Some of these stories are rather technical. The following is being offered in the “for what it’s worth” department.
USA/INNER MONGOLIA: Bedford, Mass.- based Magplane Technology Inc. (MTI) completed the registration of its joint venture in Inner Mongolia, and work is under way to establish the joint venture operations.
The joint venture aims to address the need for an efficient and environmentally-friendly way for coal to be transported from Inner Mongolia (IM) to China. Magplane has developed a magnetic levitation system that has been adapted for use in a pipeline application for the movement of bulk commodities such as coal. In addition, Magplane claims its technology offers significant advancements over other high-speed trains and light-rail transit systems.
Filed under: Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy
Trains For America 
There’s nothing new in this application, Pat. Magnetic levitation used as a component technology has been promoted over the years for such things as silent rotating machinery in submarines, magnetic bearings for spacecraft mechanisms and iron ore separators, to name a few. Then there are the larger-scale schemes for maglev vehicles to launch water to Mars, or nuclear waste to the sun. Most times, these applications involve putting the maglev into a partially evacuated tunnel, though. That’s a little trickier.
Larry Blow
MaglevTransport, Inc.
http://www.maglevtransport.com