Most voters will go to the polls next Tuesday and ponder whether or not to fund a high-speed train from San Francisco to Los Angeles with Proposition 1.

But one Exeter man is already thinking about how to improve that train when, not if, it happens.

Roger Gong, manager of the R-N Market in Exeter, said he and a friend have developed a way for people to take their cars to LA without driving them. A former industrial designer with Exeter Engineering, Gong helped develop plans for a network of high-speed monorails big enough to drive a car onto that would race along tracks high above the traffic below on existing highways.

ìIf you are riding a high-speed train to San Francisco you can jump on BART when you get there,î Gong said, referring to the Bay Area Rapid Transit light rail system. ìBut if you take that same train to LA, your options are to find a cab, ride the bus or rent a car, none of which anyone likes to do.î

Gong said his plan creates large trains, or ìland ferries,î that will be able to load and unload personal vehicles so that commuters, tourists and businessmen can take their cars with them. By taking cars off the roads in LA, Gong said the plan would reduce traffic congestion, air pollution and gas consumption. ìItís like a cruise ship on land,î he said.

Gong said the biggest problem with mass transit in LA is that it doesnít take into account Californiansí affections for their cars. By allowing people to keep their cars with them, you eliminate the idea that you are trying to replace their car, or even their persona.

ìLA is the exotic car capitol of the world, so people there are not going to stop driving. In general, Californians love their cars, this is the car mecca of the world. We love our freedom and donít want to give that up.î

Gong said the idea was to return the LA freeway system to being an easy way to travel a short distance by offering an alternative plan to get those traveling long distances off the road.

ìNo one is using carpools because they donít work,î Gong said. ìEliminate those two lanes to all traffic and take the cars going long distances off the roadway. You want fuel efficiency, no matter what kind of car you have you could go 300 miles without using a drop of gas,î he continued.

While air travel is the traditional mode of modern cross-country travel, Gong said a network of high-speed trains could provide comfortable sleeping quarters and get you from LA to N.Y. overnight. He said some high-speed trains already travel near 300 mph, about half the speed of an airplane. In other words, the difference of a few hours.

ìWhen you minus the amount of time you spend in airport security, I think itís probably a wash,î Gong said. ìAnd everyone knows that train travel is more comfortable than air travel. I know I donít like being stuck in a seat thatís too small and too close to someone else in a cabin that you can barely stand up in. On a train, you can move from a dining car to a sleeping car or whatever.î

While some have mislabeled the plan a ìJetsonísî solution to mass transit in Southern California, Gong argues that there is nothing futuristic about 1930s technology.

ìMonorails were invented in the 1930s and Walt Disney has been operating one since the 1950s,î he said. ìThis isnít new technology, itís just a new way of using it. This should have been done years ago and the technology has been there.î

Gong said China already has a high-speed commuter train that connects Shanghai to a new airport 70-80 miles away and is already working on extending it to travel over 300 miles.

ìThe U.S. is falling behind,î Gong said. ìWhy are we studying transit in third world countries and copying it here with more buses. We used to be the leader in transportation. Now we are one of the only industrialized nations without high-speed rail.î

The most common question and concern about the plan is how will it be funded.

ìIt will pay for itself,î Gong replies.

Because the tracks will be built over existing freeways, the government already owns the land so there would be no right-of-way purchases. The trains would also be traveling upwards of 250 mph, so they could also generate their own power by turning electricity-producing turbines. Solar panels and advertising could also be placed on the millions of miles of track to offset the operating costs of the trains.

ìIf they build it as a meg-lev (magnetic levitation) train, then it wonít need electricity anyway,î Gong said. ìIt will work on reverse polarity of magnets. It would also cost about one-third of what it would cost to build a subway because the construction phase is like snapping pieces of pre-fabricated tracks together.î

The columns and tracks could also be used to place miles of above-ground fiber optic cable and cell phone antennaes to increase high-speed internet access and reception.

ìThe tracks could also be decorated with vines, trees or murals,î Gong said. ìJust because itís mass transit doesnít mean it has to be an eyesore.î

In addition to personal cars and trucks, Gong said the rail system could also be utilized by delivery services, such as UPS, and emergency services, such as police, fire and especially ambulance.

ìJust imagine how much quicker emergency personnel could respond to the scene,î Gong said. ìThis makes so much sense that it probably scares most politicians.î

Gong teamed up with long-time friend Bob Rosebrook, an LA-area entrepreneur who likes to take on big problems.

ìHe called me up out of the blue and asked me to help him solve the LA traffic problem,î Gong said. ìSure Bob, Iíll get right on that!,î Gong replied.

But as the two began to bounce ideas off one another, Gong began to see what he calls the ìmissing linkî between the freeway system and mass transit.

ìWe are just two guys with some spare time who came up with a very logical solution to a big problem,î Gong said. ìAt the very least, we can say we tried.î

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