BusinessTN

If transportation is the gateway to commerce, Chattanooga is vying for a place in the fast lane.

In partnership with Atlanta, Chattanooga is working on plans to build a high-speed magnetic levitation train between the two cities. The futuristic train would make the trip from Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport to Chattanooga’s Town Center in less than an hour, including three stops along the route.

The German-engineered vehicle—called Transrapid—glides above a fixed guideway, supported, directed and propelled by magnetic force. It can reach speeds greater than 250 mph. Right now, the only commercially operated maglev train is in Shanghai, China.

“People don’t stop and think about the impacts of transportation—whether it’s an airport or an interstate system. Business is basically conducted by transportation routes,” says Tom Dugan, executive director of the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority and a charter member of the Atlanta-Chattanooga maglev committee.

One of the first businesses to benefit from the high-speed line would be the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, says Joe Ferguson, CEO of the Enterprise Center, which manages the maglev project for Chattanooga.

“People living on the north side of Atlanta could get here faster on the maglev than they could get to Hartsfield,” Ferguson says. “If we take a look at I-75 and travel between Chattanooga and Atlanta right now, it gets to be iffy how long it will take to do that. Since we started this [project], I can’t tell you how many people have told stories about being caught in a traffic snarl, then missing a meeting or missing a flight.”

Plus, he says, there are people who would prefer Chattanooga’s small airport to Atlanta’s sprawling facility.

If this project is successful, the possibilities open wide.

“I can see high-speed ground or maglev coming from Savannah, through Atlanta, to Chattanooga, then Nashville, onto Louisville and eventually on up to O’Hare,” Ferguson says. “Then, you’ve got the busiest two airports—Atlanta and Chicago—linked through Chattanooga.”

As with any trend-setting technology, the price is considerable.

“I’m hearing numbers of $15 to $25 million for the planning process. Full-blown construction from Hartsfield to Chattanooga, I’m hearing in the vicinity of $3 billion to $5 billion,” Dugan says. “Since it’s something that has not been built here, I wouldn’t want to commit myself to that budget, but those are numbers we’ve been hearing from people involved in the Shanghai project.”

In 1999, the Atlanta-Chattanooga team competed against six other groups for $1 billion from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to fund construction of the rail line. Passed up in favor of Baltimore/Washington and Pittsburgh projects, the team pressed forward. The Atlanta Regional Commission gained additional funding from the FRA, matched by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Actual work on the project won’t start unless Congress authorizes a transportation bill with money earmarked for a national high-speed rail system.

Ferguson says one trip on the Shanghai train would be enough to convince lawmakers.

“I was in Shanghai in October with about 20 people, and after the ride we all looked at each other and said, ‘We’ve just got to do this.’”

Dugan says the earliest anyone can expect to board a maglev in Chattanooga is 2010 or 2015.