Swissmetro is a proposed Swiss transportation system based on vacuum-train (also known as vactrain) technology. It was invented by Swiss engineer Rodolphe Nieth in 1974 and it is presently being promoted and developed as SwissMetro-NG ("NG" for New Generation). Technology The Swissmetro project was presented in a special report by Rodolphe Nieth, Martin Steiger and Jean-Francois Braillard in 1980. It proposed vehicles travelling at very fast speeds in a network of underground tunnels. Rolling resistance was eliminated with magnetic levitation, as in the Transrapid of Germany and air resistance was reduced by lowering the air pressure in the tunnels to around 10% of the normal atmospheric pressure. Propulsion was electrical (linear motors). The travel time between Bern and Zurich would have been reduced from around 1 hour by intercity train or motorcar to a mere 12 minutes with Swissmetro. Objectives The objectives were to connect Swiss urban centres with a fast, modern, sustainable, transport system and reduce or even eliminate the congestion on the Swiss highways and railways without negatively impacting the Swiss landscapes and cities. History The system was developed by Swissmetro Ltd., with Swiss senator of the Canton of Tessin, Dr. Sergio Salvioni as president. The research and development were led by EPFL Professor Marcel Jufer. This was done by the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (EPFL and ETHZ) and Swiss engineering and industrial companies with some financial support of the Swiss Federal Government. The project was ready to be implemented and an application for a concession for a pilot track between Geneva and Lausanne was made in 1998. At this time, however, the Swiss Federal Government was already fully absorbed with large national infrastructure projects (Rail 2000, Gotthard AlpTransit, etc.). In addition, the Swiss Federal office of Transportation (BAV-EVED) had some reservations (switch, capacity, safety, choice of the pilot track, financial concepts, etc.). Swissmetro-NG SwissMetro-NG is the modern version of the original project. It is, so to speak, the version 2.0, which was proposed by the Swiss Transportation Research Institute. Air resistance and aerodynamic problems are eliminated altogether by removing all of the air in the tunnels. The tunnel diameter and consequently the overall costs are significantly reduced (around 50%). A new switch allows a drive-through operation without stopping. Long vehicle compositions with high capacities (over 1200 seats) as well as an extraordinarily high performance (supersonic) become possible. The reservations of the BAV-EVED are resolved. The conditions