Dream Merchant Feature
HIGH-SPEED SUPERTRAINS: THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN TRAVEL?
Trains as We Know Them are Certainly Changing. That May Make for Some Interesting Developments in the Way Americans Travel.
By William G. Schulz Smithsonian News Service
Crisis in Chicago? Deals in Dallas? Networking in New York? In the not-too-distant future, sleek wide-bodied craft will speed regional travelers to and from these and many other destinations in an hour or less. A comfortable cruising altitude won't be on the itinerary, however. Instead, many passengers will hurtle along elevated guideways aboard magnetic levitation trains.
Maglev trains, as these futuristic vehicles are known, literally float atop powerful electromagnetic currents. The same currents propel the trains forward--at speeds ranging upwards of an astonishing 300 mph.
More astonishing, perhaps, is the fact that maglev trains exist today, in both Germany and Japan. In the United States, some experts are convinced that maglev and other high-speed "supertrains," such as the French TGV or the Japanese Bullet (which operate on regular railroad tracks with electric power), are vital to relieve airport overcrowding and to prevent gridlock on some of the nation's busiest highways.
Ultimately, speed and convenience are chief factors in the attractiveness of maglev and other high-speed trains. Operating speeds for maglev trains are somewhere near half the speed of sound (740 mph). Those speeds make it a good alternative for intercity regional travel--Detroit to Chicago or Washington to New York, for example--currently served by the airlines and the railroads.
One major advantage is that maglev and other high-speed train terminals can be placed within cities, eliminating time-consuming airport trips. Another bonus of maglev trains is their greater energy efficiency compared with air or railroad travel. There are no motors or engines on maglev trains and they can traverse the countryside pollution free.
As futuristic as magnetic levitation trains sound, ideas for these trains actually predate the TGV and Bullet systems. One of the first scientists to put forth the idea was the "Father of American Rocketry," Dr. Robert Goddard, who wrote about his idea for magnetic levitation trains in 1909. Another early pioneer was Frenchman Emile Bachelet, who built and demonstrated a magnetic levitation train model in 1914. A collection of photographs and other biographical material on Bachelet and his work is housed at the American History Museum's Archives Center.
In more recent years, Dr. James R. Powell and Dr. Gordon T. Danby, researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, obtained the first patent for a superconducting maglev transportation system in 1968. Magnetic levitation trains operate on the forces of magnetic attraction and repulsion. All maglev trains are outfitted with on-board magnets. German Transrapid trains wrap around the guideway. When the guideway's electromagnetic field is turned on, the cars are lifted upward by magnetic attraction. Japanese maglev trains, for example, simply float above the guideway. To move the trains, powerful electromagnetic currents travel down the guideway. Only portions of the track where the train is located at any given time are powered by these currents.
Concerns have been raised about passenger exposure to electromagnetic fields. Such fields are indeed high on the Japanese trains, however the trains are outfitted with shields to protect passengers. And because of the configuration of magnets on the German transrapid, exposure to electromagnetism is no greater than that from a blender.
Safety concerns also center on the great speed of maglev trains. But French TGV and Japanese bullet trains have carried billions of passengers with a great safety record. Sophisticated computer controls are necessary to constantly monitor the track. In the event it becomes necessary, the electromagnetic field can simply be turned off. The wraparound design of the German maglev would tend to keep the train on the guideway.
Most experts agree that the future of travel in the United States will include a mix of conventional railroads, high-speed rail systems, airplanes and, of course, the automobile. In an increasingly busy and crowded world, maglev and other transportation systems will provide important solutions for getting people place to place, safely and on time.
Lest the romance of travel be forgotten, however, those interested in the development of high-speed rail all cite the beauty of the conventional railroad. There is, they say, no better way to sit back, relax and watch the beauty of America roll by.
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