Energy consumption has been a real hot issue in recent years. With the rise of greenhouse gases, and people running wild in the street over global warming, energy efficiency has seen key research. We now have hybrids on the road, and people are leaving their thermostats at 75 degrees. While a a lot of this technology might be yawn inducing to most, there is one mode of transportation that is taking a pretty cool route.

There is a company called the, “American Magline Group” which is trying to procure funding to develop a ‘maglev’ train in the United States. The ‘maglev’ train isn’t a completely new technology, as Japan and China already have them in use.

The term ‘maglev’ is short for magnetic levitating train. The scientific basics behind the train are quite simple. The train is propelled forward due to an electrical current created by magnetic force between the train and the tracks. If you up the current, the train will accelerate, and vice versa for slowing down.

So the question you might be asking is, “What’s so great about maglev technology?”. First is the speed that these trains can accelerate to. The maglev train in Japan can reach speeds of up to 360 mph, with the train being designed for the US reaching 310 mph. They still aren’t as fast as air travel (avg. 550 mph). The one factor that maglev trains have over air transport is that it’s a completely environmentally clean mode of transportation.

Japan and China already have maglev trains, but if the Magline Group’s proposal goes through America would have the longest maglev track. The track would extend all the way from Disneyland to Las Vegas.

Japan’s Maglev Train

The biggest roadblock (or track block) for the train is of course “funding”. A transportation bill that has just been passed by President Bush would see that the group has $45 million for funding. While that money seems like a lot to folks like you and me, it would only cover the pre-construction costs of testing and research. The actual construction of the train, and tracks would add up to a whopping $12 billion.

The Federal Railway Administration believes that the money could be better suited to improve already current forms of transportation. But the Magline Group states that if they are successful with their venture, it could lead to clean and efficient transportation.

Who would have thought that trains might become the solution to our energy needs. With people riding trains more and more these days as an alternative to air travel, the idea of the maglev might not be much of a stretch to believe.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 6:41 am and is filed under Future Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.