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Swissmetro is a proposed Swiss transportation system based on vacuum-train (also known as vactrain) technology. [1] It was invented by Swiss engineer Rodolphe Nieth in 1974 and it is presently being promoted and developed as SwissMetro-NG ("NG" for New Generation).
The Swissmetro project was presented in a special report [2] by Rodolphe Nieth, Martin Steiger and Jean-Francois Braillard in 1980. It proposed vehicles travelling at very fast speeds in a network of underground tunnels. Rolling resistance was eliminated with magnetic levitation, as in the Transrapid of Germany and air resistance was reduced by lowering the air pressure in the tunnels to around 10% of the normal atmospheric pressure. Propulsion was electrical (linear motors). The travel time between Bern and Zürich would have been reduced from around 1 hour by intercity train or motorcar to a mere 12 minutes with Swissmetro.
The objectives were to connect Swiss urban centres with a fast, modern, sustainable, transport system and reduce or even eliminate the congestion on the Swiss highways and railways without negatively impacting the Swiss landscapes and cities.
The system was developed by Swissmetro Ltd., with Swiss senator of the Canton of Ticino, Dr. Sergio Salvioni [3] as president. The research and development were led by EPFL Professor Marcel Jufer. This was done by the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (EPFL and ETHZ) and Swiss engineering and industrial companies with some financial support of the Swiss Federal Government. [4] [5] The project was ready to be implemented and an application for a concession for a pilot track between Geneva and Lausanne was made in 1998. At this time, however, the Swiss Federal Government was already fully absorbed with large national infrastructure projects (Rail 2000, Gotthard AlpTransit, etc.). In addition, the Swiss Federal office of Transportation (BAV-EVED) had some reservations (switch, capacity, safety, choice of the pilot track, financial concepts, etc.). [6]
SwissMetro-NG is the modern version of the original project. It is, so to speak, the version 2.0, which was proposed by the Swiss Transportation Research Institute. [7] Air resistance and aerodynamic problems are eliminated altogether by removing all of the air in the tunnels. The tunnel diameter and consequently the overall costs are significantly reduced (around 50%). A new switch allows a drive-through operation without stopping. Long vehicle compositions with high capacities (over 1200 seats) as well as an extraordinarily high performance (supersonic) become possible. The reservations of the BAV-EVED are resolved.
The conditions for the resumption of the Swiss project are now very favourable (completion of Rail 2000 and Gotthard Alptransit, low interest rates, new technical advances, etc.). In addition, SwissMetro-NG meets all possible requirements regarding CO
2 emissions, landscape protection, speed, sustainability, tourism, capacity, safety, costs, network capability, economic efficiency, etc. and it has proponents from all political colours and all corners of the country. The non-profit SwissMetro-NG association [8] [9] is promoting the project.
In 2017, Konrad Graber, Swiss senator of the Canton of Lucerne brought the SwissMetro-NG project to the attention of Parliament. It was positively received and decisions in its favour are being made. [10] [11] [12] It is now becoming increasingly likely that SwissMetro-NG will be realized.[ citation needed ]
Because of its high performance and capacity, the system can draw traffic away from short-haul aviation and intercity highways and thus reduce CO
2 emissions whilst simultaneously improving the transportation services. The travel time between the major Swiss cities, e.g. Geneva to Bern or Bern to Zürich, will be reduced to 12 minutes. In comparison, it still requires over 3 hours to traverse Switzerland today, independent of the mode of transportation and despite the small size of the country.
By exporting the system and the components, Switzerland will be able to help reduce CO
2 emissions of intercity and transcontinental transportation on a global scale.
Switzerland has a dense network of roads and railways. The Swiss public transport network has a total length of 24,500 kilometres and has more than 2600 stations and stops.
Transrapid is a German-developed high-speed monorail train using magnetic levitation. Planning for the system started in the late 1960s, with a test facility in Emsland, Germany inaugurated in 1983. In 1991, technical readiness for application was approved by the Deutsche Bundesbahn in cooperation with renowned universities.
The Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon-Bahn (BLS), known between 1997 and 2006 as the BLS Lötschbergbahn, was a Swiss railway company. In 2006 the company merged with Regionalverkehr Mittelland AG to form a new company called BLS AG.
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Maglev is a system of rail transport whose rolling stock is levitated by electromagnets rather than rolled on wheels, eliminating rolling resistance.
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Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
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The Shanghai maglev train (SMT) or Shanghai Transrapid is a magnetic levitation train (maglev) line that operates in Shanghai, China. The line uses the German Transrapid technology. The Shanghai maglev is the world's first commercial high-speed maglev and has a maximum cruising speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). Prior to May 2021 the cruising speed was 431 km/h (268 mph), at the time this made it the fastest train service in commercial operation.
A vactrain is a proposed design for very-high-speed rail transportation. It is a maglev line using partly evacuated tubes or tunnels. Reduced air resistance could permit vactrains to travel at very high (hypersonic) speeds with relatively little power—up to 6,400–8,000 km/h (4,000–5,000 mph). This is 5–6 times the speed of sound in Earth's atmosphere at sea level.
The Baltimore–Washington Superconducting Maglev Project (SCMAGLEV) is a proposed project connecting the United States cities of Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., with a 40 miles (64 km) maglev train system between their respective central business districts. It is the first segment of the planned Washington-New York Northeast Maglev project. The maglev proposal is not related to the Baltimore–Washington hyperloop proposed by the Boring Company.
The Zimmerberg Base Tunnel (ZBT) is a railway tunnel under the Zimmerberg mountains in Switzerland. Phase I of the tunnel was opened to traffic during April 2003.
Rail 2000 is a large-scale project of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) established in 1987 to improve the quality of the Swiss rail network for the New millennium. It includes measures to accelerate a number of existing connections and the modernisation of rolling stock. The federal government decision to support the project in 1986 was approved by a referendum in 1987. In 2004 the first phase was completed consisting of around 130 projects with a budget of around CHF 5.9 billion.
The Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), also known as the Guangshengang XRL, is a high-speed railway line that connects Guangzhou and Hong Kong (Kowloon) via Shenzhen.
High-speed rail in Switzerland consists of two new lines and three new base tunnels, including the world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunnel: the Gotthard Base Tunnel whose length is 57 km (35 mi). Each of these tunnels have a technical maximum speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), which is reduced, at least in the Gotthard Base Tunnel and the Ceneri Base Tunnel, to a maximum authorized speed of 230 km/h (145 mph), for environmental and economic reasons.
Northeast Maglev is a private U.S. company proposing a maglev train system in the Northeastern United States. The company aims to use the SCMaglev superconducting maglev system developed by the Central Japan Railway Company to provide 15-minute service between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., with an intermediate stop at BWI Airport, and ultimately connect major Northeast metropolitan hubs and airports with a goal of one-hour service from Washington, D.C., to New York City.
Sergio Salvioni (1927-2017) was a Swiss politician and a member of the Swiss Council of States from the Canton of Ticino. He was the son of Arturo and Erminia Salvioni and grandnephew of Prof. Carlo Salvioni, professor of philology and dialectology at the University of Pavia.
In addition to the direct reduction in travel times the HSR project will produce, there are also economic and environmental impacts of the high-speed rail system. These were also specifically noted in Proposition 1A at the time the project sought authorization from the voters of the state in 2008. The anticipated benefits apply both generally to the state overall, as well as to the regions the train will pass through, and to the areas immediately around the train stations.
