FWIW- Maglev study awarded federal money

[bikkuri bahn]

The U.S. Transportation Department has awarded nearly $28 million to conduct studies on building a high-speed rail line that would carry passengers between Washington and Baltimore in about 15 minutes, according to Maryland officials.

The money will support ­private-sector efforts to bring magnetic-levitation trains to the region as part of a larger vision for building a maglev system along the Northeast Corridor.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/feds-award-28-million-to-study-maglev-train-system-for-maryland/2015/11/07/fe70f716-8598-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

 

nhk news:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TylQztoNzHM

[katoftw]

I smell a con for the tax payers here.  At 65km apart from each other CBD to CBD.  Surely a much cheaper dedicated rail line service would be much  cheaper and easier to build, with almost similar travel times?  A train that travels at 120kph would do it in 30 mins.  A train that travels at 180kph will do it in 20 minutes.

[bikkuri bahn]

Said conventional rail lines don't come with private financing.

[cteno4]

You have not seen the prices paid for the most recent above ground metro extension here!

 

The ultimate goal is to NYC, the it would definitely be a killer as that's such a traveled path.

 

Jeff

[kvp]

65 km @ 15 min = 260 km / hour

Seems to be around the possible top speed of a siemens america sprinter with conventional coaches and speeds possible with an acela. Aiming at slightly higher speeds (like above conventional rail) would help. On the other hand, imho the test track location would be good as Jeff pointed out.

[cteno4]

Problem is many parts of the corridor is just too packed with other stuff and eminent domain is tough sell here politically for what a true high speed track corridor would need. This proposal was doing it almost all underground to avoid this and why costs are higher.

 

At least the study may help really work out the numbers and feasibility, so far we have jsut had either Amtrak flimsy ideas or a few private shots in the air with little study and meat.

 

Jeff

[toc36]

This is very interesting since I live in the area.  

 

One of the regional commuter sites says that 30,000 people ride the MARC between Baltimore and DC.  Scheduled trains have either five or eight intermediate stops and take about an hour and 10 minutes each way at a cost of $8.00 per trip (end-to-end).  I do not know what percentage of the 30,000 riders would commute from Camden Station (Baltimore) to Union Station (DC), how much extra would they be willing to pay to potentially save 90 minutes of their day, and what the impact of the lost ridership on the intermediate MARC stations.  

 

Using the numbers in the article, the cost per mile is $250 million ($10 billion divided by 40 miles).  This is not out-of-line with current projects.  If this remains a point-to-point system encouraged by the Federal Government and heavily funded by the Japanese Government, this could fall into the realm of the possible.  I can envision the possibility of a viaduct system inside the I-95 corridor.

 

Mark