r Japanese cities at speeds of 500km/h which is comparable to that of airplanes. The integration of the Maglev with the existing railway systems has great significance for the activation of Japan's infrastructure" ("Levitating At Up to 500km./h," 1997, p. 5).
Western Europe also is developing a Maglev train system. Europe's TRANSRAPID Maglev system is designed for cruising speeds in the 400-to-500 km/h range, "making it an alternative to short--haul air traffic and congested roads. The magnetic levitation system has a contact--free support, guidance, propulsion and braking system that is based on the principle of electromagnetic levitation" ("Maglev Train Design Speeds Along With ABAQUS," 1997, p. 1).
On 24 December 1997, a three-car Maglev train registered a test run in Japan at 550 km/h (341.8 miles/h). The three-car train reached peak speed on an 18-kilometer test track west of Tokyo. This speed established the economic feasibility of the Maglev train (Stiefel, 1998).
Japan plans to extend the existing Maglev test track 480 kilometers (298.3 miles) to establish a high-speed Maglev rail link between Tokyo and Osaka. The Maglev train regularly will travel at average speeds of 500 km/h (310.7 miles/h), which is nearly four times as fast as an Amtrak Metroliner travels in the United States. By 2000, Germany plans to have a Maglev high speed train in operation between Berlin and Hamburg.
While there has been a lot of talk in the United States about Maglev train, the combination of a Republican-controlled congress that is unwilling to spend money on anything other than military weapons and the Ken Starr inquiry balks at the cost of a Maglev system, while the highway lobby actively seeks to prevent an American Maglev system from becoming a reality.
The most obvious advantage of a Maglev train is speed. If a Maglev train "replaced a standard Amtrak train, it could cut a four-hour trip between New York and Boston to a...