HiLoMag

[Grant-53]

The site Innovative Transportation Technologies for better urban livability and improved mobility has a compendium of proposals. There are some basic engineering principles that need to adressed. The material science aspect and the geometry both affect cost and reliability. Any structure that is exposed to the environment is affected by thermal expansion cycles, chemical corrosion, and various forms of radiation chiefly UV. What are the design flaws in you have identifired in highway construction. It is key to make these known so that they can be minimized in the near term since economic stimulus dollars are being poured into bridgeand highway repair. What is obvious to an engineer is easily ignored by lawyers in the legislatures. Even in my lifetime there have been improvements in concrete and steel technologies. My brother worked for NYSDOT doing quality inspection for concrete batches. I did QA inspection on some of the car interior panels of the Washigton Metro Area Transit Authority that had the fatal collision of two trains on the same track a few years ago. The new car protected the passengers while the old car did not. It is easy to be dismissive of other peoples' efforts.
The thickness of concrete and spacing of rebar generally have the greatest effect on strength and durability. My experience with permanent magnets is that there is some small but noticeable reduction in field strength with use. This would have to be taken into consideration over time and use.
I am looking at a Master's thesis of a Swedish grad student on incorporating velomobiles in urban planning. These may be part of the pallet system. Currently cars have four hard points to contact lifting equipments and hooks for towing that can be used for support rather than the roof.

[gone7]

The basic problem with concrete and asphalt paving is that it wears out from constant use. Other problems also contribute to the issue of wear; weather and light, to name but two. These cannot be fixed completely.

Compare that to a magnetic levitation rail. Their are no permanent magnets; only electrically-induced fields. There is no contact with the rail. The rail need only have a marine grade coating to keep it from rusting; relatively cheap and long-lasting.

The elevated rail has an indefinite lifespan. The current highway surface lasts maybe ten years, but shows signs of decay in the first year. We don't even require the guarantees which they do on the Autobahn in Europe. But even their's needs repair.

Regardless of the consideration, the rail always wins.

Maglev rails go in one direction just like the roads in the city. Railroads share directions on the same track; just asking for accidents and death, or very expensive options. Simply not worth it.

Pallet-type ride-on options for personal vehicles still are over-kill and complex for no actual benefits. I see no benefits.

[Grant-53]

The collision of the two commuter trains in Washington occured when one train ran into the back of the other. This is fairly common and can be adressed in programming.

You truly hit the proverbial nail on the head in your comments on not counting the costs of convenience. We see this principle at work throughout our society. It is the difference between rational economic decision making and addictive or compulsive consumption. We will have a rational, efficient, and conveniently integrated transportation system when enough people come to the same conclusions. The choices made will be based on the cost to move a given number of pepole or tons of freight a given distance. We currently measure vehicles by passenger miles per gallon of fuel. The value of our time is a measure of convenience. This is not a complete accounting of costs but is a useful comparison between alternatives. We might compare how far we can travel in say, four hours and the cost to do so. The cost of infrastructure is paid in depreciation costs. Safety is measured in casualties per million passenger miles traveled.
I expect that as the details emerge, the high speed maglev system will fit an important segment between air travel and highway use. A 250 mph train could cover 1600 miles/day with stops every 500 miles. An express bus would cover only 400 miles a day with one stop. An electric personal vehicle has a 30 mile radius and would be part of a feeder system. Most of our personal errands or commuting falls within 25 miles. Within that radius a streamlined electric bicycle averaging 20 mph is cost competitive with a single driver in an automobile. Familys or other groups may select a van for social purposes.

I need to get back to my primary activity of building fairings, just make sure there are bike racks on the maglev.

[gone7]

You forgot to include the HiLoMag option which would be the same as intranational air travel, but with stops available at every intersection as provided by the Interstate Highway System. Very convenient and exceedingly cost effective.

The HiLowMag system is not for bikes, but one could offer a van-like carrier for the highspeed transport of bikes. An interesting side business, to be sure. There would be a seat for the rider and a place for his bike. At the other end, he takes out his bike and pedals to the hotel of his choice. Makes for a more economical weekend in San Diego for someone coming from NYC say. A very interesting idea indeed. Talk about a cheap vacation! Six hours each way and one could sleep during the ride. Not too shabby! (I like it, as long as there is room for my surfboard. )

The sky's the limit with such fast and cheap transport.

[Grant-53]

The trend in Europe is to have vertical bike racks in the passenger compartment of the train. British Railways has let bikers ride with their machines in the mail car. I came across some articles by Laurence Blow on on high speed trains. Seems in 1992, he and three other engineers tried to follow the NYS Truway by aircraft. At 180 mph the plane had to bank hard to track the turns on the ground and they became violently ill from motion sickness.. The turns were too tight for that speed. See Popular Science May 2010. The higher the speed of a HiLo system, the longer between stops since most people would not be comfortable accelerating faster than 0.5g. Then again some folks like roller coaster rides. Six hours from NYC to San Diego is about 3600 miles or 600 mph. The record time for an automobile in the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea race was NYC to Long Beach, CA was 36 hours.
On the up side, Italy is producing trains capable of 223 mph.

[gone7]

Just some of the problems that would be worked out as the plans were drawn up.

Planes are not vehicles on a track. They work differently. No one gets sick at 250 mph on a properly banked track with a Veyron, so I don't believe that is an issue. Fast cars with proper aerodynamics can even travel on the ceiling of a tunnel.

Just like on the Interstate, there can be locals and express lanes. Slower speed sections for taking the desired exit, and faster speed sections for bypassing exits.

Just some more thoughts.

[Grant-53]

The issue is the G loads plus the visual cues. The Thruway turn radii were too tight for the speed even with banking. I have flown in small aircraft so I know how it feels. The visual cues are amazing important. At the 1967 Montreal world's fair we did the theater in the round with 360 degree cameras. One scene was from the inside of a small plane and when it banked a boy in the audience fell off the hand rail where he was perched. I was standing and grabbed a hand rail to steady myself.
As for being sick in a car, even some mildly spirited driving on a twisty road has my wife and kids begging me to slow down. Only professional drivers get to go 250 mph on banked turns so it is rather like saying no fighter pilots every get air sick. Being in control and anticipating what will happen next seems to be a factor as well. These factors are noted whether on the ground, on the water, or in the air. They will need to be adressed to the extent the riding public finds acceptable. At one point ABB was experimenting with a rail car that tilts during banking.

[gone7]

Perhaps one might need to check the number of miles of straight Interestate Highway System sections where unlimited speed is okay for passengers. One then would next see how many remaining sections could maintain the same speed in an acceptable banking arrangement.

That would leave the problem areas. One could either slow down the traffic or reroute the roads. The later requires the acquisition of new right-of-ways. Slowing down is the cheap alternative, and probably perfectly acceptable.

In some areas it will be necessary to get new right-of-ways no matter what. Straightening out some of the existing roads will solve the problem of slow-down congestion.

But let us not forget that the slowest section will still be much faster than any other mode of ground transportation. Imagine a slowest speed of eighty MPH handsfree. There simply isn't any downside.

By the way, unwanted visual cues can be removed by darkened or shaded windows.

ABB?

[Grant-53]

Interior design factors and height above the ground will affect visual cues. Varying the radius as the cars go through turn can prepare the rider for gradual increase in g loading. There are likely ways to determine optimum rates of change to allow for comfort at loads up to 0.5g laterally. Check Wikipedia for information on the European conglomerate ABB.
Route planning is critical both for speed and customer access. There will be a speed differential that determines the cost and convenience choice a consumer will make between public and private means of transportation. We consciously compare out of pocket expenses for various modes of transportation but not always assign a value to our time in transit and recovery. It is this more complete calculation that business travelers and parents make subconsciously that I quantify now that led me to faired bicycles. Within a range of one hour of travel there is a speed for which the bike is more convenient and economical than a car. The break even point has been 17 mph so I set about building a bike that an average person can use to comfortably attain that speed. The 20 mph electric urban bikes will also be such a bike with fairings extending the range.
I would prefer to get out of my car and walk about a train on a trip longer than two hours especially with children. Elderly folks tend to use the bathroom more often than younger adults and our boomer population will continue age past the point of driving safely.

[gone7]

Interesting thoughts.

I can understand that a person must do that with which they feel most comfortable. I personally would feel that less than fifty cents for a round trip to the grocery store in my electric vehicle would be just fine.

Also, many families have taken cross-country trips for decades and have simply stopped to use a restroom or stretch their legs when needed. I see no change to that routine.