# Presentation: 083295

## The U.S. Maglev Deployment Program NEPA Compliance Process

- <date/time>

**The U.S. Maglev Deployment Program ****NEPA Compliance Process**

** ****Paul Valihura, Ph.D., and Amishi Joshi, Ph.D.**
**Environmental Scientists, Volpe Center**
**Cambridge, Massachusetts   **

**Notes:**
Introduce yourself.  Mention Volpe Center, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.....

We’re working with the Federal Railroad Administration, the FRA, on the U.S. Maglev Deployment Program, and today I will discuss the NEPA compliance process associated with this program.

## -Steven Spielberg, as quoted in USA TODAY, 06/24/02

- “The most futuristic thing about [*Minority Report*], and maybe the most science fiction-y thing, is the look of the Mag-Lev systems.  I saw this magnetic thing that pulls the cars and doesn’t burn any fossil fuels.  That came from my environmentally friendly mind.”

## Presentation Outline

**History of Maglev Deployment Program**
**Maglev technology**
**Programmatic environmental considerations**
**Maglev NEPA process update**
**MD**
**PA**

**Notes:**
I’ll begin with presenting a short history of the Maglev Deployment Program.  I’ll also give an overview of the Maglev technology – as part of this, I’ll be showing a very short video that can explain the technology better than I can.

I’ll then discuss the NEPA process, from the writing of a programmatic EIS to the development of site-specific EISs in MD and PA today.

## U.S. Magnetic Levitation Transportation Technology Deployment Program

- TEA-21 encouraged Maglev development & construction
- FRA was designated lead agency
- May 1999: FRA established a competitive award and selection process
- 11 proposals initially considered
- 7 states chosen to continue pre-construction planning
- Programmatic EIS prepared
- Down-selected to 2 states
- Site specific EISs currently in preparation

**Notes:**
In the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Congress authorized the Maglev Deployment Program to demonstrate the benefits of an operating transportation system employing magnetic levitation, or maglev.  The US DOT assigned the Maglev Deployment Program to the FRA for implementation.  

In order to comply with the TEA-21, FRA conducted a competitive award and selection process to demonstrate maglev in a U.S. transportation application.  In May of 1999, the Secretary of Transportation selected, from a pool of 11 applicants, seven states (or state-designated authorities) to receive grants for pre-construction planning of their maglev programs.  

To satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, FRA as the lead agency published a Programmatic EIS.  The purpose of the PEIS was to describe the Maglev Deployment Program and the potential environmental impacts associated with its possible implementation, as well as to encourage public involvement and to address agency and public concerns.  

After publication of the PEIS and associated Record of Decision, or ROD, it was decided that the Maglev Deployment Program would continue and that two of the seven states would prepare site-specific EISs.  I’ll return to the NEPA process after I describe the Maglev technology.

## Maglev Technology

- Advanced transportation                                technology utilizing                               electromagnetic forces
- System Components:
- Vehicle
- Guideway
- Central Control/Passenger Stations
- Design permits cruising speeds of 320 to 480 km/h (200-300 mph)
- Twice the speed capability of Amtrak’s Acela
- On a regional scale, competitive with air transportation

- Picture of 3-section Maglev vehicle, taken from a distance and shows the vehicle cruising along elevated guideway.

**Notes:**
Maglev is an advanced transportation technology that uses non-contact electromagnetic systems to lift, guide, and propel a vehicle over a specially designed guideway.  Without wheels or other mechanical parts to cause resistance, high cruising speeds of over 300 mph may be reached.

The deployment of an operating transportation system employing maglev would demonstrate that maglev technology could play a role in helping to address several of the main problems associated with inter- and intraregional transportation in the U.S.  

Continued economic and population growth in major metropolitan areas around the country will require transportations systems to respond to 1) increased demand for capacity, 2) greater operational congestion, and 3) increased safety deficiencies.  In addition, after 9/11, travelers seem to be looking for alternatives to air travel.  

The development of maglev may prove to be an alternative transportation option as decision makers seek to alleviate congestion in airway and automotive corridors.  The high performance of maglev transportation systems would provide air-competitive trip times at longer trip distances than do other high-speed ground transportation alternatives.  

____________________
In addition, maglev technology would potentially maximize the utilization of airports’ capability as centers for intermodal transfer and travel by providing inter-modal connections between airports and business districts.  By providing a high-speed link connecting two or more airports serving a single region, additional air travel demand can be shifted to under-used airports with additional capacity instead of requiring the expansion of existing airports.

## Vehicle

- TR08 – 8th generation vehicle from Transrapid International
- Hybrid design utilizing aluminum and foam provide a light, stiff structure

- Consist is made up of 2 end sections and 0-8 middle sections
- Each section, depending on type and seating design, can hold from 62 to 126 passengers

- Close-up picture of TR08 vehicle, stopped on guideway.

**Notes:**
Transrapid International, or TRI, has been developing maglev vehicles since 1969.  The 8th generation vehicle, the TR08 Maglev System, and some of its precursor prototype vehicles have been demonstrated and tested at the Transrapid Test Facility in Germany for more than 15 years.  

The German TRI TR08 Maglev System is the technology that has been selected for deployment by both the Pennsylvania and Maryland maglev projects.  The vehicle has a hybrid design, using Al hollow profiles and Al-clad foam sandwich panels which provide a light and stiff structure for the carriage body.

A TR08 vehicle consists is made up of two end sections and anywhere from 0 to 8 middle sections; this consist would not separate under normal operations.  

Each section can hold from 62 to 126 passengers depending on whether the section is an end or middle section and depending on the interior seating plan of the section (for example, first-class intercity seating vs high-density commuter type seating).

## GuidewayPhysical structure along which the maglev vehicle is propelled

- Steel

- Concrete

- Elevated or          At Grade

- SLIDE ANIMATION:  1st picture shows a picture of an elevated steel guideway; on mouse click, 2nd picture appears and shows a picture of an elevated concrete guideway; on mouse click, 3rd picture appears which shows a picture of a guideway  mounted at-grade – this picture is accompanied by a diagram that shows a cross-section of both the elevated and at-grade guideways.  Also evident in the diagram is how the vehicle’s levitation frame wraps around the T-shaped guideway.

**Notes:**
The guideway is the physical structure along which the  maglev vehicles are levitated, guided, and propelled.  

The guideway’s beam structure can be fabricated from steel,

concrete, or a hybrid of steel and concrete.  A flexible steel guideway crossover switch section is used for switching.

As seen in the previous two pictures, the guideway can be elevated on bridge-style columns.  The guideway can also be mounted at grade on a continuous foundation.

The vehicle’s levitation frame wraps around the T-shaped guideway to securely hold and guide the vehicle.  

## Propulsion and Guidance

- Propulsion power is provided via the guideway
- Controlled & monitored from a central operations center

- Adjusting the frequency of the alternating electric current will accelerate or decelerate the vehicle

- Graphics adapted from images provided by Transrapid International.

- Diagrammatic sketch showing a close-up of where the TR08 Maglev vehicle’s levitation frame wraps around the T-shaped guideway.  Evident in the diagram are the guidance and levitation magnets on both the vehicle and the guideway.  The guidance magnet on the inside of the vehicle’s levitation frame holds the vehicle laterally in place against the guidance rail on the side of guideway.  The levitation magnet on the underside of the vehicle’s levitation frame interacts with the stator pack on the underside of the guideway.  A small (10 mm) gap exists between the vehicle and guideway.

- Diagrammatic sketch showing a side-view of the TR08 Maglev vehicle on the guideway, with a close-up showing a schematic electromagnetic wave traveling along the stator packs in the guideway.

**Notes:**
Attractive forces between the electromagnets located in the vehicle levitation frame that surrounds the guideway (point out the orange magnets on the vehicle) and the stator packs installed on the underside of the guideway (point out the green magnets on the guideway) allow the vehicle to levitate.  

The guidance magnets located on the interior sides of the vehicle frame hold the vehicle laterally in place.  A 10mm gap separates the magnets from the guideway.

(mouse click to bring in next image and text)
A unique feature of the TRI maglev system is that the power to propel the vehicle is provided via an electric current that travels through the powered guideway. Adjusting the frequency of the electric current will accelerate or decelerate the vehicle– the higher the frequency of the current, the higher is the vehicle’s speed.  The video I will show will explain the propulsion better.

Power to the maglev system is supplied by electrical power substations that are configured to receive their power from the commercial power grid.  These substations supply power to several individual switching sections.  

Maglev vehicles are controlled and monitored from a central operations center, and the system runs in automatic mode with pre-programmed speed profiles for revenue operations.  However each train also has an attendant.

I’ll now show a short video that describes the technology better.

## Topography, Geology, and Soils
Climate
Natural Ecosystems
Wetlands
Endangered Species
Water Quality
Flood Hazard
Coastal Zone Management
Air Quality
Solid/Hazardous Waste
Vibration

**Climate**
**Natural Ecosystems**
**Wetlands**
**Endangered Species**
**Water Quality**
**Flood Hazard**
**Coastal Zone Management**
**Air Quality**
**Solid/Hazardous Waste**
**Vibration**

**Programmatic EIS**

**   ****Public Safety**
**   ****Energy**
**   ****Noise**
**   ****EMF/R**

**Socioeconomic**
**Environmental Justice**
**Land Use**
**Farm Land**
**Visual/Aesthetic**
**Historical, Archaeological, and Cultural Resources**
**Transportation**

**Notes:**
I’ll now talk about the NEPA compliance for the Maglev Deployment Program.

After the 7 state candidates were selected, the FRA entered into a cooperative agreement with each of the states.  These agreements required that each candidate prepare and submit a technical review of environmental considerations affecting their proposed project.  The information in these reviews provided the baseline environmental data that were used by the FRA in assembling the PEIS. 

The PEIS considered these factors in evaluating the environmental impacts associated with a decision on whether or not to proceed with a Maglev Deployment Program.  During the programmatic environmental analysis, little technical information was available on the newer TR08 vehicle, which was the proposed vehicle.  As such, TR07 operational parameters were used in the analysis.  

In order to ensure that technical concerns are addressed accurately, measurements of noise, vibration and electromagnetic field and radiation associated with the TR08 Maglev System have been carried out since the publication of the PEIS, and these data will be used to evaluate impacts at the site-specific level in MD and PA.

## Programmatic EIS

- Final PEIS approved in March 2001
- Used operational parameters of the TR07 since no direct technical information was available on the TR08
- ROD, executed with the PEIS, specified that EMF/R, noise, and vibration associated with the proposed vehicle, the TR08, needed to be identified
- ROD selected the Action Alternative – that the Maglev Deployment Program would continue;  work was initiated on 2 project-specific EISs for:
**MD**: a 40-mile project linking downtown Baltimore and BWI Airport to Union Station in Washington, D.C.
**PA**:  a 47-mile project linking Pittsburgh Int’l Airport to Pittsburgh and its eastern suburbs.

**Notes:**
This is basically a summary slide.  The final PEIS was approved in March 2001.

The ROD associated with this PEIS chose the Action Alternative as the agency’s Preferred Alternative.  The FRA specified the Pennsylvania and Maryland projects as offering the greatest promise for developing an operating maglev system.  

The MD Maglev Project links downtown Baltimore and Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Union Station in downtown Washington, D.C.

The PA Maglev Project links Pittsburgh International Airport to the city of Pittsburgh and its eastern suburbs.

As I mentioned already, the ROD also specified that certain environmental variables needed to be quantified for the TR08 system.

## March 2001

- August 2001 (release of reports expected 7/02)
- Draft EIS:        fall 2002
- Final EIS:      March 2003
- ROD:  late summer 2003

**Notes:**
Since the PEIS and ROD were published last year, measurements of the noise, vibration and EMF and R were made of the Transrapid TR08 system at Transrapid’s test facility in the Emsland region of Germany last summer.  The data have been analyzed and the drafts of the reports are currently being reviewed.  They should be released to the public very soon this summer. 

In the meantime, state teams in MD and PA have been working on site-specific EISs.  As data from the German measurement program becomes available to the teams, the EISs will address noise, vibration and EMF/R.  The site-specific EISs will also specify any mitigation that might be necessary.  

Public meetings have already taken place and more are scheduled for the near future.  The Draft EISs is scheduled to be released this fall, with Final drafts published in spring of next year.

Finally, depending on the findings of the EISs and the availability of funding, either one, both, or neither project will be constructed.

_____________
In case anyone asks:
MITIGATION MEASURE EXAMPLES:
Derailment?  Wrap-around design
Guideway Integrity?  Electronically monitored
Crossings?  Elevated Guideway
Emergency Stops?  Coaster Pads
Egress?  Slide/Planned Landings
Internal Incident?  Onboard Conductor
Accelerate/Decelerate?  Ergonomic Levels
Overall System?  FRA continues review

## In the meantime...

- Construction on a Transrapid Maglev project started in Shanghai, China, in March 2001.
- Connects a 19 mile route from central Shanghai to Pudong International Airport  reduces travel time from the present 45 minutes to 8 minutes.

- Source: Transrapid International

- Digitally enhanced photograph which shows a Transrapid Maglev vehicle traveling on a guideway through downtown Shanghai, China.

**Notes:**
In the meantime, construction of a TRI Maglev project is already underway in the city of Shanghai, China.  The route connects the city’s main airport too central Shanghai, and will reduce travel time, currently 45 minutes, to only 8 minutes.

Transrapid projects completion of the project in Spring 2003, and they anticipate an annual ridership of 10 million people by 2005.

## Questions??

**Questions??**

- Check out these websites for more information:
**http://www.maglevpa.com on the PA Maglev Project**
**http://www.bwmaglev.com on the MD Maglev Project**
**http://www.transrapid.de/en/index.html on Transrapid Int’l**

- Picture of 3-section TR08 Maglev Vehicle on elevated concrete guideway at the Transrapid Test Facility in the Emsland region of Germany.

**Notes:**
These are some web links you might want to check out if you’re interested in this Program.

Any Questions?