"The world's first commercial automated system was a low-speed maglev shuttle that ran from the airport terminal of Birmingham International Airport; started in 1984, this 400 meters long experience whit a top speed of about 16km/h was abandoned in 1995, because it was unreliable and replaced with a bus service due to the difficulty of getting spare parts.

In 1997, Germany decided to build 292 km-long Transrapid route
Berlin-Hamburg... and to be put into commercial operation in 2005... The construction plan had to be cancelled
in February, 2000 because new forecast indicated that the construction of the new
route might encounter the risk of suffering losses."

En Amérique, cette technologie n?a toujours pas d?application significative. Sur Internet, on découvre que le gouvernement américain a mis en opération son premier train MAGLEV - Old Dominion University Project - en septembre 2002 sur le campus du collège de Virginie (...this project, in Norfolk, VA may be the first deployment of a short-haul low-speed maglev technology for transit use on a university campus ; it will feature a 3200 foot straight line with two terminals and a mid station, travel up to 40 mph, transporting up to 140 people between stations in as little as a minute).

Mais plusieurs villes des États-Unis ont des projets en cycle d?étude:

• America?s still waiting... 1990
  The DOT, USACE, the Department of Energy (DOE), and other agencies formed the National Maglev Initiative (NMI) to conduct and coordinate further research and evaluation. The goals of the NMI were to continue the analysis conducted earlier in evaluating maglev's potential for improving intercity transportation in the United States and also to determine the appropriate role for the Federal Government in advancing this technology. About $26.2 million was spent through FY 1992 on maglev technology research and economic analysis. In FY 1993, an additional $9.8 million was appropriated to complete the NMI and conduct high priority research. Also, in December 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) authorized a $725 million maglev prototype development program but no funding has been appropriated for FY 1992 or 1993, pending the results of the NMI.
• 1998
  The federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) legislation establishes funding for a pilot U.S. Maglev project. The Las Vegas-Southern California corridor is one of seven projects in the United States selected to be supported by federal funds. The Federal Highway Administration offers to pay $950 million to one demonstration super speed train project in the country.
• 1999
  U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater announces $12 million in grants to study seven proposed Maglev projects, in Maryland, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Four other proposed projects - one each in Colorado and Virginia, and two in Alabama - are rejected for unspecified reasons.
• 2001
  The U.S. Department of Transportation (Federal Railroad Administration's Maglev Deployment Program) announced on 18 January 2001 that two Maglev projects - Pittsburgh and Baltimore/Washington - have been selected to be advanced into the next phase of work, sharing an additional $14,000,000 of federal funding. The 40-mile long project links downtown Baltimore and Baltimore-Washington International Airport with Washington, D.C. Possible future connections include Philadelphia, New York and Boston to the north, and Richmond, Raleigh and Charlotte to the south. Resource Systems Group developed the ridership models for the Pittsburgh project and will be involved in additional refinement work as these projects move forward. Other projects, such as the one for Las Vegas, may continue to move forward using other funding sources. The U.S. Senate adds $2 million to a bill funding transportation projects for next year, earmarking the funds for the Las Vegas-Anaheim Maglev project. U.S. Rep. Don Young says Southern Nevada's proposed Maglev project could be built faster and at a lower cost than other proposals under consideration for federal money, meaning the state could again be in the running for $950 million in federal money for the project.
• 2003
  The Federal Railroad Administration agrees to be the lead agency and federal sponsor for a Program Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) applicable to the entire 269-mile magnetic levitation (Maglev) train corridor operating between Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif. The EIS will include a site-specific construction level program environmental impact report (EIR) for the project?s "The First Forty Miles" from Las Vegas to Primm, Nev. In addition, the CNSSTC is granted $1.5 million in federal funding to begin preparation of the PEIS/EIS, and to further advance pre-construction design, engineering and public outreach/support for the full project.
• 2004
  May 20, Press Releases LAS VEGAS ? The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today filed an official notice of intent stating it will prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for the California-Nevada Interstate Maglev Project, in cooperation with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT). In conjunction with the filing, the FRA also announced a series of meetings in late June that will provide the public with an opportunity to review and comment on the environmental studies for the proposed high-speed magnetic levitation (maglev) train system along the 269-mile Interstate 15 corridor linking Southern California with Las Vegas. Public meetings slated in June for all five major cities on I-15 corridor route.
• 2007
  In Spring 2007, the FRA is expected to issue a Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD is the federal approval that will allow the project to proceed into final design and property acquisition.
• Congress must approve the $950 million in federal funding for the maglev project, which would create the first U.S. system of trains that magnetically levitate on a guide-way at speeds of up to 240 mph.

***

Pittsburg Maglev Project
This is one of the two projects being considered for a $950 million Federal grant. The PA Project team will incorporate the oral testimony and written comments ? and the analyses of and responses to those comments ? obtained during the 60-day public comment period from October 7 to December 7, 2005 into the project?s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). Work on the FEIS, including additional engineering and the identification of the preferred alternative for the PA Project, is expected to conclude in late 2006. After public review of the FEIS, it will be submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for final review of all environmental work associated with the project. In Spring 2007, the FRA is expected to issue a Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD is the federal approval that will allow the project to proceed into final design and property acquisition. Future progress on the PA Project is subject to federal approvals and funding availability. The initial 47 mile phase would link Pittsburg International Airport and Greensburg, with multi-modal MAGport? stations located at the Airport, in downtown Pittsburgh, Monroeville and Greensburg. Travel time for the entire route, including stops, would be 28 minutes. The projected project cost is $3 billion. Eventually, the system could link cities from Cleveland, OH to Philadelphia, PA.

Baltimore-Washington Maglev Project
This is the other project competing for the Federal grant and is currently completing an EIS. Construction could start in 2005, with commercial operation beginning in 2010. The initial 35-40 mile segment would link the downtowns of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD with an intermediate stop near the Baltimore International Airport and Amtrak/MARC stations. German Transrapid technology would be used. Travel time for the entire stretch including the stop would be 16-19 minutes. The projected project cost is $4.4 billion. By 2010, Maglev could carry 35,000 people per day, or about 4.6% of all traffic along the corridor. Fares on the full stretch may be $26.

Atlanta-Chattanooga Maglev Project
In fall 1999, the Atlanta/Chattanooga region became one of seven in the country to initially vie for the prize of $1 billion to demonstrate the first deployment of Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) train technology in the U.S. Although not selected in the competition, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has received additional funding from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), matched by Georgia DOT, to continue the study and to position the Atlanta-Chattanooga corridor for some type of high-speed rail in the future. This 110 mile segment would link Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport with Chattanooga's Lovell Field, with several intermediate stops including downtown Atlanta, the NW suburbs, and several cities in between.

Le Groupe Vaugeois avait d?ailleurs sa réflexion toute faite à cet égard : « Les grandes économies mondiales sont et seront celles qui auront pu asseoir la prospérité de leurs campagnes sur le rôle central que joueront leurs métropoles dans le commerce mondial (...) Montréal a perdu la bataille de l'axe est-ouest. À qui doit-elle désormais se brancher en priorité pour accéder davantage au monde ? (...) En ligne droite, il y a très exactement 545 km de Montréal à New York, 12 de moins que de New York à Toronto. »

En clair, le Québec ne doit pas attendre que la rivale Toronto se décide la première ! « L'idée n'est pas de construire un train, mais de réaliser le plus grand projet de société qui soit aujourd'hui : s'armer pour conquérir les Amériques », signait un des supporteurs du projet Jean-Paul Garnier, dans le même document de présentation que nous avons pu consulter.

UN PPP QUI CHANGERAIT LE QUÉBEC
« Oui, nous avons pris la relève du Groupe Vaugeois, qui est démantelé officiellement, mais à qui il faut donner le crédit pour l'initiative de ce projet», nous explique Gérard Berlinguette en entrevue exclusive.

« Ce que nous proposons, c?est sa réalisation à partir d?un partenariat public-privé (PPP) qui changerait radicalement l?économie du Québec. Imaginez 5 millions de visiteurs supplémentaires chaque année, amenant 5 milliards $US de nouveaux revenus annuellement dans l?économie québécoise », argumente l?homme d?affaires, qui imagine très bien Bombardier fabriquer les wagons en aluminium à l?étape de la construction.

Comment est-il arrivé dans cette aventure ? À la lecture d?un document promotionnel de l?époque, on découvre que son fils, Luc Berlinguette, était vice-président finances du Groupe Vaugeois (le président Sylvain Vaugeois est maintenant décédé). Ce qui avait aidé le père à réaliser des études à propos du projet version TGV à l?époque. Mais le fils n?est plus dans le coup, confirme le principal intéressé. Le paternel, bachelier en science du Collège Sir George Williams, récipiendaire de la Médaille de la Confédération en 1967, qui a une longue feuille de route derrière lui comme gestionnaire et administrateur, assure aussi qu?un consortium bancaire allemand serait prêt à financer totalement ce projet, « en échange de garanties d?achalandages par les gouvernements ». Rien d?autre n?est demandé comme apport public dans cette version méga d?un PPP ; pas un seul sou des gouvernements. À 15 millions $ le kilomètre, pour 600 kilomètres en voie simple, on parle pourtant d?un méga projet de l?ordre de 9 milliards $ !

?Based on the experience in Shanghai, the cost of the German Maglev technology would be much closer to $60 million a kilometre than the $2 million suggested previously (...) In contrast, our company is focused on building cost-effective transportation options and our Maglev technology runs out at about US$10M per KM depending on how many components can be manufactured locally.?
Tony Morris, President and CEO, American MAGLEV, Inc.
(Source: www.thedailystar.net/2003/08/18/d30818110369.htm )

De centre-ville à centre-ville, le trajet Montréal-New York prend actuellement plus de 3 heures en avion, 7 en voiture et près de 10 en train. Avec un tarif moins cher que l?avion, le choix en train MAGLEV s?imposerait naturellement. Gérard Berlinguette est aussi de ceux qui pensent que ce train deviendrait une attraction touristique en lui-même.

« (...) Et avec la même technologie, on pourrait parcourir la distance Québec-Montréal en 45 minutes, incluant un arrêt à Trois-Rivières, plutôt que trois heures actuellement », nous précise-t-il également, sans pour autant confirmer qu?il en fait actuellement un élément de son plan d?affaires.

Les considérations environnementales amènent aussi des arguments en faveur d?un tel projet :

"Approximately one fourth of the fossil fuels consumed worldwide is needed for transportation. And there is a weighty price tag attached to it: environmental pollution through carbon dioxide and particulate matter, cardio-vascular diseases, and a high number of traffic-related fatalities. According to statistics by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1.2 million people die in traffic-related accidents every year the world over. This trend is on the rise: in countries such as China and India, the traffic volume grows between seven to ten percent per year. In the European Union, which in only a few years will boast approximately 30 member states and a population of about 560 million, road traffic is growing considerably due to its new EU countries. The dominance of the car remains unchallenged and the volume of traffic will increase even further because we have not adjusted our thinking to obvious facts."
(Source: www.500kmh.com )

Évidemment, le fait qu?un train MAGLEV ne puisse pas aller outre son propre réseau de voies représente un désavantage important. Mais tellement d?autres considérations doivent aussi être prises en compte...

Chose déjà certaine, ce qui est à la fois la force et la faiblesse de ce projet, c?est son audace. Aucune liaison de cette importance ne s?était encore insérée dans les cartons des ingénieurs. Ce qui se rapproche le plus du Montréal-New York serait le projet de Las Vegas (avec ses 269 milles).

L?homme en est aux premières démarches de promotion de son initiative. Il ne lui donne même pas encore de nom formellement, n?a pas approché les autorités concernées, ni fait de grandes présentations, outre une lettre au cabinet du maire de la Ville de Montréal. Il faut d?abord vendre l?idée, croit Gérard Berlinguette. Les médias d?abord !

Voilà qui est fait. Attendons la suite !

______
NOTES :
Conclusions et recommandations conjointes d?une étude New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) et du Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) :