40 KPH is about 25 MPH. Variable speed, continuous train, this is straight out of an old Heinlein Sci Fi tale?

Once upon a time, years after my only real job running a choo-choo- I was a manager in a transportation agency. During this dismal period in transportation limbo, I had to teach the younger staff, as I had learned from my master, the late, "Obiwan" Gary Moon, how to handle the people with the idea for the latest invention to solve all of our transportation problems.

They sought us out apparently sensing, that since we did transportation planning, we would immediately realize the genius of whatever idea was being sold! Miraculous systems, where in, the moving, alway zero emission, mini cars would magically take people from place to place in privacy, be paid for with all private investment(with only a small "up front" cost to the agency being pitched???),making all other forms of transportation obsolete.

I once saw drawings of cute four person moving cars with signs that said "Heathrow", except that the system shown could not handle anywhere near the real volumes of the real Heathrow Airport. These were often wonderful people long on a vision and short on the math of time and motion, or the concept of gravity. I would tell my staff to be very polite and patient, as you never knew if it wasn't the Congressman's distant cousin. From Jitney's, to MagLev, to PRT I've seen the presentation of the ultimate system to cure all of our transportation problems. I required all of my junior planners to watch the Simpson's monorail episode.

I am convinced Desert Express is not in this realm of illusion/delusion, because the people behind this, unlike the MagLev, have actually built such systems, and run them. Desert Express does make sense on the basis of projects this consortia has successully built as Public Private HST Partnerships in Europe. This group also has a track record of other types of profitable infrastructure investments, unlike the MagLev proponents.

But, there is a lot of stuff out there that will solve everything, cost nothing, and all it takes is for you to believe?