Re: Transrapid's latest story

[ag414@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Colin R. Leech)]

David Bromage (dbromage@omni.com.au) wrote:
> 
> Phil Sellars from Transrapid Australia was in Canberra over the weekend
> and made another sales pitch. I've made a summary of some of his more
> questionable claims. Comments would be welcome.

Are you (or anybody else) trying to set the record straight in a forum
where it matters? (eg. newspaper article, written submission to the high
speed rail commission) Usenet is great for gathering information, but
posting here won't be changing the minds of the people who need to be
influenced. From this and past articles, it seems that Mr. Sellars is
trying to persuade the authorities with incorrect information, and they
deserve to know the truth.

> The Hamburg - Berlin line will go ahead, starting contruction in a few
> months.

I thought that this was cancelled, to be replaced by a conventional high
speed rail line (according to the Germans posting to this newsgroup).

> There is interest in Transrapid all over the world. Some proposed lines
> include:
>  Baltimore - Washington DC
>  Pitsburgh - Philadelphia
>  Orlando - EPCOT
>  Atlanta - Chattanooga
>  Sacremento - San Francisco - Los Angeles - San Diego
>  Los Angeles - Las Vegas

"Interest in Transrapid" is playing fast and loose with words. There are
lots of people around the world interested in TGV and the Loch Ness
Monster as well, but it doesn't mean that there's anything serious
happening in other countries on these issues! 

Most of these American examples barely register as a blip of interest in
any sort of medium-speed rail links. Baltimore-Washington is already part
of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, and will soon be seeing the Acela
(TGV-based) trains. Yes, maglev has probably been talked about by somebody
(if only the village idiot) for each of these corridors listed. But it is
not a serious contender in any of them, especially since most of these HSR
projects are not going anywhere in any form at the moment.


--
####    |\^/|     Colin R. Leech     ag414 or crleech@freenet.carleton.ca
#### _|\|   |/|_  Civil engineer by training, transport planner by choice.
#### >         <  Opinions are my own. You may consider them shareware.
####  >_./|\._<   "If you can't return a favour, pass it on." - A.L. Brown