Abstract: A high performance magnetic tape transport and tape cartridge. The cartridge includes coplanar hubs carrying tape rolls on fixed axes, a brake system which urges each hub in a direction to tension the tape when the cartridge is removed from the transport, and a pair of doors which completely enclose the front face of the cartridge when the cartridge is out of the transport and automatically open to expose the entire front face of the cartridge when it is inserted in the transport. The transport includes a pair of capstans, each mounted on its own carriage assembly with its own drive motor. The capstans have a high friction surface. The carriage assemblies are spring biased with equal force toward the front of the cartridge. When the cartridge is inserted in the transport, the capstans drivingly engage the peripheries of the tape rolls, and magnetic transducer heads in the transport engage the front face of a span of tape between the rolls.