News of: Saturday, February 12 2005,
Former astronaut Mr Wubbo Ockels (now professor at the Technical University of Delft) has said a 'superbus' may well be an alternative for the magnetically levitated fast train between Amsterdam and the town of Groningen.
The so-called 'Zuiderzeelijn' (site in English), named after the old name of the lake between Amsterdam and the east of the Netherlands, is a major infrastructure project in the Netherlands, set up to connect Schiphol/Amsterdam with Groningen in the North-East of the country by a fast public transport connection.
It is still uncertain whether this mega-project will start at all, due the huge cost involved. The line is supposed to improve the economic structure of the North-East of the country.
So far, the discussion centred on whether or not a magnetically levitated fast train would be feasible.
Since a few months, prof. Ockels has started to promote the idea of a superbus, an entirely new design, which may reach a speed of 250 km per hour (155 mph). This bus would cost less, be more flexible and be better for the environment.
Here is an idea of how it might look like.