Long Beach port to move forward on maglev pilot project
Long Beach port officials plan to move forward with a magnetic levitation pilot program that proposes to create an all-electric conveyor belt system to move million of containers a year out of the two adjacent ports quietly and with little direct pollution.
Several Long Beach commissioners have made recent trips to several manufacturers of the maglev systems to evaluate the possibility of installing such a system in the port. Commissioners plan to have at least three such systems — American Maglev Technology in Georgia, Arcadis in the Netherlands, and General Atomics in San Diego — evaluated by analysts at the University of Southern California's Kelton Institute within the next several months. The USC determination could lead to port officials choosing a system to extend from the port to the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility about five miles north of the port.
Maglev technology utilizes the repulsive and attractive nature of magnets to float a vehicle above a stationary track, reducing friction and capable of very high levels of efficiency. While first patented in the early 1900s, maglev technology has undergone a renaissance in recent years with the development of high-tech magnetic materials and cutting edge research in the area of magnetic science.
The strongest impediment in the past to building large scale passenger or cargo systems has been the high cost of construction. Several existing passenger maglev systems in Japan and Germany reportedly cost upwards of $80 million per mile to build and estimates for American systems have been even higher.
Two main factors for the high costs are the individual type of levitation system used and the fact that maglev systems must be built as independent transportation systems and will not work on current infrastructure.
The three primary types of levitation technology each have their pros and cons.
Electromagnetic suspension, or EMS, uses electromagnets built into the train car to levitate above a specially designed steel rail. Requiring no secondary propulsion system to move forward, the EMS system suffers from high construction costs due to precision track required to maintain the less-than-half-inch clearance the system develops between track and train. Despite this, the EMS system has been used successfully in several commercial developments.
EDS, or electrodynamic systems, use magnets in the train car and in the track to develop much higher clearances and thus reduce the high costs of track construction. The system, however, generates extremely strong magnetic fields that can affect passengers without costly shielding of the train car. In addition, the system often requires a secondary propulsion system at low speeds.
A third technology, called permanent magnet EDS, uses rare earth or superconducting permanent magnets beneath the car to induce high clearances and eliminates the need for magnetic shielding in the train car. The system, however, requires wheels for speeds under about three miles per hour.
AMT in Georgia utilizes and advanced EMS system, Arcadis incorporates a more traditional EMS system, and General Atomics development has focused on the permanent magnet EDS technology.
The three manufacturers each boasts lower per mile construction costs, though AMT has proposed funding a roughly $80 million to $100 million version of the port project privately with no cost to the port. Last year, General Atomics estimated that the port route might be built for as little as $250 million using their technology.
Long Beach Harbor Commission President James Hankla said Monday that the port would prefer a privately built pilot project.
Hankla, who was head of the construction effort that built the $2.2-billion 20-mile-long Alameda Corridor freight rail expressway between 1998 and 2001, has spoken out in favor of the maglev program for several years and believes it could solve many port issues with pollution and traffic congestion. Hankla hopes to have the maglev project underway within 12 months. ' Keith Higginbotham