Tubular Rail and the saga of Ohio and Sir Branson

Columbus, Ohio: The future belongs to those who see it now and act on it. Tubular Rail, a futuristic train technology that operates without conventional rail tracks or bridges, was among the top 50 new, bright ideas selected last week by a group of accredited investors and entrepreneurs in California called The Perfect Pitch 2009, creating a stark contrast with Ohio transportation and development officials, who over more than a year have generally ignored it, despite the state's desperate need for new jobs, especially in manufacturing, to replace the millions lost over just the last nine years.

So why are Ohio officials backing a $564 million investment in old train technology, when a new, fast, advanced energy transportation system that has been knocking on their door for a year and one-half has now caught the eye of group of California investor and entrepreneurs and maybe Sir Branson himself?