Atlanta, For Immediate Release: The French TGV program is the world’s best rail transportation system, noted futurist McKinley Conway contends in his new book, Global Super Projects: Mega Ventures That Are Shaping Our Future.

France ’s landmark rail triumph, however, is only one of a host of mega-endeavors in which Conway has selected the most significant projects in recent decades. The prolific author of more than two dozen books has also chosen the top projects in 19 other important categories, ranging from environmental and conservation undertakings, to new airports, highways and other infrastructure elements. (To access all of Conway’s selections, as well as the Conway Global Super Projects Registry, look for the online version of the entire book that will be available by Jan. 16, 2006, at www.sitenet.com/books/superprojects. To go directly to the Conway Global Super Projects Registry, go to www.sitenet.com/books/superprojects/registry.)

Conway, a pioneer in the economic development field, made his selections from what he calls “Super Projects, the billion-dollar babies that are changing the face of world development.” A Super Project, he explains, “represents a cost of US$1 billion or more and/or a represents a technological breakthrough of worldwide significance.” Conway’s Atlanta-based research firm, Conway Data Inc., maintains a global Super Project database that now includes some 2,000 ventures.

Just how did Conway, who has studied major global projects for decades and brought together leading Super Project experts in a series of historic worldwide conferences, choose the crème de la crème? The winners, he explains, “were those deemed to be most significant in improving the quality of life for large numbers of the world’s citizens.”

Here, for example, is how the author explained his choice for the world’s top rail transportation system:

“The original French ‘Train of Great Velocity’ (TGV) from Paris to Marseille and the Japanese ‘Bullet Train’ (Shinkansen) from Tokyo to Osaka set a new world pattern for rail service. The French system is now spreading throughout Europe. Elsewhere around the world there are many proposals for high-speed rail lines to connect key cities. In most cases, however, this has involved much talk and planning but little action.

“Conventional rail is still an attractive transport option in the vast expanses of Central Asia. China has announced plans for 4,340 miles (7,000 km.) of new lines costing $42 billion. Included is a 1,400-mile (2,240-km.) line across the Inner Mongolia desert and a 620-mile (1,000 km.) line from China to Tibet. There are also plans for a China-Kazakhstan link and a new China-Myanmar-India route.”