THE HOVERTRAIN AFFAIR

A fundamental fact is that the hovertrain is not a train and probably is unlikely ever to be a convenient vehicle for making up into trains of capacity to suit different volumes of traffic or for switching between tracks. So, any hovertrain system is likely to have to use individual vehicles running in strict order, lacking completely any of the flexibility of present railway systems and ruling it out completely from consideration for any urban transport role as far as can be seen into the future. A second fact is that magnetic levitation is in its earliest infancy--and so are the basic techniques on which magnetic levitation would rely, putting a practical full-scale system probably not less than 20 years away. That leaves air levitation, which is used by the British and French vehicles--the only full-size tracked hovercraft yet built.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00268356
• Corporate Authors:

  Ian Allan Limited

  Terminal House
  Shepperton, Middlesex  England  TW17 8AS
• Publication Date: 1973-10

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 380
• Serial:
  • MODERN RAILWAYS
  • Volume: 30
  • Issue Number: 301
  • Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing, Limited
  • ISSN: 0026-8356

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Intelligent transportation systems; Magnetic levitation; Technology; Tracked air cushion vehicles
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• Old TRIS Terms: Advanced systems; Hovertrain
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00050434
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 31 1981 12:00AM