Maglev High Speed Rail Along the Northeast Corridor

This paper summarizes parts of a feasibility study prepared by the Maryland Transit Administration for the Federal Railroad Administration on a proposed magnetically levitated train project.¹ Initially the project would connect Camden Yards in downtown Baltimore with Union Station in Washington DC with a stop at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. Ultimately, it is proposed to extend the Project along the U.S. eastern seaboard north through Philadelphia and New York to Boston and south through Richmond, Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina. The paper contains an evaluation of potential air travel reduction along the east coast if maglev service were available and a comparison of energy consumption between maglev and conventional modes of travel. Finally, the paper contains estimates of reductions in carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions resulting from diversions of travel from autos and aircraft to the proposed maglev service along the eastern seaboard.