Gravitic Pendulum Train


The ideal mass transit system would consist of a tunnel bored directly through the earth on a chord, cutting across the curve of the earth as seen in the attached diagram. The tube would be evacuated to eliminate air resistance, and it would be levitated above the tracks using Yttrium-Barium-Oxide magnets assembled into high-temperature-superconducting Halbach arrays. This way, there would be practically zero resistance to the movement of the train beyond its inertia. You could load up the train in San Francisco, release the brakes, and the train would "fall" downward, pulled by gravity up to the half-way point on its trip. Its acceleration would be due to its potential energy only, and no additional energy expenditure would be needed to accelerate it. At the halfway point, gravity would work to gradually slow the train as it "rises" back up to the surface. If resistance was truly zero, the train would roll into the New York station and stop perfectly at the end of the track without any additional force or braking having to be applied.

If this technology was implemented, a mass transit system could go literally anywhere on earth and, once constructed, would require practically zero energy to run and maintain.