Posted on 07/02/2002 12:56:06 PM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
The blue print for the traffic route of the magnetic levitation (maglev) airplane has lately been completed in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in west China, according to sources from the local department. And Chengdu will be the first possible city in the world to have both maglev airplane production and operation lines in the near future.
Maglev plane is developed by an American university and has not been applied in any country. It is a new type of track vehicle for hi-speed transportation on land. Not touching the track, maglev plane could "fly" at a maximum speed of 500 km/hour.
Different from ordinary maglev train, the maglev plane must depend on track to run, but its automatic control system, apartment, satellite positioning system and other equipment are all designed according to airplane standards. It also claims stability as of a real airplane.
As reported, the project is a Sino-US cooperation for which the agreement has been signed last September. Currently, the first-phase of the project is in progress and the foreign investors will inspect the production base and operation line in Chengdu within the next few days.
High-speed rail and maglev offer the perfect alternative to augment & supplement our highway and air transportation infrastructure. For regional trips between 150 and 350 miles, it is faster than automobile and not that much slower than air. Yet offers the potential to alleviate both congested highways and air corridors!
In light of current economic conditions, construction of this vital transportation infrastructure should be accelerated.
Should be accelerated by who? The government? If/as it becomes cost-effective and insofar as it does not get the enviros excited, it will be built.
Yes. Development of transportation infrastructure is a valid role of government.
didn't you used to play third for the Reds?
Just Wondering
Nah. I primarily played OF and 1B, occassionally subbing SS, 2B and P. Never played 3B that I can recall.
The teams I played for were the Yanks (peewee league) and Tigers, Hawks and Lions (Little League)
My career was sidetracked by other personal interests until signing up with the Nads for college intramurals.
Go Nads Go!!!
But seriously, how do we pay for new mass transit?
Here in cowtown, our bus system sucks and still costs a fortune. I also don't trust any government with my money.
Private funding? There isn't even private funding for baseball stadiums......
I'd love to have access to mass transit, it just doesn't work in a free market.
Same way we pay for roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, municipal airports, etc. etc.
Additional revenues are also generated by passenger fares.
Here in cowtown, our bus system sucks and still costs a fortune.
Sparsely populated rural areas are the least likely candidates for mass transportation.
You're lucky to have paved roads.
Just the same, I'd recommend keeping your bus in good mechanical repair.
Might as well preserve the investment you've already made rather than regress back to horses, mules, oxen, buggies, buckwagons, etc. etc. Stagecoaches weren't all that comfortable nor reliable.
Our taxes are already too high......I wish I had an answer
Well, you should be more honest on your FReeper homepage.
It's unreasonable to expect people to deduce that Cowtown, Poland = Columbus, Ohio.
It looks like your mayor is taking steps to address transit issues in your city: CAR-RENTAL FIRMS TELL MAYOR TO TAKE A HIKE (COLUMBUS OHIO). I suppose he believes that's necessary to supplement the ¼% sales tax that's used to fund COTA. (Incidently, that seems low as compared to other Ohio cities. Cleveland’s RTA is funded through a full 1% sales tax and Dayton has .5%. Cincinnati is funded with a payroll tax that is the near equivalent of a .5% sales tax.) OTOH, an examination of the fare schedule seems to indicate that there is opportunity to increase rates and revenues there as well.
Overall, my guess is that Columbus is suffering from myopic transit planning that failed to accommodate the population growth experienced in the last decade. Now you're stuck playing catch-up. Tough beans, growing pains are a bear. Should've planned ahead. Could've had a decent light-rail or similar system operating by now. Instead, you're stuck with traffic congestion and slow, pollution belching buses.
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