The expanding transport sector (land, water and air) are a major source of environment pollution. It is time the world looked for cleaner and less environment-polluting options for mass transport.
Two interesting options are now being developed in the USA. One is maglev (magnetic levitation) technology which makes trains like conventional ones but these trains float over the rails. It is based on the principle of magnetic poles repelling each other. Some experimental trains on trial, are now being run at over 200kph in excess of the famed super high speed Hikari electric trains in Japan. Maglev trains can run at over 600kph which is nearly half the speed of a commercial aircraft.
Another major concept, now under development that can eliminate both track friction and atmospheric air resistance, is called 'Evacuation Tube Technology) or ETT. This concept can be a tremendous breakthrough for long runs. If run under the sea, on trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific routes, it could possibly achieve speeds of over 8000 kph which will enable a traveler to go from Washington to Beijing in around two and half hours. For this mode of transport, however, we may need to use conventional power sources on land to create and maintain the vacuum along the length of the tube in which the train will run. However, it is estimated that the conventional power needed to create and maintain this vacuum will hardly be 2.0 per cent of the electric power needed to run a conventional electric train across this track length. Further, it will create far lesser pollution than is now being created by any passenger jet aircraft.
The ETT will be a luxurious passenger cabin, similar to the large inter-continental passenger jet's interior, riding smoothly on frictionless 'maglev' rails in vacuum similar to the low pressure outside any aircraft flying at around 40,000 feet above sea level. This is not a science fiction although it appears to be so. This is based on observations and experimental results carried out on actual small-scale research models. This is somewhat like the Hikary Super Express trains that were introduced in Japan, back in 1960s. It is operated by a central computer setup in Tokyo. All functions of the trains are otherwise totally automated.
These options may not be feasible for us in Bangladesh now or in the near future. However, these may be kept in view while drawing long-term plans.
The writer is an engineer.
sam@dhakacom.com
Mass transport options for the future
S. A. Mansoor | Published: April 23, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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