should anything further develop on this I might have to take a look at getting back in...
After listening to conference call and hearing Kryotech could be 18+ months away that pretty much did it...
I think next fiscal year (12 months away) could be big with CERN orders and some Superconducting stuff beginning to surface...
But this article looks pretty interesting...
depending if anything further happens...
Federal funds lift effort to develop maglev train
ANICK JESDANUN Associated Press
802 Words
5614 Characters
08/11/98
Times Union (Albany, NY)
THREE STAR
E1
(Copyright 1998)
* Intermagnetics executive says New York state should get back in
race for high-speed rail system
WASHINGTON -- To businessmanFred Gurney, a 310-mph train
levitating above a monorail guideway isn't just science fiction
talk.
Gurney heads one of several projects trying to bring high-speed
magnetic levitation trains to the United States -- efforts boosted
this summer by a law authorizing $1 billion in federal money to
explore and construct a "maglev" segment.
"There's a lot of renewed interest because the funding level is
there," Gurney said. "It's an exciting opportunity." President and
chief executive ofMaglev Inc., he wants to build a line from
Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.
Across the country, supporters are reviving proposals that have
languished for years for lack of money. Nevada, California,
Maryland and Florida are among the states with systems under
consideration, and preliminary discussions are under way for lines
to connect New York City with New England and Atlanta with
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Gov. George Pataki removed funding for maglev from New York's
budget in 1995 soon after he took office. Former Lt. Gov. Stan
Lundine had been a champion of the project, and the state broke
ground in 1994 on a research center at Stewart Airport.
* Carl Rosner, chairman of Intermagnetics General Corp. in Latham,
a manufacturer of superconductivity systems that could be used in
maglev, said Monday he would like to see New York state renew its
involvement in the chase for maglev funding.
"Maglev is a long-term proposition," Rosner said. "We clearly
are going after significant involvement, but since the change of
administration (in 1995) New York has not been participating."
He said the bulk of funding is likely to go to Florida or
Pennsylvania, where projects are more active.
Rosner said he hopes IGC will play a role in any projects
developed and could be a manufacturer of products for maglev in
other states, if engineering and consulting firms come to it.
But he said the Latham company would be more likely to get in on
any projects if New York were involved.
The new transportation law sets aside at least $55 million for
various regions to conduct maglev feasibility and other studies.
The Department of Transportation then would designate one project
as eligible for $950 million.
The Federal Railroad Administration will solicit proposals in a
few weeks and tentatively plans to choose about five in January for
further study. The construction go-ahead could come in 2001.
"It's much further along than a dream," said Phyllis Wilkins,
executive director of Maglev Maryland, a public-private partnership
in Baltimore. "One day, people will get on a maglev (from
Washington, D.C.) to go to New York for dinner."
Pittsburgh to Philadelphia might take two hours, compared with
eight hours on Amtrak. A trip from Baltimore to Washington could
take 16 minutes, compared with 40 to 50 minutes by conventional
rail.
Maglev systems, already being tested in Germany and Japan, use
electromagnets to lift the train above ground and free it of
speed-reducing friction.
Maglev runs on basic magnetic principles: When two magnets are
put together, opposite poles attract, similar ones repel.
The German technology uses magnetic attraction to lift the train
car less than an inch above the guideway. A Japanese prototype uses
magnetic repulsion to lift the car about 4 inches. In both cases,
the train moves as the magnetic field travels along the guideway.
The maglev concept has been around for decades, and two
Americans were granted a patent in 1968 on a maglev train design.
Suspension of federal research funding in 1975 allowed Germany and
Japan to take the lead in development.
Efforts to build a U.S. system were revived in the late 1980s. A
1991 transportation law authorized $725 million for maglev, but
Congress appropriated little of the money. Proponents say lawmakers
are giving broader support this time.
But many transportation experts remain skeptical.
A 20-mile test segment has been operational for several years in
Germany, but the concept is largely unproven from a
revenue-producing standpoint.
"Maglev is not ready for prime time," said Bill Withuhn, curator
of transportation for the Smithsonian Institution. "You've got
wonderful potential . . . but the market questions are unknown."
Eugene Skoropowski is deputy project director for Florida
Overland Express, a private consortium proposing to run a
conventional high-speed rail system connecting Miami, Orlando and
Tampa. He said maglev was considered but was found to be
financially risky.
"There is no commercially operating maglev system anywhere in
the world," he said. "Investors are a conservative group of people,
who want to see a proven track record."
To skeptics, Las Vegas Councilman Arnie Adamsen says: "You could
have said that about airplanes and the space shuttle and everything
else." He is pushing a maglev link connecting Las Vegas with Los
Angeles. Business Editor Alan D. Abbey contributed to this
article.
Caption: ASSOCIATED PRESS A MAGLEV train reached 263 miles per
hour as it traveled down a test track between Otsuki and Tsuru in
central Japan in 1997. New federal funding has revived interest in
the technology in the United States.
I0607 * End of document.
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