Maglev technology

George Donohue recently wrote a critique of the Baltimore to Washington Maglev project (The Capital, Feb. 20). He will find no argument from this writer as I too rise in opposition to the Northeast Maglev plans.

I object not on the merits of implementing a maglev system, but rather on the selection of an antiquated design and foreign equipment being forced as a de facto standard — in the absence of a rigorous test and certification process. We do not have to buy into the incredibly high cost of this outdated Japanese system.

Contrary to misperception, the development of superconducting maglev systems has not stood still. SCM for transportation was invented by Drs. Gordon Danby and

James Powell, senior scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory. They patented them in 1968.

Their subsequent second generation SCM permits the technology to carry heavy freight, electronically switch guideways at high speeds and a much lower cost of construction. For this, Danby and Powell were awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Engineering, an honor shared with Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Nikola Tesla, and Wernher Von Braun.

And now work is underway on third-generation maglev with high-temperature superconductors — further reducing costs.

Sadly, the U.S. Department of Transportation has remained out of the game, so maglev leadership was ceded to China, Japan, and Korea. High-speed intercity freight transport is needed by mid-century as DOT has noted an expected doubling of freight volume by 2045. Third-generation SCM can match this need.

We should not dismiss the state of the technology based upon decade-old analyses or judge an entire industry by aggressively promoted foreign technologies. We can and are doing better and this is documented in the book Maglev America. We owe it to future generations to push this technology to its natural limits in service to humankind.”

Robert J. Coullahan, Las Vegas, Nevada Editor’s note: Robert J. Coullahan is the president at Readiness Resource Group, a technology consulting group.