Greater Pittsburgh Magnetic Levitation Transportation System Demonstration Act of 1991

Greater Pittsburgh Magnetic Levitation Transportation System Demonstration Act of 1991 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration to study the feasibility of constructing a magnetic levitation transportation system between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport.

Requires the Administrator, upon a favorable determination to conduct a competition in which grants shall be awarded for the research and development of designs for such transportation system. Requires the Administrator to award one grant, not to exceed 50 percent of the total cost, for the construction of a privately owned and operated magnetic levitation system between such locations.

Authorizes appropriations.

 
HR 2102 IH
102d CONGRESS
1st Session
 H. R. 2102
To establish programs for evaluation, research and development, and
construction of a magnetic levitation transportation system between Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 25, 1991
Mr. KOLTER introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the
Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, Public Works and Transportation,
and Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To establish programs for evaluation, research and development, and
construction of a magnetic levitation transportation system between Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
  States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  This Act may be cited as the `Greater Pittsburgh Magnetic Levitation
  Transportation System Demonstration Act of 1991'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  Congress finds that--
  (1) Our Nation's aviation safety and highway network are increasingly
  overburdened resulting in inefficiencies which waste billions of potentially
  productive working hours each year at a tremendous cost to the Nation's
  economy;
  (2) the cost of conventional transportation by automobile, aircraft, and rail
  is high, and because these conventional systems rely heavily on fossil fuels
  which are in limited supply, costs will continue to rise as energy costs
  increase and as the Nation's transportation infrastructure deteriorates;
  (3) safety and environmental problems which are not easily addressed are also
  created from aviation and highway congestion and entail additional costs;
  (4) magnetic levitation is a developing transportation technology which
  is high speed, environmentally clean, energy efficient, quiet, and safe;
  (5) the Governments of Japan and Germany have each spent over $1,000,000,000
  researching and developing magnetic levitation transportation technology
  and are preparing to introduce systems in the United States;
  (6) United States scientific and industrial capabilities exist to support a
  domestic magnetic levitation industry and to construct operational magnetic
  levitation transportation systems in the United States;
  (7) in order to promote the development of a United States designed and
  constructed magnetic levitation transportation system, Federal efforts
  must be undertaken to demonstrate the feasibility and practicability of
  such systems; and
  (8) the corridor between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Greater Pittsburgh
  International Airport possesses numerous characteristics including a length
  of approximately 20 miles, exposure to a range of climatic conditions,
  several potential routes, a large population base, and a link with a major
  airport which makes it ideal for a demonstration of the feasibility and
  practicability of a magnetic levitation system which would eventually link
  the major metropolitan areas of the northeast corridor of the United States.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
  It is the policy of the United States to construct and put into operation
  in the shortest time practicable a United States designed and constructed
  magnetically levitated transportation system eventually linking the major
  metropolitan areas of the northeast corridor of the United States.
SEC. 4. PITTSBURGH--GREATER PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MAGNETIC
LEVITATION TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM FEASIBILITY STUDY.
  (a) IN GENERAL- The Administrator shall study the feasibility of constructing
  a magnetic levitation transportation system between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
  and the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport. The study required by
  this section shall include--
  (1) a preliminary evaluation of alternative routes;
  (2) a market analysis of potential ridership;
  (3) an examination of alternative financing mechanisms and projected costs;
  (4) indentification of operational characteristics; and
  (5) a determination by the Administrator of the feasibility and
  practicability of constructing a magnetic levitation transportation system
  between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Greater Pittsburgh International
  Airport.
  (b) REPORT- The Administrator shall complete the report required by
  subsection (a) and transmit the results thereof to Congress not later than
  12 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
  (c) FEDERAL SHARE- The Federal share of the cost of the study required
  under subsection (a) shall not exceed 50 percent.
SEC. 5. PITTSBURGH-GREATER PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MAGNETIC LEVITATION
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DESIGN COMPETITION.
  (a) IN GENERAL- Upon a favorable determination pursuant to section 4(a)(5),
  the Administrator shall conduct a competition in which grants shall be
  awarded for the research and development of designs for magnetic levitation
  transportation systems between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Greater
  Pittsburgh International Airport.
  (b) AWARD OF GRANTS- Not later than 15 months after the date of enactment
  of this act, the Administrator shall award up to 6 one-year grants to
  participants who have submitted proposals for research and development of a
  design for a magnetic levitation transportation system between Pittsburgh,
  Pennsylvania, and the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport. In awarding
  such grants, the Administrator shall take into consideration the fact that
  the design may be more easily accomplished if a business, organization or
  other entity receiving such grant is located in the State of Pennsylvania.
  (c) RULES AND SELECTION CRITERIA- The Administrator shall issue rules
  governing the competition required under this section, including criteria
  that will be used to judge and select each proposal for system design
  submitted for consideration. Such selection criteria shall include factors
  relating to the construction of a magnetic levitation transportation system
  between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Greater Pittsburgh International
  Airport, including, but not limited to, cost-effectiveness, safety, ease
  of maintenance, ability to achieve speeds of 250 miles per hour, and the
  potential for the design to be a national model for such systems.
  (d) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS- Participation in the competition required by
  this section shall be limited to United States businesses and consortia of
  such business, United States public and private educational and research
  organizations, Federal laboratories, and other United States organizations.
  (e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS- The Administrator shall establish terms and
  conditions to which grants awarded under this section shall be subject.
  (f) SELECTION OF FINAL DESIGN- Not later than 28 months after the date of
  enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall review and select from among
  the design proposals submitted pursuant to this section a single design to
  be used as the basis for the award of a grant under section 6. In making
  the selection required by this subsection, the Administrator shall consider
  cost-effectiveness, safety, ease of maintenance, ability of the system to
  achieve speeds of 250 miles per hour and the potential for the system to be
  a national model. The Administrator shall also consider the extent to which
  the design incorporates new and innovative design concepts and components.
SEC. 6. PITTSBURGH-GREATER PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MAGNETIC LEVITATION
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION
  (a) IN GENERAL- Not later than 31 months after the date of enactment of this
  Act, the Administrator shall award 1 grant in an amount as may be necessary,
  not to exceed 50 percent of the total cost, for the purpose of constructing
  a privately owned and operated magnetic levitation transportation system
  between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Greater Pittsburgh International
  Airport in accordance with specifications contained in the design selected
  pursuant to subsection 4(f). The grant required by this section shall be
  awarded to either State or local governments or consortia of United States
  private business.
  (b) APPLICATION PROCEDURES- The Administrator shall prescribe the form
  and procedures for applicants to apply for the grant made available under
  this section.
  (c) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION- Criteria for selection of the grant recipient
  or recipients under this section shall be established by the Administrator.
  (d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS- A grant made to an applicant under this section
  shall be subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by
  the Administrator.
  (e) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT- In carrying out this section,
  the Administrator may enter into contracts or cooperative research and
  development agreements as defined by section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler
  Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a), except that the
  Administrator may fund up to 50 percent of the cost of each collaborative
  research and development project undertaken.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  There are authorized to be appropriated--
  (1) $500,000 for fiscal year 1992 for carrying out section 4 of this Act;
  (2) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1993 for carrying out section 5 of this
  Act; and
  (3) such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1993, 1994,
  and 1995, and 1996 for carrying out section 6 of this Act.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
  For the purpose of this act, the following definitions shall apply:
  (1) MAGNETIC LEVITATION TRANSPORTATION- The term `magnetic levitation
  transportation' means suspension, guidance, and propulsion of a vehicle
  by magnetic forces with no physical contact between the vehicle and the
  guideway.
  (2) ADMINISTRATOR- The term `Administrator' means the Administrator of
  the Federal Railroad Administration.