O.C. Officials Get Quick Feel for the Maglev

Swooshing through tree-dotted fields on a cushion of air, the Transrapid 07 magnetically levitated train rapidly gained speed.

Orange County Supervisor Don R. Roth and eight other members of the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission were aboard this gleaming white vehicle Wednesday morning as light drizzle turned to sunshine. Also aboard were a dozen business executives, engineering consultants and a few spouses.

Some seemed impressed with the train ride. Others, however, later raised questions about whether maglev technology can be efficient enough for commercial use.

Neverthess, Wednesday’s test ride went smoothly.

“Reaching 200 kilometers (124 miles) per hour,” a voice said over the train’s intercom. The train glided smoothly over a concrete beam 30 feet above the peat bogs and wet grassy fields.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now traveling at 300 kilometers (186 miles) per hour,” the voice announced.

“This is fantastic,” said Roth, a strong proponent of using this same vehicle on the 230-mile stretch between Las Vegas and Anaheim. “What just happened here made the whole trip worth while.”

Roth and several other passengers were huddled around a computer terminal that displayed the speed.

Like flying in a jetliner at 30,000 feet, there was little sensation of speed until the train passed a stand of barren trees next to a section of the 20-mile test track here.

The train’s passenger cabin was larger than some found in commercial aircraft. The quiet was punctured by a slight whine as the train sped up or slowed down.

The ride lasted only 10 minutes because part of the test track was undergoing modifications Wednesday.

Still, Roth and other passengers were elated.

“I’m impressed,” said Brian Pearson, manager of project, planning and development for the Orange County Transit District. “There’s a noticeable absence of lateral motion.”

“The smoothness is incredible,” said Buck Johns, a Newport Beach land investor who has purchased property near the Las Vegas-Anaheim train route.

But not everyone was satisfied that the Transrapid vehicle was better than the French high-speed train, known as the TGV, which the California-Nevada commission will be riding on Saturday.

“I’ve been here three times and still haven’t been able to ride the whole track and have not experienced the higher speeds that are obtainable,” said state Sen. Bill Leonard (R--Big Bear), a member of the bistate commission.

Nevada state Sen. Nick Horn agreed. “I guess I’m more skeptical than Roth and some of the other commissioners,” he said. “Today, part of the track is being fixed, and the same was true when I was here last year. We could not get up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) per hour. It makes me a little concerned about (Transrapid’s) maintenance costs.”

Later, during a luncheon hosted by Transrapid at a nearby village, Horn asked how many hours without maintenance the train has been able to run. Company officials, however, provided only a partial answer.

“Several hours,” said Rolf Kretzchmar, an engineer and president of Transrapid, a consortium of several West Germany firms. Transrapid believes that it can make a profit on the Anaheim-Las Vegas route by charging $104 round trip, compared to current air fare of $248.

“You must realize this is a test facility,” Kretzchmar said. “We are constantly gathering data and making changes, which is the way it should be.”

Officials from San Francisco-based Bechtel International, Transrapid’s U.S. partner, also participated in the discussion.

Roth, who rode the train twice Wednesday, described the experience as similar to riding the elevated train in Chicago. “It’s just amazing,” he said of the Transrapid train.

Heavily subsidized by the West German government, Transrapid is anxious to bid successfully against the French for the right to build the proposed $4-billion Las Vegas-Anaheim high-speed train system.

The bistate commission plans to choose a train system this fall.

The West Germans have been working on “maglev” technology--which uses electromagnets both to levitate and propel a train--for 20 years, but have been unable to put a single train into commercial service.

Although Transrapid service between Cologne and Dusseldorf about 33 miles away is being planned, the ministry of transportation has been hostile to maglev technology for years because the government has long embarked on a $20-billion effort to upgrade all existing railroad tracks. The goal is to achieve a minimum service standard of more than 125 m.p.h. within a year using steel-wheeled trains on steel tracks.

“Because of this, there was no incentive to go with maglev,” said Werner Menden, assistant secretary of science and technology. “But now, things are changing.”

Menden said West Germany’s highways and airports are clogged, and some government officials now see maglev trains as a way to link airports.

That is the concept behind the Cologne-Dusseldorf project. Dusseldorf’s airport is operating at full capacity, but Cologne’s is able to handle additional flights.

However, there are critics of Transrapid within West Germany.

“There are many people in Germany who probably don’t want these trains,” said Hans-Jurgen Lamla, planning director for Hamburg’s transportation agency. “They worry about climbing up escalators with bags and children. And I don’t think people want these elevated structures going through the town--people would object to how they look.”

Quality of service is more important than speed to most Germans, Lamla added.

Michael Wendt, a development and traffic consultant for West Germany’s Green Party, argued that the money spent on Transrapid trains would be better used on returning tramways to the cities and suburbs. Tramways were used in Hamburg as recently as 1978 but were removed because of conflicts with cars. He said that the party is also concerned about wind noise generated by the Transrapid 07 and that farmers don’t want the train’s support columns in their fields.

However, Transrapid officials said concerns about wind noise are exaggerated and offered to provide the results of noise tests.

Moreover, the mayor in a nearby town, on whose land the test track sits, told Roth and other passengers Wednesday that he strongly supports Transrapid.

During a pre-ride briefing, the train sped by at about 154 m.p.h. “Swoosh,” was all that anybody heard. It lasted what seemed like less than a second.

Nearby, a flock of sheep continued grazing as though nothing had happened.

Later, Roth, the commission’s vice chairman, and other visitors marveled at how quiet the train was.

“This is a solution to traffic problems,” said J.P. (Pat) Kapp, a civil engineer and a member of Roth’s entourage. “The important thing is for the politicians to make a decision. We can’t go on forever the way we were, doing nothing.”

During Wednesday’s ride on the Transrapid vehicle, Roth and company officials emphasized that about 80% of the work implementing a Transrapid system would occur in California, creating jobs.

“We’ll be back,” Roth said.

FACTS ABOUT THE MAGLEV TRAIN How it works: Maglev stands for magnetic levitation. the train “floats” over the track when electromagnet installed underneath the vehicle react with the magnetic rails installed beneath the track. PROS: Non-polluting, quiet. Uses less electricity than conventional electric trains. Reaches speeds up to 300 m.p.h. Comfortable and spacious interiors. CONS: Higher construction costs. Not yet in commercial service anywhere The trains run on a system that requires the construction of elevated structures. The Train is propelled and guided by magnetic force. The vehicles are run by two sets of magnets: One set pulls the train along the track; another set keeps it centered on the track. A monitor regulates the distance between the track and the vehicle by increasing and decreasing the electromagnetic force.