A major objective in the design of the Aerorail system is to drastically increase operation efficiency compared to traditional mass transit systems. The vehicles are designed to reduce energy costs (usually more than 25% of the operating cost of a system) through the use of high voltage high efficiency motors, regenerative braking, and solar power generation. By operating the vehicles at higher speeds than can be done with surface trains, more people can be moved with fewer vehicles. Aerorail is designed to reduce labor costs (usually more than 50% of operating costs of a system) through automation. AeroRail is designed to eliminate the continuous taxpayer operating subsidies required in other rail transit systems. Of equal importance, is the value of passenger's time that is saved by reducing waiting and travel time.
The Aerorail team has been analyzing possibilities for its application since 1993. Two significant opportunities presented themselves that year which brought AeroRail into the public arena. The first event was to be invited to make a presentation to the Transportation Subcommittee of the Ways and Means committee for the US Congress as an emerging technology. Later that year, we responded to a Request for Proposal, and were picked as one of three finalists, for a transit system between Aspen and Snow Mass, Colorado. Even though we weren t selected, it gave us the opportunity to prepare a presentation to a specific community. Most of the Aerorail illustrations and engineering work appearing in this presentation were created for the Aspen to Snow Mass RFP. Our work on the Aspen to Snow Mass RFP also gave us the template to prepare detailed analysis for several other communities around the country.
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