The Transit
A 21st Century Vision of Magnetically Levitated High-Speed Transportation
Virtually every proposal for high-speed ground transportation in America recommends investments in magnetically levitate train systems. This science fiction story is a visionary account of the same technology applied to the automobile.
The year is 2044 and my wife and I have just purchased a new travel van. It has a sleek silver-blue fuselage, tan leather interior, and lots of glass with variable tint control. As a kick-off to our annual vacation we decided to take it on a test run to the west coast and spend the weekend with our daughter and her family.
The time is 7:30 on a Friday morning when we roll out of the garage from our home in Huntsville Alabama. The rush-hour traffic is heavy so it takes about ten minutes to get through the school zones out to the I-565 junction. We head west on the Atlanta to Memphis interstate, one of the first in the country to plan for the Transit system running along its route. At 7:45 A.M. we pass the Huntsville International Airport and take the first exit to the left between the opposing lanes of the old interstate. This is the entrance ramp to the magnetically levitated Transit system called T-565 for Transit 565.
After passing through the toll registration scanner the dash board console changes from manual to auto-pilot and flashes up the entry information:
Time: 7:46 A.M.
Date: October 18, 2044
Entry Station: Huntsville Alabama
Destination: _____?
I pull up the reference map on the navigation screen and scan over to the west coast area to search out our destination.
Our vehicle starts accelerating from 110 to 160 kilometers per hour when we hear the undercarriage guidance wings extending and locking into the side walls of the track and the wheels retracting into the wheel wells. The ride smooths out and the acceleration becomes much more noticeable. We are pressed tight into our seats as we hang on for the van’s insertion into the Transit corridor.
At insertion into the corridor just past Greenbriar we have accelerated to a cruising speed of 480 kph. The traffic is heavy but the flight is smooth and quiet as we glide along levitated about 15 centimeters above the track. The sun has peaked over the horizon above Montesano Mountain behind us and glistens off the windshields of the oncoming traffic. The side walls are low except at the banked curves so the view across the interstate and over the city is beautiful on this clear fall morning.
It is 7:48 A.M. when we cross the T-65 junction the console beeps again and asks me politely to enter our destination code. I had forgotten to finish that task having been momentarily distracted by the acceleration and the blur of the passing rush-hour traffic next to us on I-565. We look again at the screen and my wife points out the destination, California at the Los Angeles / Anaheim Station. We are planning to meet our daughter son-in-law and the two grandchildren for dinner this evening and enjoy some of the entertainment in town tonight and tomorrow. That’s right, I said “this evening”. Huntsville Alabama to Anaheim California by van in less than a day.
As we round over the Tennessee River bridge and around Decatur I can see past the truck in front of us and notice that there are two cars a bus and a long line of traffic ahead; behind us is a transporter, all spaced about a meter apart. A little tight but the vehicles always seem to bunch up when passing through the commuter traffic in the big cities. By eight o’clock we hit more open country and the spacing spreads to a more comfortable twenty meters. The sky is clear and the hill tops are starting to show their fall colors across this north Alabama — southern Tennessee route.
At 8:30 A.M. I announce that I am hungry. We aren’t much for eating first thing in the morning so it was about time for a breakfast snack. Checking the screen we find the next one located on the east side of Memphis at the T-40 interchange. As I reach toward the console to select the Memphis exit it flashes red and the Forest City exit highlights green. We had already gone through the T-40 interchange and missed the Memphis exit. Upon entering the tunnel under the Mississippi River to Arkansas I press the screen for the Forest City junction. About six minutes later a warning light and alarm come on indicating that we are approaching the Forest City exit and that we should prepare ourselves for deceleration. The track widens and the left guidance wing releases from the side wall. Our vehicle transfers over following the right wall onto the exit ramp while the other vehicles in front and behind us continue straight locked into the left wall of the corridor.
The deceleration is quick firm and presses us tight against our lap and shoulder restraints. I brace myself by grabbing the steering wheel and check the console in preparation for the transfer back to manual control. At 160 kph the motorized wheels drop out of the wheel wells and screech briefly as the tires spin-up and land on the pavement, and at 110 kph the guidance wings release from the side walls and retract into the undercarriage of the fuselage. We are back on manual control. As we pass through the toll scanner and exit on to the local streets a computerized voice states the current mileage and toll, “Huntsville to Forest City is 425 kilometers; your toll charge will be $40.38,” and the battery gauge indicates a full charge — topped off in route. I confirm the charge so it can be withdrawn from our debit account.
When we get to the restaurant I reach behind the seats for our jackets. The gages on the console indicates that it is cool and windy outside. It is 8:45 A.M. when we sit down for breakfast in Forest City, Arkansas.
At 9:15 A.M. we re-enter the transit system and translate over to a new high-speed corridor. This is a new lane that parallels the old T-40 Transit, but faster for the newer model vehicles like ours. At 720 kph it takes about 15 minutes to reach the eastern edge of Little Rock where we slow back down to the normal cruising speed through the city and the rougher terrain. We pass through several tunnels including one that goes under the downtown area. This high-speed section is the tail end of a new corridor for T-40 that goes back east through Memphis Nashville Knoxville and up through Virginia to Washington D.C. It stops at Little Rock due to the rougher terrain through the southern edge of the Ozark Mountains but will eventually be upgraded there too. At 480 kph we are still making pretty good time.
The skies start to cloud up as we leave Little Rock, and it begins to rain. The showers create a contrasting dead silence to low toned roar as we pass in and out of the tunnels along the foot hills parallel to I-40 and the Arkansas River Valley. What little bit we can see of the foot hills to the Ozark Plateau are in beautiful fall colors. As we pass into Oklahoma the temperature drops and the rain changes to a light mixture of sleet and snow flurries.
It is 10:40 A.M. when we pass through the Oklahoma City station and enter another high-speed section that runs toward Albuquerque. The clouds begin to break-up and it looks like clear weather ahead. Several cars in front of us have to take the exit ramp to the old interstate I-40 due to the high speed aerodynamic and safety requirements for this section. There are alternatives for those vehicles like the car carrier that comes up on the entrance ramp beside us as we leave the west side of town. This carrier is longer than the typical single car rental units available at most transit stations. It is about the size of a small bus and can hold three small cars or two large ones or in this case a real antique — an old gasoline powered 4x4 trailering a pair of snow mobiles. The carrier let us pass and merges into the corridor a few meters behind us. Like the busses and transporters it fits tight into the full 3-meter width of the track with short undercarriage wings locked into the side walls. In front of us is a late model sports car barely 2 meters wide plus half meter wings extended on each side — and in front of him another carrier that appears to have an old truck inside filled with livestock. Single car and double car carriers completely automated and controlled from the seat of my old conventional automobile. That means I can keep my old pick-up with a camper trailer and still use the Transit.
The Oklahoma City to Albuquerque section to the T-40 transit is as straight as an arrow for as far as you can see. No turns or elevation changes are apparent as we race across the low rolling plains into the Texas pan-handle. The landscape seems barren with few trees, but is scattered with abandoned oil and gas wells interspersed with herds of buffalo and ranch dwellings. The track has a transparent wind screen canopy that enclose the lanes in each direction. Inside the air velocity is kept consistent in the direction of travel like a transonic wind tunnel to assist the vehicles in obtaining their 1200 kph cruising speed; Mach1!
At 11:05 A.M. an alarm signal comes on indicating an upcoming turbulence and speed adjustment. We brace ourselves, but the ride through the Amarillo station is not as rough as I thought it might be. From the activity we could see outside the canopy is was apparent that construction is still in progress on the T-27 spur to Lubbock Texas. A single car carrier and a triple car passenger train pull up the entrance ramp along our right side and merge into slots in front and behind us.
The high-speed section stops short of Albuquerque as the terrain becomes more rugged at the foothills to the Rocky Mountains. It’s a little past 11:30 so we decided to exit the transit system at the T-25 junction and look for a place to eat lunch in Albuquerque New Mexico.
After cruising the streets a few minutes we decide to eat light at a deli in downtown Albuquerque. After finishing a good meal we shop around a while to exercise and walk off lunch. Even though the skies are clear and sunny the wind is cold so we cut our walk short and head back to the van. It is 1:00 P.M. when we get back to the Albuquerque transit station to continue our journey west.
Our route to the west of Albuquerque through the rugged Rocky Mountains terrain varies as it moves from I-40 to the old Atlantic — Pacific Railroad corridor up the Rio Puerco River Valley towards Campbell’s Pass and the Arizona state line. Some sections on this part of the Transit winds around the hills and mountains instead of through them with high banked curves that press us tight into our seats. The sights over and around the mountains are beautiful but the varying g-forces start making me feel a little queasy. I recline my seat to get a little more comfortable and read — my wife does the same.
Before we know it it is after 3:00 in the afternoon. The gauges indicate that it is warmer outside and the view looks like we are in the middle of a desert. I check the console to see where we are — Needles California. We are almost there but we have slept through Arizona. I check the console for the next exit which is the Ludlow junction to take a break and stretch our legs a little.
At 3:30 P.M we are back on the Transit system for the final leg of our journey. Our track continues to follow the old interstate system as T-40 merges with T-15 and heads south for Los Angeles. My wife calls ahead to our daughter to let her know where we are and that we will be by their house in about 30 minutes. She is surprised to hear from us because it is so early. She is still at work and our grandchildren are still in school. We had forgotten about the time changes— it is just now a quarter till two Pacific Time. She said she had to leave in a few minutes to pick up the kids from school so if we wanted to go on to Anaheim we could all meet at a local amusement park. After discussing this for a few minutes we decide to surprise the kids and pick them up ourselves.
It is 4:00 Central, 2:00 Pacific Time when we exit the transit system on to the interstate headed toward Anaheim. I ask for a trip total for the day and it rings up 3,320 kilometers for $315.40. Not bad for a leisurely drive across the continent. By 2:30 P.M. we have made it to our grandchildren’s elementary school to pick them up — they are surprised.
We have dinner that evening at an amusement park restaurant as planned and spend that evening and return the next day to enjoy the entertainment with our family. On Sunday we have a picnic in a park and spend the afternoon on the beach. The food is good the weather has warmed up and it is good to spend some time with the family again. And it has been especially nice to travel in the comfort of our own van without having to spend three exhausting days getting there or a whole day chasing down flights through the airport terminals.
As you can see this Transit will compete directly with the airlines for 1994 business. But in 2044 the airlines will be flying coast to coast in two hours and intercontinental flights will be doing New York to Japan in four which includes a two hour stop over at a space hotel and transfer station in low earth orbit. The commuter flights aren’t hurt either because they have expanded to more cities with their vertical landing systems for inner city terminals.
Well it’s Monday morning and time to go home. We’re thinking about taking a different route maybe the T-5 up to Seattle and the T-90 to T-65 back through Chicago. I hear the run from the Badlands to Madison Wisconsin is a real blast.
Epilogue:
This story was originally written in 1994 as a 2024 vision, but 2024 is here and we are no where near having this technology. So I changed the vision date to 2044. I now think the magnetic levitation system can be built into roadways and that automated navigation can keep them on track without the sidewalls and locking fins. We’ll see.