Maglev demonstration, design and develoment plan. Final report, February 1990-August 1994

This study examines the feasibility of a regional high speed magnetic levitation (MAGLEV) system connecting the Greater Pittsburgh airport with strategic stops between the Midwest and the East Coast. A suburban commuter system, which operates on the same lines as the regional system, is also investigated. The first link of the regional and suburban MAGLEV system consists of a demonstration line connecting the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport with downtown Pittsburgh. This study considers the economic value of such a system from the aspects of transportation, manufacturing and economic development. The study concludes that an investment of $41 billion over the next 30 years would be required to build a regional MAGLEV system, cover its operating cost and produce enough additional transportation revenue to pay back part of this investment in the private sector financial markets. A substantial portion of this investment must come from the public sector. The additional economic activity generated by this investment would be over $78 billion. Over 675,000 person-years of work would be created by such a venture.The current regulatory approach to achieving ozone and related air quality standards is based on emissions estimation and modeling. In recent years, several studies have attempted to evaluate themore » emissions estimates and methods against ambient measurements by comparing non-methane organic compound (NMOC) species profiles, NMOC:NOx ratios, CO:NOx ratios, and using receptor modeling of NMOCs. Areas of interest have included the relative contributions of mobile, stationary, and biogenic sources, and evidence for underestimation of sources and/or missing sources. However, over the same time period the emission estimates have also been revised to reflect the latest information.« less