The Norfolk university plans to establish a prototype for a new transportation system. A proposed $16 million elevated train project should become operational in the spring of 2001 and will connect existing campus sites with a new university development east of Hampton Boulevard.

American Maglev Technology of Marietta, Ga., is installing about one mile of its magnetic levitation technology — "maglev" — from existing residence halls to the new Constant Convocation Center. The system uses a specially designed 45-foot vehicle that glides less than an inch above an electromagnetic cushion on an elevated guide.

The good news for students is that this state-of-the-art system will come at the right price: The train will be free to all riders.

The ODU campus system can accommodate 140 passengers at a time on a four-minute round-trip schedule with stops at the new convocation center, the 43rd Street parking garage and at residence halls. The train travels approximately 40 miles per hour.

As host research university, ODU’s college of engineering and technology will assist in the development of the project and in refining the technology. Two experimental maglev systems currently exist in Japan and Germany, but neither carries thousands of passengers each day, as ODU proposes.

"The ODU project is part of a continuum," explains American Maglev President and CEO Tony Morris. "Once it’s under way, we plan to put a proposal to the commonwealth" to link Washington, D.C., with Richmond and Hampton Roads. Morris estimates the project will cost about $4 billion and be completed by 2007. "It’s a real opportunity for the commonwealth. The ridership’s there."

— Mike Ashley