Planning for high-speed ground transportation

The initial planning for the Northeast Corridor High-Speed Groatd Transportation System and the role of an edncational institution in assisting in the formulation of a basic poggy deciskm are described. Several options were available to the Northeast Corridor Project of the Federal Government, ranging from the least change which consisted of improving the present rail system in the Northeast Corridor to provide better and more frequent service to the most radical change--developing a wholly new system to operate at significantly higher speeds. An interdisciplinary group from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology proposed to the U. S. Department of Commerce that the Federal Government embark on a research and development program that would permit the selection and engineering of a new high-speed ground transportation system. This recommendation was adopted and subsequently implemented. A description is presented of initial results of the research program under way at M.I.T. under the sponsorship of the U. S. Department of Transportation including work on scheduling, control, suspension systems, propulsion, vehicle and tube aerodynamics, and some infrastructure or guideway problems.