FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 17, 2000
Contact: Pamela Barry
Telephone: 202-493-6024
FRA 9-00

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced additional funding of $14.8 million to seven states and authorities for continuing pre-construction planning for magnetic levitation (maglev) high-speed ground transportation.

"We are committed to offering flexible choices in shaping our transportation system for the new century and the new millennium," said Secretary Slater. "President Clinton said that now is not a time to rest but to build, and this program reflects both his and Vice President Gore’s commitment to developing new technology that will help grow the economy and protect the environment in the 21st century."

Last year, FRA initiated a competition to select the best maglev project for the purpose of demonstrating the use of maglev technology to the American public. Seven projects were selected to initiate pre-construction planning activities with federal assistance. In fiscal 1999, FRA provided the seven projects with $12.75 million to initiate the required studies. For fiscal 2000, six projects each will receive nearly $2 million and the Port Authority of Allegheny County project will receive $3 million. The seven projects are as follows: 

• Port Authority of Allegheny County: A 45-mile project linking Pittsburgh Airport to Pittsburgh and its eastern suburbs.
• Maryland Department of Transportation: A 40-mile project linking Camden Yard in Baltimore and Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Union Station in Washington, D.C.
• California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission: A 42-mile project linking Las Vegas to Primm, Nev.
• Florida Department of Transportation: A 20-mile project linking Port Canaveral to the Space Center and the Titusville Regional Airport.
• Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission: A 48-mile project linking New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal to the airport and across Lake Ponchartrain to the fast-growing northern suburbs.
• Georgia/Atlanta Regional Commission: First 32 miles of 110-mile project linking Atlanta Hartsfield Airport to Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn.
• State of California: A 70- to 75-mile system connecting Los Angeles International Airport to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Ontario Airport and further east into Riverside County.

"Maglev technology is very exciting to all of us who are working to develop high-speed ground transportation systems across America," said Jolene M. Molitoris, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. "Because of its high speed and modest right-of-way requirements, maglev offers competitive trip-time savings to auto and aviation modes in the 40- to 600-mile travel markets – an important transportation option for the 21st century."

Maglev is an important part of the Department’s vision for the future of America’s transportation system -- a system that is international in reach, intermodal in form, intelligent in character, inclusive in service and innovative in scope. To achieve this vision, Secretary Slater called for the development of a climate of transportation innovation in America.

Each of the grants will provide the selected projects with sufficient federal funds to pay up to two-thirds of the cost of the preliminary engineering, market studies, environmental assessments, and financial planning needed to determine the feasibility of deploying a maglev project. Finalists will be chosen in September 2000, and a single project will be selected in 2001.

Maglev is an advanced technology in which magnetic forces lift, propel, and guide a vehicle over a guideway. Utilizing state-of-the-art electric power and control systems, this configuration minimizes friction and permits cruising speeds of up to 300 mph, or more than three times the speed of conventional rail service.

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Briefing Room