Trains might be a reasonably cheap transport option - but rail infrastructure is very costly to build. Monorail, maglev systems and high speed rail are more expensive again - and prices really skyrocket when you have to build bridges, tunnels and winding mountain routes, or cover difficult terrain. Which is why Anatoly Unitsky's String Transport Systems look like they've got so much potential. The system uses solid steel/concrete rails, reinforced with extremely high tension steel wires, to provide an efficient and smooth rail system anywhere between 3 to 30 meters above the ground. It's earthquake, hurricane and terrorist-proof, and capable of supporting vehicle speeds over 500 kmh, too, making it a genuine high-speed rail alternative, for a fraction of the price of road or ground rail alternatives. Fascinating stuff!
- The UST uses steel or concrete rails, reinforced by hundreds of high-tension wires running through the middle of the rail, suspended above the ground on towers approximately 30 m apart. Unlike roads or rail systems, it can traverse mountains and other rough terrain in a straight line, and it's equally adept at crossing shallow waters, desert or forest, with minimal environmental impact at the ground level.
- A UST system is cheap to install for the simple fact that you can built it with a minimum of materials per km, and a minimum of ground preparation. You don't need to build expensive overpasses, tunnels or other infrastructure to make the UTS fit in around existing roads and other infrastructure - it's already up off the ground and out of the way.
- Cost estimates are so low as to look downright suspicious - Unitsky quotes a figure of as low as US$50,000 per km for assembled string rail. Compare this to the cost of recent low-speed surface rail installations in Australia - from which the cost of a double-track rail service, not including land acquisition or station building, is very optimistically estimated at around AUD4.12 million (US$345 million) per km. The real cost of underground rail is in the realm of 10 times higher.
- The smooth surface and negligible sag make the UST appropriate for high speed transit - Unitsky believes 350 kmh (~220 mph) should be immediately within reach, with 500 kmh (over 300 mph) possible after further development.
- Aerodynamics are on the UST system's side as well - the biggest issue for ground vehicles at high speed is the pressure generated by air passing underneath, which causes the vehicle to lift off the ground. Formula one cars and other high-speed ground vehicles combat this by using spoliers and other design features to catch wind on the top of the vehicle and push it downward.
