research and development efforts is commendable. This project would link the Pittsburgh Airport with downtown Pittsburgh, a shopping center, and suburban cities around the city. Speaker: Drs. Gordon Danby and James Powell Brookhaven National Laboratory Inventors of the Maglev Vehicle The federal government is already spending $600 billion to keep up the Interstate highways and bridges in this country to minimum engineering standards. Currently, 50% of America's oil is imported at a cost of $50 billion which is about one-half of the trade balance. Today, 75% of the freight traffic moves by Interstate highways. With vehicle emissions being one of the major causes of air pollution in this country, Maglev vehicles would reduce the pollution over a number of years. -This country expects to spend $12 billion on transportation costs between 1990-2010. During this time, vehicle/passenger miles will double and oil imports will raise to 75%, at a cost of $100 billion. Urban air quality will further deteriorate and the average car speeds will be reduced to 25 mph because of the widespread auto congestion. Maglev vehicles and guideways have long service life, needs very little maintenance and will become a major U.S. industry in this country. Our primary goal is to implement on a large scale one thousand route miles with further routes planned for later dates. Maglev will be one of the major forces in reducing this
-4- country's dependency on foreign oil. The building of Maglev routes will not disrupt our present transportation system and will interface with Amtrak's stations and airports. A New York Maglev system would extend North, West and South and connect with all major cities. It would be supplied by feeder lines from Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey. It would connect our major airports together. It is estimated that 10,000 miles of Maglev lines would cost from $100 to $150 billion. Other issues that must be considered is wind and noise. A Maglev train traveling at 200 mph would generate about 70 dds. During the guideway construction, there would be very little effect on the highway system. In most cases, construction roads along the interstate boundary line would be used to deliver the materials needed to assemble the foundations and guideways. Speaker: Henry Kolm M.I.T. Built the Magnoplane back in the '70s. Simply stated, the Magnoplane travels at 1.2 miles in 20 seconds and could handle 20,000 passengers an hour from origin to destination. Would serve in a corridor type line with stops at ten mile intervals. The Magnoplane travels in a half-trough with landing wheels used for take offs in which after a certain speed is reached, the wheels retract and before decreasing speeds, the wheels are lowered. The guideways would weigh 40 tons and the vehicle itself would use about six megawatts of power compared to 60 megawatts used by conventional trains. The faster the vehicle goes, the less air drag and energy used. However, the vehicle stablization affects its movement through the guideway. Speaker: Dr. Gerald Rothberg Material Science and Engineering Departments Stevens Institute of Technology. In Japan, the government gets industry to cooperate by putting up the seed money to start the project. Once the project is completed, the study is released to everyone. This way, companies will compete against each other for the business. An issue that we must take a close look at is the biological effects of magnetic and electrical fields on people living near the power stations. Other key problems is the ability to construct and maintain guideways and tracks with great accuracy in addition to the control of the clearance between vehicle and guideway. Studies indicate that 50% of all air passengers come from ten major hub airports in this country. Also, 50% of all air passenger trips are under 600 miles. If Maglev were in operation, it would reduce air congestion by taking over the short trips that air passengers must depend on. These future Maglev systems would serve to reduce the needs for future airports. By using the land proposed for future airports, Maglev could build a station and parking areas to accommodate its travelers. Below is a chart indicating the costs of using an airline and those of Maglev.
-5- AIRLINE AND MAGLEV COST RATE PER MILE DISTANCE (Miles) AIRLINE RIDERSHIP NO FREIGHT MAGLEV RIDERSHIP 200 300 400 500 600.32.25.21.18.17 NOTE: Estimated cost in Florida is 18 to 19 cents a mile. 14 20 24 29 33.05 7.5.11.14.17 One of the advantages of Maglev over airlines is that feeder lines can be built to support trunklines. Below is a chart of airline, auto and train costs compared to Maglev trunkline costs. Airline Auto Train Net Revenue Boston to Washington $1.60 $35.55 $3.13 2.08 Maglev Trunkline (Cost) Boston to Washington $.47 $ 1.68 $.85.47 NOTE: Maglev Trunking fare based on.25 per mile. Total Maglev passengers needed per year, 25.1 million Speaker: Richard E. Gibbs, Chief Auto Emissions Laboratory New York State Department Environmental Conservation New York has adopted the California Emissions Control Program which regulates clean fuels, reduces vehicle uses and has a rigid inspection maintenance program. Studies indicate that vehicle growth will continue to grow over the years and that if we want clean air, we must adopt stronger regulations and require cleaner fuels. The U.S. vehicle population since 1985 has gone up by 2 million in New York State. There are over 50 million hours a year wasted in traffic congestion in this city alone. Last year, New York had a 6% growth rate in motor vehicles In 1986, Interstate Highway and city travel in New York alone reached 95 billion miles with 96% of all travel taking place in the New York Metro area. Auto congestion will continue to expand further undermining personal mobility of its citizens. New York State imports 31% of its oil from other States and imports 68.5% from foreign countries. Continued auto growth in New York City will continue to cause heavy traffic congestion
6 ~ and will eventually cause us to 'run out 1 of clean air and land. This concludes the list of speakers at the Seminar cc: The Honorable J. James Exon The Honorable Bob Graham xxrhe Honorable John Heinz The Honorable Ernest F. Rollings The Honorable Harry Reid The Honorable Paul Simon Paul Reistrup, President High Speed Rail Association Bob Casey, Executive Director High Speed Rail Association Pike Powers, Chairman Government Affairs Committee High Speed Rail Association