Although a high-speed, magnetically levitated train line may be years away, if ever, possibilities are looking up a bit for Maglev Inc. and its partners who propose building a prototype segment between Downtown and Pittsburgh International Airport.
Both the U.S. House and Senate last week approved "technical corrections" to a federal transportation funding bill that will provide $90 million for continuing nationwide research and development of maglev technology.
Of that money, $45 million is to go to a group lobbying for a system
between Las Vegas and California, while the other $45 million is
earmarked for "existing projects east of the Mississippi River" --
Atlanta-Chattanooga, Tenn.; Baltimore-Washington, D.C.; and the
Pennsylvania Project consisting of Maglev Inc., the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation, the Port Authority of Allegheny County
and Transrapid International, the Germany-based firm that has already
built an airport line in China.
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