aerodynamic maglev train travelling across a bridge over an interstate
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Maglev | United States

The Northeast Maglev company and the Central Japan Railway commissioned WSP to study the possibility of a maglev train between Washington and New York.

Location

  • Washington, DC, USA
  • New York, USA

Client

  • The Northeast Maglev

High-speed train would connect key northeast U.S. cities

The Japanese Shinkansen, or bullet train, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, providing high speed rail service across the country on a transit timetable with an unprecedented safety record.  WSP is helping to bring Japanese rail technology to the U.S. on the East Coast and in Texas.

Challenge
The northeast corridor of the United States, from Washington, D.C., to New York, is often a congested stretch of highways and rail lines. There is high demand for fast, safe and energy-efficient transportation between two of the country’s prime travel hubs.

Solution
The Northeast Maglev, a Washington-based company, recently partnered with the Central Japan Railway in commissioning a WSP study of a superconducting maglev train between Washington and New York. The train would be similar to the Chuo Shinkansen railway under construction between Tokyo and Osaka in Japan.

The train, traveling up to 311 mph as it levitates inches off the ground, would make the trip between Washington and New York in about 1 hour. It could travel between Washington and Baltimore in just 15 minutes. Eventually, the line would be extended to Boston.

WSP is providing planning, engineering, environmental and financial analysis services for the project, which is expected to be the first truly high-speed rail system in the United States.

 

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