WESTMORELAND COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ASSIST PENNSYLVAINA
HIGH-SPEED MAGLEV PROJECT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Pittsburgh, PA -- The Westmoreland County Board of Commissioners, in a combined effort with the Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project Team, are exploring the opportunities of developing a high-speed magnetic levitation (Maglev) transportation system in Western Pennsylvania.

In cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration, the Project Team, consisting of Port Authority of Allegheny County, Maglev, Inc. and the project's consultants, MSM Group, is conducting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project. The proposed Pennsylvania Maglev Project is 47-mile a high-speed transportation system between Pittsburgh International Airport and Greensburg, Pennsylvania, with multi-modal MAGport™ stations located at the Airport, in downtown Pittsburgh, Monroeville and Greensburg.

The Westmoreland County Commissioners are working with the Project Team to determine the best route for the Maglev system to travel through Westmoreland County.
With input provided by Westmoreland County Commissioners and received in
numerous public and community meetings, the Project Team is studying two new route alignments in Westmoreland County. One recommendation would travel more north of
the previously proposed Penn Township alignment, and the second involves an
alignment more southwest that would follow the Pennsylvania Turnpike and State Route Route 136 with a MAGport™ Station location other than the original Greengate Mall location.

With the addition of these two new alignments, five alignment alternatives are now being studied in Maglev Segment "C", which extends between Monroeville and Greensburg in Westmoreland County. Additional modifications to any and all those alternatives are also possible. The five possible alignments will be the subject of public meetings to be scheduled for June 2002.

A third recommendation that would have followed the existing Norfolk-Southern Railroad line was prohibited from consideration due to its designation as a National High-speed Rail Corridor.

"Developing the environmental document for a project of this magnitude can be a daunting task, especially with the numerous public and private entities that are involved. Information sharing and input by the Westmoreland County Commissioners is very instrumental in helping us to shape effective alignment alternatives in their area," Lou Rocchini, Project Manager for the MSM Group explained. "We look forward to continued collaboration with Westmoreland County as we work through the project development process."

The Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project and a similar project proposed in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. corridor are competing for Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approval and funding. Port Authority will submit the completed EIS
including a recommended route alignment to the FRA in March 2003. The FRA is expected to decide two months later which Maglev project will be approved for final design, right-of-way and construction.

For more detailed information about the project, please visit the project website at www.maglevpa.com or www.RideGold.com.