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Federal, state and other agencies are working to bring super conducting maglev technology to the United States with an initial rail line between D.C. and Baltimore. Nicole Robinson looks at what the projects entails and what the tunnelling industry can expect
HOW MANY YEARS FROM NOW could a person living in Washington, D.C, see a play or have dinner in New York after work without booking a hotel for the night?
That's an extreme example, admits David Henley, but it's not impossible for him to imagine. He's the project director for Northeast Maglev, the 100 per cent US-owned company, headquartered in Maryland and working to bring super conducting Maglev technology to the US. The project focuses first on a Baltimore to D.C. rail line, providing a 15-minute journey, which would require significant tunnelling. Eventually the company envisions trains flying up and down the entire northeast corridor - doing New York to D.C. in an hour's journey.
"There are so many different, creative opportunities and untapped potential for the economy," he says. Adding that there is limitless potential of what this can do for people's livelihoods. Eor example, imagine a transportation option allowing someone to live in Baltimore and work in Philadelphia (currently about a two-hour drive).
LIKE A PLANE
Super conducting Maglev is a magnetic levitation railway system based on the principle of magnetic repulsion between the track and the cars, developed by high speed rail operator Central Japan Railway Company (JRC). The company says its LO Series train is the fastest train in the world, reaching the 600km/h mark and setting a speed record for rail vehicles at 603km/h (375 mph).
Unlike conventional railway systems, the SCMaglev accelerates and decelerates not by adhesion between wheel and rail, but through magnetic force generated between the onboard superconducting magnets and ground coils. This enables stable levitation and ultra-high-speed commercial passenger travel routes that exceed speeds of 500km/h (311 mph). The company says by operating completely separated from any surface at high speeds, this form of transportation will eliminate the traditional challenges and constraints of rail-based systems.
Henley compares it to flying. He describes the experience as if "you're floating on a bed of air. There's no motion, no vibrations. It's very elegant. It takes the...