Huzzah! Plans are in the works to build a roughly $30 million maglev train from MARTA's Georgia State station to traffic-clogged Turner Field in the next couple of years, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. The Braves are partnering with a private, Marietta-based company that builds the futuristic people-movers to solve the team's faulty shuttle system. The transit project is considered essential; Braves officials call traffic congestion the primary hindrance to fan attendance. But first things first: The Braves must strike a new leasing agreement with the city before the current lease expires on Dec. 31, 2016. Talks are said to be moving along now.
The goal would be to open the one-mile maglev train system in time for the Bravos' 2015 season. Trips between the ballpark and MARTA would take less than two minutes, and each vehicle can transport 200 fans. Funding, as the newspaper reports, is expected to come from a third-party company based in Madrid. One project backer says the maglev train will be the first commercially viable one in the United States; however, at least one Atlanta booster says the idea of building a Streetcar link between the two points should not be kicked aside. How's the idea of a maglev train serving Turner Field strike you?
Braves pitch maglev train to Turner Field [Atlanta Business Chronicle; subscriber content]
[A maglev train example. Photo: veteranstoday.com]
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