Maglev Train Coming to the Sunshine State?

[Ocklawaha]

HYPERLOOP - Chance of being built? Hyperloop...maybe  in a stadium, model expo, but in reality?  I'd give Hyperloop a score of 600+  for yet another hair brained reinvention of the wheel where the economic benefits fall short of the system it is targeted to replace by about 1000%. Dumb.

MONORAIL - A limited use train,  the monster that refuses to die.... Rail's answer to the 'Studebaker Avanti', Created in the late 50's early 60's by Studebaker as the car of tomorrow, it survived the automaker when the employees decided to buy out the factory and continue production. The Avanti II was a reengineered version of the classic Avainti built by Avanti Motors. Currently held up through a multidirectional law suits unrelated to the car itself. Expect both the Avanti and the Packard to reappear in force long before the Monorail revolution. Look for future Avanti's to have Packard V-8 / 10 or 12's.

AMTRAK - Rails version of a living Neanderthal.

URBAN RAIL FROM MOST COSTLY TO LOWEST COST OVER THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT

STREETCAR - The bargain basement entry level urban transit people mover with real redevelopment dollars Vintage or reproduction has the lowest entry cost and the highest ROI

STREETCAR - Modern streetcar is a state-of-the-art people moving system with top scores for ROI,

RAPID STREETCAR - A Hybrid of Modern/Vintage streetcar designed with many Light Rail like components raising speed limits and breaking away from traffic lanes some see this as getting the better for Less.

LIGHT-RAIL - Rail with a HUGE target painted on it by the 'think tanks'. Actually a star performer that acts in many ways like heavy rail or  for a cost that is millions less.

COMMUTER RAIL - Mixed standard CSX, NS OR FEC freight service with short dedicated corridor passenger trains sharing the track.

HEAVY RAIL - Something we may never see built again on a large scale, a wonderful subway or elevated railroad costing billions..

POGO-STICKS/ SLIP-N-SLIDES - A major improvement over most JTA and FDOT plans.... don't hold your breath, we're not dense enough.



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[finehoe]

Maryland Seeks Study Of Baltimore-To-D.C. Maglev

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan might have found a pricey train worth pursuing. You just won't be able to ride one in this country, at least not for many years.

During a 12-day trade mission to Asia that started May 26, Hogan is visiting Japan, where he will take a ride on the famous maglev (short for magnetic levitation) train that tops 300 miles per hour. There is more to the governor's trip than mere curiosity about the fastest train in the world.

The Maryland Department of Transportation has applied for a federal grant to study a maglev line between Baltimore and Washington. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is reviewing the application for $27.8 million and is expected to make a decision later this year. Maryland is the only state interested in the maglev grant dollars.

The request comes as Hogan is threatening to cancel the suburban Purple Line and Baltimore's Red Line transit projects because, in his view, they are too expensive, and the state's representatives on the Metro board of directors are pushing the transit authority to tighten its budgets, potentially jeopardizing a planned expansion of Metro's rail fleet in favor of bringing the existing fleet into a state of good repair.

Only a few states are even eligible to apply for the maglev grant. Under a 2008 federal law, three potential maglev projects were identified east of the Mississippi River: in Pittsburgh, Atlanta-Chattanooga, and Baltimore-Washington. Pennsylvania transportation officials returned the grant money to FRA, making it available to another state. Maryland went after it.

But the governor's interest in maglev is puzzling to regional transit advocates who say the train's prohibitive cost dwarfs that of the projects Hogan is threatening to cancel.

http://wamu.org/news/15/06/04/call_it_the_hogan_line_maryland_seeks_study_of_baltimore_to_dc_maglev