| Intercity passenger transportation in Texas has been dominated by airways and highways for decades. An innovative mode that complements highways and airways will help improve intercity transportation service in Texas.; The magnetic levitation (Maglev) system is one of the innovative technologies being considered for high speed intercity passenger transportation. The financial feasibility of design, implementation, and operation of a Maglev system in Texas is analyzed in this thesis.; The cost of building and operating a Maglev infrastructure is estimated for a selected route in Texas. The annual revenue required to operate the Maglev system, and the payback for the capital cost is calculated for different payback periods. The financial feasibility is analyzed for various levels of ticket prices and ridership. Further, this analysis is done for different scenarios of varying capital costs. The amount of funds that will be paid back by the system is compared with the amount of funds that have to be subsidized for each of the scenarios. Finally, an optimum point (range) is determined for the system to be financially feasible. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
