In Shanghai China, a German firm is building a Transrapid link to whisk people 20 miles (33km) between downtown and Pudong International Airport at speeds of 270 mph (430 kph). That trip will take less than 10 minutes when the project is complete late in 2003. If the train is a business success a 780-mile (1300km) link between Shanghai and Beijing may follow.

With skies crowded by aircraft, airports running out of space and located miles from downtown destinations, security issues right in your face, the thought of fast train transportation between city centers is very tempting. The recent tragedies of September 11 have boosted traffic on Amtrak's Acela by 40% between, Washington, New York and Boston.

The train technology getting the most attention today is magnetic levitation, maglev for short. The object is to use magnetic forces to keep the train floating just above the surface of the track. Magnetic fields are activated by computer controlled electric current flowing through the coils of powerful electromagnets located both on the train and on the track. The train essentially floats in the air without contact with the rails.

Propulsion is achieved by applying the needed electricity to the electromagnets, lined up under the cars, sequentially one after the other, pulling the train continuously toward the next stationary magnet. The faster the magnets are sequentially energized the faster the train travels. Slowing the rate of current applied to the magnets slows the train while reversing the sequence will stop the train and reverse its direction.

A ride on one of these trains as they float in air is smoother than in an aircraft. There are few air-pocket bumps, travel is on a level plane and there is practically no sound as you are whisked at speeds equal to that of many airliners.

In the United States there are several plans and programs lending hope that people there can get to use this incredible form of transportation. The Department of Transportation is in the process of selecting a route and a vendor for a $950 million maglev train. Either a Baltimore Washington connection or a train between downtown Pittsburgh and the International Airport is set to be funded in 2003.

On the west coast there is a project seeking funding and governmental approvals that would connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. This corridor is one of the heaviest traveled in the U.S. The plan is to send travelers at speeds between 150 and 250 mph (240 and 400 kph) allowing a trip of less than 3 hours.

In Florida Maglev 2000 is looking for financing to connect Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center with Orlando. It would be designed to carry both passengers and freight using updated maglev technology from Japan. Each train car would weigh 35 tons with full passenger loads and 50 tons when loaded with containers or trucks.

The cost of building a brand new rail line ranges from $15 to 60 million per kilometer (0.6 miles). That stops a lot of politicians in their tracks considering that upgrading existing tracks cost about half that. Many U.S. high-speed train boosters suggest that we ought to just get started upgrading tracks and systems. We would then find out just how much revenue high-speed rail service could produce and how much paying customers would use the trains.

As the U.S. ponders its role the Japanese are about to take another big technology jump. Using super cooled superconducting magnets test trains are now operating at more than 310 mph (500kph). The superconducting magnets are located at both ends of each car and as the train glides along, the magnetic field induces electrical current in the stationary roadway coils creating an opposing magnetic field that keeps the train levitated above the track. The train runs on rubber wheels until speeds exceed 100kph when the wheels retract.

The technology is here and the need is here. Lets get some steam behind the U.S. based projects. Sorry. Better make that levitation not steam.