European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 19, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Riding the rails of the future Quick and quiet Blarr Thorson the associated press t s not perfectly smooth but is it fast yes a test ride on Germany s magnetic levitation trans rapid which May become the world s first intercity train of its Type who Shes along at 262.5 Mph. Its backers see mag lev As the future arriving perhaps in a decade. It s not a vision now. We have a real product Here a real train. This system is ready for real operation said Joerg Metzner Deputy director of the trans rapid research site at Lathen near the dutch Border in Northern Germany. Supporters tout its advantages it s almost twice As fast As High Speed conventional trains. It comes close to the Speed of Jet planes without White knuckle takeoffs and landings. There Are no moving parts no Wear and tear. It s not As noisy As other transport systems. It can t derail and collisions Are impossible. No Seatbelt Are required. The mag lev has t been built yet because it s new and expensive a risky investment detractors say conventional trains can be seeded up for less Money though they would t go As fast and the time that travellers would save in t Worth the capital expense anyway. Critics also expect Cost overruns like those that have plagued the Channel Tunnel and environmentalists dispute the claims of Energy efficiency and Low noise. Chancellor Helmut Kohl s Cabinet nonetheless has decided to build a 180-Miie-Long mag lev line Between Berlin and Hamburg and take world leadership in High tech ground transport if parliament and private companies Are persuaded to pay for it the dreams of its developers will be realized in 2005. The train looks i i be a fat Snake swallowing a Skinny Snake because the skirts of the trans rapid wrap around and under a Monorail embracing it one car is crammed with electronic gear to Monitor technical functions. In the passenger car seats the size of first class airline seats fill up with people who reserved places for a test ride. It can be driven in the train in the control Center or by computer Metzner said. In real operation the train will be driven  this is not the no Driver future so Driver Hans thesing manipulates a Joy stick control and we re off with a Light hum of electrical sound. _ \ the magnetic levitation trans rapid is the latest innovation in Railroad technology. Developed in Germany the mag lev is the first Railroad system to be propelled without wheels and without Contact. Its goal is to make rail traffic faster safer More profitable More comfortable and ecologically better. The system has been tested since the mid-1980s, and by 2005 May become the world s first inter City train of its Type. The basics the train usos two magnetic systems that cart propel the vehicle up to 262.5 Mph. One Tevita toe the 90-ton train 6 inches above the Monorail guide Way while Mother system wife it Forward. Most of of propulsion system is in  saving weight on the tray cof -