The dream of a super-fast MAGLEV train whisking passengers from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., in record time has slammed into the harsh wall of reality as federal funding evaporates, per announcements from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) earlier this week. Citing a morass of planning fiascos and fiscal hemorrhages, the duo has terminated two grants that would have channeled more than $26 million into the once-promising project, according to CBS News.
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) was initially granted $27.8 million back in 2016 for the review processes required to embark on such a high-tech infrastructure endeavor. Still, ensuing environmental concerns and financial uncertainties left the project dangling in a perpetual limbo until the FRA pulled the plug last Friday. WMAR2 News reported that the project was deemed "no longer feasible" with potential "unresolvable significant effects" on numerous federal agencies, including the likes of NSA, DOD, and NASA.
Indeed, the MAGLEV harnesses magnetic fields to levitate and propel trains off their tracks, offering potential for smooth, lightning-fast travel – some models claim speeds of up to 370 miles per hour. Yet, the absence of wheels hitting the track couldn't necessarily translate into viable movement forward for the project itself, as WMAR2 News details the challenges that have now derailed it completely.
