Aérotrain

The Aérotrain was an experimental Tracked Air Cushion Vehicle, or hovertrain, developed in France from 1965 to 1977 under the engineering leadership of Jean Bertin – and intended to bring the French rail network to the cutting edge of land-based public transportation.

Though similar to a maglev design, which levitates a train car over a complex electromagnetic track to eliminate all resistance other than aerodynamic drag, the Aérotrain – also a "train without wheels" – rode on an air cushion over a simple reinforced concrete track or guideway and could travel at the speed of a maglev train, without the further technical complexity and expense of its track. In many respects, the entire concept resembled a product of the aircraft rather than rail industry.