Abstract: A rapid transit system in which a vehicle, typically comprising a train of detachably coupled cars, is suspended in an underground vacuum tunnel by permanent magnetic rails of high coercivity and propelled by gravity. For closely spaced stations, such as in urban areas, the connecting tunnel paths are smooth continuous curves, lying essentially in the vertical planes connecting adjacent stations. For widely separated stations, such as in inter-city transit systems, the tunnel paths have horizontal reaches at their maximum depth, joined at the ends by smooth paths which arc up towards each station. The magnetic suspension and the vacuum environment enables the vehicle to move frictionlessly at high speeds without contacting the rails or any other part of the tunnel.