Kalistani Major History

[Doc]

KALENCON Explores magnetic Levitation train network for Kalistan
10 year Capital Plan would include linking Sulari with Esher with highspeed rail
Kaliburg, Ananto
August 1, 5318


A magnetic levitation prototype is demonstrated at Kaliburg Polytechic last month

Kalistani Energy Consortium, owners of Kalistan's fusion power plants, were the Keynote speakers at the recently concluded conference titled "Kalistani Infrastructure in the 54th Century." The primary focus of the conference was the pros and cons of development of a new high speed rail network for Kalistan. "We are looking into the potential for capital improvement, especially on the mainland, which will allow commuters and travelers to consider alternatives to air and automobile travel, especially ones that rely on alternative energy sources,: said panel convener and Chief of Development, Karl Norton.

The use of magnetic levitation trains can allow trains to travel at speeds up to 320 miles an hour, and while not as fast as standard air travel, the proponents of high speed trains tout the advantages to Kalistanis. "Where trains have slower speeds than aircraft, nonetheless, the time between point a and b are roughly the same due to the lack of pre-transit hassles like security and baggage loading and unloading. We anticipate that transit time between Sulari and Eshar would be roughly equivalent by plane or train, if you account for all the extra things." Norton also listed additional advantages of train over aircraft. It is far easier to train maglev operators than it is to train pilots of aircraft, opening the transit sector to significantly more operators. Additionally, Maglev trains use no fossil fuels whereas their use is unavoidable by aircraft until newer engine technology is someday designed that converts DC to thrust. "We can run more trips more often a day and make cross country travel as regular as cross city travel, increasing the potential for commuting and travel."

The panels envisioned a line running from Sulari Suldanor to Gendaris and Eshar in Odufaray as the first step linking the major Mainland port cities. Such a project could then serve as a spine for a Mainland service that branches out to Vrassa City, Port Swedes, Nevaras City, Reynoldia, and Yoshimi in Suldanor. Another service would likely run between Kaliburg- Port Davon, Luxon and Dulnerstaad. "We have not done cost analyses of how much a capital improvement project of this scale would cost," said Newton. "We are still in the project research phase. But we anticipate it would require significant public and private investment." Newton said it would be ideal to treat any construction of a Maglev train network as a public project, with the Republic holding a majority share, to ensure that it remain a public utility, and not become a money making venture for capitalist interests. "Building and maintaining such a project could be funded through self-generated funds, but for profit actors will likely not see enough ROI to satisfy them, and therefore it is unlikely that they would maintain something like this adequately to provide reliable service without significant cost being transferred onto passengers. Aircraft travel, which is entirely privatized here in Kalistan is an excellent analog: Tickets are prohibitively high for the majority of Kalistanis, given the premium on fossil fuels and the desire of the airlines to maintain their profit margin. A national high speed train network should strive therefore to be the People's Alternative."

As Newton pointed out, any plans for a national Maglev train network are still in the most preliminary phases. But Newton assured conference attendees that maglev trains are in Kalistan's future. "The only question of course is how long in that future. It is no longer a question of if, but when." Maglev has been demonstrated conceptually, is in use in other nations, and will arrive eventually in Kalistan.