Maglev test track slated for Lawrence, Beaver counties

Pittsburgh Business Times ^ | Friday, Apr 18, 2003

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

Construction is expected to begin this fall of a track in Lawrence and Beaver counties to test an updated maglev train.

Power Superconductor Applications Corp., of New Castle, is announcing Friday that it and the Lawrence County Maglev Consortium have obtained exclusive use of the U.S. government's high-speed maglev test vehicle.

Construction of a 7.5 mile test track in the counties will begin in October, according to Power Superconductor.

The company will retrofit the government's maglev trainset with highly efficient cryogenic magnets and a newer levitation and propulsion system. This system has no relationship to the German Transrapid system marketed by Maglev Inc., which uses an older type of technology.

Maglev Inc. is one of the advocates of a proposal to build a high-speed maglev system from Pittsburgh International Airport to Monroeville (The Pennsylvania Project). The system would cost about $2.8 billion.

The technology for the new maglev was developed at Carnegie Mellon University and Imperial College of Science and Technology, according to Power Superconductor. Further details of the project were not immediately available.

Power Superconductor conducts research, development and design in areas including electromagnetics and electronics. The company was formed in 1986 as a spin-off from the Central Research and Development Center at Westinghouse Electric Corp.

[Willie Green]

In 2002, Power Superconductor supplied an 800 kilowatt, 560 Volt LIM Propulsion System to American Maglev Technology (AMT) for the Nation's First Magnetically Train System in Norfolk, Virginia (Maglev train at ODU takes first, slow slides ). This has 120 MPH propulsion capability on a 12.5 Ton levitated vehicle, forming the first segment of a regional Maglev System.

Lockheed Martin Aerospace and Dominion Virginia Power are the other participants in addition to AMT.

---

What is High Speed Ground Transportation?

High-speed ground transportation (HSGT)-- a family of technologies ranging from upgraded existing railroads to magnetically levitated vehicles-- is a passenger transportation option that can best link cities lying about 100-500 miles apart. Common in Europe ( The European Railway Server) and Japan (Japan Railways),HSGT in the United States already exists in the Northeast Corridor (Amtrak) between New York and Washington, D.C. and will soon serve travelers between New York and Boston. 

HSGT is self-guided intercity passenger ground transportation that is time competitive with air and/or auto on a door-to-door basis for trips in the approximate range of 100 to 500 miles. This is market-based, not a speed based definition. It recognizes that the opportunities and requirements for HSGT differ markedly among different pairs of cities. High-speed ground transportation (HSGT) is a family of technologies ranging from upgraded steel-wheel-on-rail railroads to magnetically levitated vehicles.

The Federal Railroad Administration has designated a variety of high density transportation corridors within our nation for development of HSGT:

.

For more information, please visit the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA’s) High Speed Ground Transportation Website

[Willie Green]

ping

[Asclepius]

Oh, great. Now our jobs will flee to Mexico that much faster.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I like the looks of that California corridor!

Could you put me on your ping list for this topic?

[Willie Green]

I'd be happy to. :-)

[section9]

Willie, we know MagLev works, and it works well. We've known this for years. Why do we need yet another test track?

When are we going to get off the dime and start laying track.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

When are we going to get off the dime and start laying track.

Seriously. Gray Davis announced shortly after his first election that he was not going to support some "Buck Rogers" type technology in California. Later he amended that to supporting it in LA, his home base of course. California is such a large state that this would be incredibly helpful to those of us in more rural areas. Many in the state are cut off from the SF/LA metro areas, not to mention the two are some distance from each other.

If it's a federal project, how much can the governors hinder it?

[Willie Green]

Willie, we know MagLev works, and it works well. We've known this for years. Why do we need yet another test track?

Competition.

Compared to the industry leader, American Maglev is a relatively new entrant to the market that was started on a shoestring budget.

"In just nine months and with $14 million, American Maglev Technology Inc., Lockheed Martin and Dominion Virginia Power have been able to do what hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money and years of studies have not -- produce a working maglev vehicle.

It started with an idea a dozen years ago from Morris, an entrepreneur who envisioned a less expensive, more efficient maglev system than the Germans and Japanese were experimenting with.

As a result, he says, his system can be built for $15 million to $20 million a mile, compared with his competitors' $40 million to $100 million a mile.

Source: Maglev train bound for ODU takes shape in Florida

I'm not sure how large the test facility is at their location in Florida, but I suspect it's shorter than the 3,200-foot long system they've built at Old Dominion University. In any event, a longer test track is necessary to prove the system at higher speeds. It'll be well worth it to prove that the technology is competitive both functionally and economicly.

But I also hope they have the common sense to make this test track serve a dual use and provide some local commuting capabilities. The good people in Newcastle Pa. could use a little boost for their community.

When are we going to get off the dime and start laying track.

It does seem frustratingly slow.
But I'm certain that once people see these first few pilot systems in operation, public support will begin to snowball.

:-)

[Willie Green]

If it's a federal project, how much can the governors hinder it?

Quite a bit, since it's not strictly a federal project.
Federal planning may be involved to help coordinate the efforts in various states. But the actual project is dependent on a mixture of federal, state and private financing. If the governor has enough political clout to kill the state participation, the project is sunk.

[Willie Green]

It just occurred to me that another good reason for American Maglev to locate a test track in New Castle, Pa. is to prove its capabilities in harsh winter weather, something that can't be done in the milder climates of Virginia or Florida.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

"In just nine months and with $14 million, American Maglev Technology Inc., Lockheed Martin and Dominion Virginia Power have been able to do what hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money and years of studies have not -- produce a working maglev vehicle.

Time to buy stock??!!

If the governor has enough political clout to kill the state participation, the project is sunk.

Yet another reason to throw the bum out.

[Willie Green]

Time to buy stock??!!

LOL!
Well, I don't make specific stock recommendations.
But I will admit that is one reason that I often provide links to the companies that are involved in these projects and to their suppliers/partners/parent companies. (Additional information is usually available at their websites stating who other "partner" companies are.) It's always wise to do thorough research before making any investment, but IMHO, maglev IS an exciting technology with a promising future. However, as to which firms will profit handsomely from it and which will fall by the wayside, your guess is as good as mine at this point.

[RightWhale]

Gray Davis announced shortly after his first election that he was not going to support some "Buck Rogers" type technology in California.

He also acknowledges that hi-tech is part of the backbone of the CA economy. Anyway, Mag-Lev isn't Buck Rogers, it's just a super-major investment that the public sector isn't capable of affording.

[section9]

Sounds reasonable. I take it, therefore, that they aren't using any test results of the Acela system, which ran in similar weather (I know, it wasn't maglev, but they might be able to use some of that data for the maglev project).

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Willie Green]

I know, it wasn't maglev, but they might be able to use some of that data for the maglev project

It's doubtful, since they really are two different animals.
Even if Acela had been a maglev technology, it's unlikely that competing companies would share any detailed data obtained. That doesn't mean, of course, that somewhere in the intricate web of suppliers and subcontractors that there isn't any technological cross-pollination. Perhaps not directly, but from experience gained in manufacturing various system sub-components.