WASHINGTON, D.C. — The train looks more like an amusement park ride than the smoke-chugging, coal-eating locomotives of the past. It doesn’t have wheels, a conductor or even an engine. And it’s propelled by electromagnetic forces, not gas or oil, along a single beam over which it hovers, as if by magic.
For the past few years, area transportation officials have been developing a proposal to make the Washington-Baltimore corridor the first in the country to have such a train system. But as they get closer to submitting their bid to the Federal Railroad Administration, planners are facing increasingly vocal resistance from local politicians and residents who say the futuristic train would waste millions of dollars, ruin the neighborhoods it runs through and harm existing rail lines, the Washington Post reports.
“It’s a nice, futuristic idea,” said Del. Frank S. Turner (D-Howard). “But we need some immediate solutions to our traffic problems before we look 25 to 30 years down the road.”
The Anne Arundel County Council has passed a resolution against the project, and Howard County Executive James N. Robey (D) has registered his opposition. Dozens of residents have decried the proposal in neighborhood meetings in both counties.
The opposition comes as the region is competing against Pittsburgh for almost $1 billion from the federal government to build what is called a maglev train system. Maglev stands for magnetic levitation, the force that lifts the train off the rail and propels it as much as 310 mph — more than twice as fast as Amtrak’s Acela Express, the nation’s fastest passenger train. While there isn’t a traditional conductor, there are people aboard who would monitor the computer system that runs the train.
“It’s as fast as you can go that close to the ground without being in the military,” said Kevin Coates, a spokesman for Transrapid International-USA Inc., which makes maglev systems.
The train moves down the track “like a surfer traveling down a wave,” he said. “And what we’re controlling is the speed of the wave. It’s wild. It’s the future, is what it is.”
China and Germany are the only countries currently building maglev systems. China’s, which is to connect downtown Shanghai to that city’s airport, is expected to open by 2004. Germany has built a test system and plans to create one for commercial use in Munich.
In the Washington area, planners are choosing among three possible routes for the system: along Interstate 95, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway or the existing Amtrak line. In addition to stops in Baltimore and Washington and at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, officials are considering building a stop along the Capital Beltway in Greenbelt or New Carrollton.
The trip between Washington and Baltimore would take less than 20 minutes. Proponents say the system would provide a smooth, environmentally friendly ride for tourists and business people. It could also boost the region’s chances of hosting the 2012 Olympics, which is partly why the system has the support of D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) and Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley (D).
“It would answer some big questions about whether the region could support a big event,” said Tony White, an O’Malley spokesman.
The true benefit of the system, however, is not as a commuter line, but as an alternative to air travel along the Eastern Seaboard, planners said. A trip between Washington and New York, for example, would take less than two hours.
“That’s where the payoff occurs,” said Jack Kinstlinger, chairman emeritus of KCI Technologies Inc., a consultant on the project. “But no one wants to build 400 miles of an unproven technology. So you build 40 miles to see how it works. If it works, then you extend it.”
Ultimately, the train could be extended between Boston and Atlanta, he said. And some local leaders say Washington and Baltimore’s location gives the region an edge over Pittsburgh, where the route would connect downtown to outlying suburbs and Pittsburgh International Airport. The federal government is expected to announce the winner next year. If the Washington-Baltimore region got the money, the line would be built by 2010, officials said.
Planners estimate that it would cost $3.5 billion to $4 billion to build the 40 miles of line between Washington and Baltimore. The federal government would pay $950 million, local and state governments would pay $500 million, and the rest would come from bonds that would be paid back with fare revenue.
Critics say that is too much money — almost $100 million a mile — especially considering that Amtrak and MARC trains already run between the two cities.
“Our riders haven’t supported the existing trains, so why would we build another to dilute the ridership?” said Anne Arundel County Council member Pamela G. Beidle (D-Linthicum).
The maglev line would be too expensive for daily commuters, said Del. Shane Pendergrass (D-Howard). One-way tickets would cost an estimated $26, compared with $5.75 for the MARC train, $25 for regular Amtrak trains and $38 for the Metroliner. Pendergrass also said there wouldn’t be enough stops for commuters.
“This doesn’t do much good for the citizens of Maryland,” Pendergrass said. “I’m rooting for Pittsburgh.”
One proposed route would run through a proposed Rouse Co. housing and commercial development in Howard County, which has the developer worried that it might scare off buyers. In a letter to Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, Howard County Executive Robey said the train could affect as many as 153 homes and 182 commercial buildings.
“While I recognize that it would be impossible to design a new high-speed rail line from Baltimore to Washington without disturbing homes, businesses and the natural environment, it appears the impacts of the maglev project are excessive in this regard,” he wrote.
Phyllis Wilkins, director of Maglev Maryland for Baltimore Development Corp., says such concerns are shortsighted.
“When you show people it’s going to go close to their neighborhood, the knee-jerk reaction is, ‘I don’t want this thing,’ ” she said. “But you have to look long-term. The problems we have with congestion are not going away.”