High Speed Rail on its Way to Detroit?
Private investors have stepped forward with enough funding to build a prototype for a futuristic elevated rail system that would race along freeway routes between Lansing, Ann Arbor and Detroit, according to experts who testified this morning at a hearing on the proposal.
State Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton, who heads a task force looking into whether the state should grant easements for the rail line along Interstate 96, U.S. 23 and I-94, said the system is within the realm of possibility — provided private funding exists to meet the $2 billion price tag.
Connie Murry Cole of Detroit-based Interstate Traveler Company LLC, the company that developed the plan for the high-speed line, said enough funding has been identified to at least build a prototype within a year, but the location has not been determined.
The “MagLev” rail line would incorporate hydrogen and solar technology, and magnetic forces would help propel train cars along stainless steel tubes that could serve as conduits for fiber optic cable, electrical lines and utilities like water and natural gas.
“If they truly can finance it, I don’t know why it couldn’t exist,” Rogers said. “I just don’t know if the money is there.”
About 75 people attended the hearing, most from investment companies that have bought a stake in the endeavor, or from industries that hope to spin off business if the project goes forward.
Michigan State University history professor James Anderson, an economic historian, said the plan has the potential to revolutionize transportation — if it gets off the ground. He testified in support of the plan.
“It’s going to provide increased transport speed, efficiency and safety,” Anderson said. “And we haven’t even begun to count its job creation potential.”
kbouffard@detnews.com (517) 371-3660
Find this article at: http://www.detnews.com/article/20090615/POLITICS02/906150410/Company-ready-to-build-high-speed-rail-prototype
I wonder if they would include MCS in the final project. Probably not because they would rather erect a Mcstation somewhere else and call it Detroit. If anyone has any info on the MCS debacle, please chime in here. Thank you, Charles
(If I could have everyone’s attention for a brief announcement.) I don’t mean to get off the subject, but please check this out:
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/708186.html#
It’s next Saturday. All are welcome to attend!