US company sets up maglev advisory board
An advisory board has been set up to support a project to bring Japan’s Superconducting Maglev technology to the USA.
The Northeast Maglev (TNEM) has named a team of seven former government officials and senior industry executives who will work alongside the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) to drive plans for a 311 mph maglev system between New York and Washington DC.
TNEM believes that a high-speed maglev system bring economic benefits to cities along the east coast corridor – a region that contributes $2.25 trillion (15 per cent) of the US gross domestic product.
Built as a public-private partnership initiative, the system would transport passengers from New York to Washington in just one hour, outstripping the two hours 45 minutes it currently takes on Amtrak’s ‘high-speed’ Acela service.
Senator Tom Daschle, who will head the new board, said: “Imagine catching a 7.30 am train in New York City and arriving in time for a 9.00 am meeting on Capitol Hill. Or imagine travelling from BWI Airport to downtown Washington, DC in eight minutes.
“That will be the reality for millions of Americans if we can move forward with this important project, revolutionizing business and leisure travel and bringing tremendous economic benefits to the region.”
Advisory board members include:
- Tom Daschle, Former Senator and Senate Majority Leader
- George Pataki, former New York Governor
- Mary Peters, former US Secretary of Transportation under George W. Bush
- Kevin Plank, CEO and founder of Under Armour
- Ed Rendell, former Pennsylvania Governor
- Rodney Slater, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation under Bill Clinton
- Doug Steenland, former CEO of Northwest Airlines
- Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey Governor