Supertrains for the U.S.

Early in the next century, highspeed trains will be running on several heavily traveled corridors in the United States, predicts Joseph Vranich, author of Supretrains. Such trains, which have been operating for years in Japan and Europe, could significantly ease congestion on highways and in

For example, a high-speed line between Southern California and Las Vegas "is expected to serve almost 8 million people in the year 2000," says Vranich, executive vice president of the High Speed Rail Association in Washington, D.C. "Considered together with the lines planned for Florida, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania, Supertrains can take more than 40 million travelers annually out of the skies and off the highways."

Some of these trains will be advanced steel-wheel trains, while others will be magnetic levitation (maglev) trains that "float" while traveling at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour. A maglev line between the Orlando, Florida, airport and a tourist complex near Disney World is scheduled to open in the fall of 1995.

"The largest intercity travel market in the United States is made up of people traveling 600 miles or less," notes Vranich, and more than 80% of intercity travelers go by car. Highspeed trains could replace much air and highway travel over these short distances, and they will allow workers to commute across greater distances than practical by car.

In addition, high-speed trains will prove a boon to the environment, says the author. Reduced highway and air traffic will improve air quality, and trains are highly energy efficient. Rail lines will also require less land than building additional highways or new airports to meet growing travel demand. Vranich points out that the entire Train a Grande Vitesse system linking Paris and Lyon, France, uses less land than de Gaulle Airport near Paris.

The 1990s will be the age of the "Great American Airport Revolt," believes Vranich. Currently, citizens' groups in Chicago, Atlanta, and Seattle are protesting airport expansions or proposed new airports. Even USAir Chairman Edwin I. Colodny has suggested than building high-speed rail lines for short-distance travel makes more sense than building new airports.

In a scenario for 2005, Vranich envisions a maglev line opening between San Fransicso and Los Angeles. The trip lasts only two hours. Several years earlier, Dallas and Houston had been connected by high-speed rail. "In the Northeast, fast trains blaze between Boston and New York, while several lines operate in the flatlands of Florida," according to Vranich's scenario.

And airlines will even be catering to rail passengers. "For example, passengers still fly Los Angeles to Dallas, but most prefer taking the Supertrain on the continuing segments to places like Houston and San Antonio. Most airlines will include those Supertrain trips in their frequent-flyer plans," says Vranich.