Super Train Will Go 620 MPH

Chinese researchers are currently developing a train that will run at speeds up to 620 miles per hour--about twice as fast as the current record set by a Japanese train in 2003. The train will run on magnetic levitation tracks built into vacuum tubes underground and will average almost 400 miles per hour. Researchers say the trains could be ready to go in ten years.

Could the United States develop something similar even though the cost of the technology is seemingly overwhelming? Estimates are approximately $2.95 million for each kilometer of track. What I would like to know is how much energy these trains would save. "Maglev" is being promoted as a "green" technology--what would the long-term cost savings be? Read more about it at inhabitat.com.

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