James Silverton wrote:
> AES wrote on Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:18:22 -0700:
>
>>> And even outside France. The time you need to go to and from
>>> the airport at either end of the journey, plus the hours
>>> wasted for check in, mean that quite a few destinations
>>> further afield that have TGV lines are almost as quick to get
>>> to on the TGV as by plane. I live at about 50 km from
>>> Marseille-Provence airport. An hour to get there, an hour
>>> (luckily, this isn't Heathrow) needed for check-in, and hour
>>> say to get to the centre of London and a two hour flight. 5
>>> hours. The direct TGV from Avignon that runs in the summer
>>> can get me to London in just over six hours. A little longer
>>> (with a half hour drive to Avignon) but far more comfortable
>>> and pleasant. The only disadvantage is the price.
>>>
>> I'll add an enthusiastic endorsement to this post, referring
>> to almost any journey one might want to make in Germany or in
>> northern Europe.
>
>
> I would support your endorsement heartily. What the US needs for safety
> and ecological reasons is fast passenger trains for short to medium
> jouneys. A true speed of 150- 200mph including stops would better most
> East Coast air traffic. If maglev tracks could be built even coast to
> coast trains might be practical.
>
The German Transrapid maglev project was finally abandoned recently
after decades of development and only one sale, the Shanghai-Pudong link.
The last failed project leading to abandonment was the Munich airport
link. The cost was finally estimated at over 3 bn Euros for the 40km
distance. In addition, a serious fatal accident on the test track in
2006 lead to doubts about the safety.
T. |