Transportation

Amtrak

Formally designated as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Amtrak is concerned with intercity passenger rail service in the United States. This site is mainly oriented toward prospective passengers, but substantive, agency information can be found at the About Amtrak page. See also the archived Web site of the Amtrak Reform Council, an independent Federal oversight commission established under the provisions of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-134).

RailServe

This comprehensive guide to the world's railway systems includes pages that link to freight and passenger railways.

Railway Technology

Sponsored by the British firm Net Resources, this well-organized site comprises an international directory of railway companies, exhibitions, projects, and industry organizations. A useful feature is the products and services section,  listing manufacturers of various component parts and sub-systems used in rail technology.

TransLink: Innovative Surface Transportation Management

A multimodal, public/private research program to develop and implement new concepts and technologies for linking together the different elements of the transportation system to improve the overall operation and efficiency of the entire transportation system."   Recent projects include the innovative TransLink® Train Monitoring Project.

High Speed Trains

ACELA Express (Amtrak)

Amtrak has been developing this high-speed commuter train to link cities in the critical Eastern Seaboard corridor.

High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail

Provides information on current developments in the United States and internationally.

High Speed Ground Transportation Association

The HSGTA’s mission is to secure a dedicated source of public funding to build, through public-private partnerships, a network of high-speed trains that is an integral part of our nation's transportation system. The HSGTA is a not-for-profit trade association based in Washington, D.C., whose members are drawn from a wide array of public and private business interests, including the financial community; engineering and design firms; labor unions; rail equipment manufacturers and material suppliers; construction companies; railroads; service providers; universities; Federal, state and local government agencies and officials; and private consultants.

Magnetic Levitation for Transportation

This 10th grade research paper provides a general introduction to Mag-Lev technology and includes a bibliography of printed and Web-based sources.

TGVweb

The TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) is a French system of train, track, and signalling technologies that when combined make high speeds (typically 300 km/h, or 186 mph) possible. The TGV system is owned and operated by SNCF, the French national railways, and is an integral part of French rail travel.

 Transrapid International

This commercial site offers detailed explanations of Mag-Lev technology, aimed at the general reader.