Maglev Underground Transportation
Maglev underground transportation refers to the alleged use of magnetic levitation (maglev) train systems in deep underground tunnels connecting classified military installations, particularly Deep Underground Military Bases (DUMBs). The concept has appeared consistently in UAP witness testimony since the 1980s and is corroborated by a substantial body of above-board government and defense contractor research into high-speed underground transportation systems beginning in the 1960s.
Technology Overview
Maglev trains are rail systems in which vehicles are levitated by electromagnetic forces rather than conventional wheels on rails. The elimination of wheel-rail contact enables:
- Higher maximum speeds (top recorded speeds exceed 375 mph in conventional maglev systems)
- Superior acceleration and deceleration
- Lower maintenance requirements
- Reduced noise
- Improved gradient handling
Pneumatic tube variants add a partial vacuum environment around the train, dramatically reducing aerodynamic drag and enabling theoretical speeds of thousands of miles per hour. The Rand Corporation's 1972 Very High Speed Transit (VHST) study estimated that "speeds as high as 14,000 mph have been examined in studies by the Rand Corporation" for long-haul underground routes — with a Los Angeles–New York trip requiring only 21 minutes.
Historical Antecedents
The conceptual origin of underground maglev transport is attributed in DUMB research to Herman Keur, a Third Reich engineer who developed the "Rohrban" concept beginning in 1934 — a system of magnetic levitation trains in underground vacuum tunnels envisioned to travel at 600–1,000 mph connecting European cities. It is unknown whether Keur was recruited under Operation Paperclip, but UAP Gerb presents this as a feasible hypothesis given the documented recruitment of other Nazi underground construction engineers.
Above-Board Research Timeline
A significant body of acknowledged above-board research into high-speed underground tube train systems was conducted from the 1960s through the 1990s:
- Mid-1960s: The International Society for Terrain Vehicle Systems (ISTVS), established with support from the Office of Naval Research, Army Research Office, and Booze Allen Hamilton, coordinated research on high-speed underground tube systems.
- 1967: The US Department of Commerce multi-agency panel report "R&D for High-Speed Ground Transportation" recommended accelerated research, stating that "regardless of the system adopted, it can be assumed that extensive tunneling will be involved."
- 1970: TRW published "State-of-the-Art Tube Vehicle System," discussing tube systems and tunnels up to 3,000 feet underground with trains traveling at 450 mph.
- 1972: RAND Corporation published the VHST study by Robert Salter, proposing a continental deep underground electromagnetic system at speeds up to 14,000 mph.
- Early 1990s: The National MagLev Institute (NMI), a joint DOE/Army Corps of Engineers program, published system concept definition studies involving Boeing, General Dynamics, Grumman, Battelle, and Honeywell.
Witness Testimony
- Bill Hamilton's informants in the Antelope Valley during the late 1980s and early 1990s described electric vehicles within DUMBs and maglev train systems connecting Tehachapi, Helendale, McDonald Douglas, Edwards AFB, and China Lake.
- A source called "Gober" (cited by Hamilton) described working at Tehachapi, Helendale, and the Nevada Test and Training Range, with details about on-site personnel rotating every 14–16 days and underground transport systems.
- An unnamed Army officer in the 2010s told UAP Gerb he traveled via underground train from a fort in Texas to White Sands Missile Range, and that the speed and acceleration were so extreme they reminded him of his fear of flying.
- Richard Sauder referenced reading reports of underground rail systems connecting Area 51 from Mercury, Nevada, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division.
Network Architecture
UAP Gerb proposes a hub-and-spoke architecture for the alleged underground transportation network, analogous to a railway system: central hub installations connect to other major hubs and also branch to smaller local facilities. This model is supported by RAND's VHST study, which described "intermediate staging points" between long-haul endpoints, and corresponds to the layout implied by Hamilton's 1990 DUMB network map.