The story of a train without wheels, closer to the plane than to the locomotive, which moves on air cushions. This revolutionary technology is developed by a remarkable engineer, Jean Bertin. This polytechnician, a graduate of the National School of Aeronautics, does not hesitate to transpose his discoveries from one sector to another: this is how he equips his cabin on an air cushion with a airplane propeller, and that he manages to make it reach speed records on a central rail.
Georges Pompidou, then Prime Minister, was won over by the engineer's projectr Bertin. France decides to support its development with great resources, to develop the transport of tomorrow but also to make it a showcase of French success internationally.
And yet, while projects were flourishing all over the world, today, the skytrain** does not exist. Nothing went as planned. Brilliant inventor, Jean Bertin will see his wildest dream shattered on the altar of financial realism. And oil shocks.
A documentary account of Marjolaine Koch
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Guest:
Patricia Perennes, transport economist specializing in rail. In 2022, she participated in the collective work published by Editions du Croquant: The SNCF faces the test of the 21st century.
Documentary Sources:
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- Archives of the Ministry of Transport, National Archives
- Reports from the Aérotrain and SNCF research company1960s and 1970s
- The association of friends of Jean Bertin
- Press archives from the time : Le Monde, L'Equipe, Les Echos, l'Information, La Croix, Paris Jour, l'Humanité, Le Parisien…
- Schnock magazine n°12, “The skytrain, the crazy dream of Jean Bertin**” (fall 2014)
- A life in the air, by Philippe Vasset, Editions Fayard (2018)
Discography:
- CHARLELIE COUTURE Like a plane without wings 1981
- EXSONVALDES The Aerotrain 2013
- ASTEREOTYPIE I laugh for something else 2024
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Lecture listen 1h 59min
France
