October 2, 2007, 2007 (LPAC)--Magnetic levitation rail technology, or "maglev," is the breakthrough transportation technology for the 21st Century, both for passengers and freight. One proven maglev technology, the Transrapid, was developed in Germany, but never deployed there, even though the Transrapid has been running flawlessly between Shanghai, China, and its airport at Pudong for almost four years.

Last week, LPAC was finally able to report that contracts had been signed Sept. 24 in Germany, for a Transrapid maglev line between Munich and its airport. Now, there are demands for wider deployment of this technology in Germany.

At the end of last week, the Chambers of Industry and Commerce of Rhein-Hessen (including Mainz and Bingen), Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, sent a joint letter to the German Ministry of Transport, calling for a project to link the two airports of Frankfurt and Hahn by a maglev train, as a next step after the Munich project. The letter points to the advantage of Hahn as having what only a few German airports have, namely a full night-time operating license. It also points to the job-creation effect of airport development.

Already several years ago, the Chambers of Industry along with the Mayors of Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Mainz and Bingen, joined hands in calling for that Frankfurt-Hahn project, with reference to a later extension of the track into Luxemburg and Belgium. This project will definitely be prominent on the LaRouche BueSo party agenda for the early 2008 Hesse state election campaign, in the context of the party's call for Eurasian Land-Bridge development. That campaign has begun already, with collection of signatures for the BueSo slate.