The proposed high-speed train that would connect Atlanta and Chattanooga could reduce traffic and air pollution in both cities, officials said Tuesday night at a hearing in Chattanooga.
According to Harry West, Deputy Director of Transportation Planning for Parsons Transportation Group, a magnetically levitated train, or "Maglev" may be used if Congress chooses to fund it.
Maglev has a cruising speed of 240 miles per hour and operates electronically, preventing air pollution, but is a recently developed project that is still being evaluated for financial reasons. "Financial feasibility is very important," Mr. West said.
If Congress chooses not to finance Maglev, several other technologies may be used on the project. Accelerail 150, which is used to connect Washington DC to Baltimore, and High-Speed Rail (HSR) Technology, which is used throughout Europe and Japan, are among the options available.
Mr. West said that the train-system’s alignment must be finished by this coming Spring. "We’ve got to be completed by next March," Mr. West said. "It’s going to take some hustle."
The Atlanta-Chattanooga Summit, which began meeting in 1999 when it was believed that "the two cities were growing together," had hoped that this Maglev would be the first of its kind to operate in the entire world, and that it would be available within five years. But when Chattanooga and Atlanta applied for a federal grant in the summer of 2000, the grant went to Pittsburgh instead. Mr. Wood said that the project would likely take more than five years to finish.
Bob McCord, Work Programs and Contact Manager for the Atlanta Regional Commission, said that the train had been the subject of close evaluation in the aftermath of the terrorist activities of Sept. 11 involving commercial airlines.
In addition to high security at the train stations, Mr. McCord said the train itself had been tested and "hitting a cinder block at 250 miles per hour won’t hurt the train."