High Speed DC-Baltimore Maglev Train Planned, If NSA Can Be Convinced

Move over, Elon Musk and West Coast “Hyperloop” plans — the East Coast now has its own admirable high speed train project, if it ever manages to get approval from federal bureaucrats. The maglev train — or superconducting magnetic levitation train, for science nerds — would shuttle commuters between Washington, DC and Baltimore at a top speed of 311 miles per hour.

A proposed maglev project — similar to the Japanese train pictured above — would allow commuters to reach Baltimore from DC in about 15 minutes, developers claim. Most of the track would be deep underground, at a depth between 10 to 100 stories beneath the surface.

The technology has been popular in Japan for years, and this would be its first implementation in North America.

The project has its critics in powerful places, though — one of which is the National Security Agency (NSA). As the train would use high voltage electromagnetic fields to push the train cars forward, some at NSA are reportedly concerned that it could affect sensitive equipment deep beneath the ground in the Washington and surrounding Maryland area.

“An NSA official with knowledge of the discussions and authorized to speak about the concerns said the issues regarding potential electromagnetic interference still exist, after they were initially recorded in a federal document in November 2018.

The potential problems are now being addressed by both the maglev developers and the agencies, with engineering details not yet specific enough to determine how the issues may ultimately shape the project,” as MSN has reported.

C’mon, deepstate! Figure out a way to make this work — a fast alternative to the Beltway would be a win for all of us, and it’d be nice to be in Baltimore in about 15 minutes.