Transrapid at the Emsland test facility

Transrapid maglev in Shanghai

Magnetic levitation transport, or maglev, is a radically new form of transportation that suspends, guides and propels vehicles via electro-magnetic energy. Maglev technology is not “train” technology and is not compatible with conventional railroad tracks. Indeed, the science and engineering behind these ultra-safe and highly reliable ground transportation systems rivals the technological challenges once faced by America’s space program. Indeed, some high-speed maglevs (there are low-speed versions, as well) have top speeds comparable to turboprop and jet aircraft (500 – 580 kph). Download high resolution version (833x526, 54 KB)A Transrapid train in Germany Copyright: Picture taken from the German Wikipedia, see de:Bild:Transrapid. ... Download high resolution version (833x526, 54 KB)A Transrapid train in Germany Copyright: Picture taken from the German Wikipedia, see de:Bild:Transrapid. ... Transrapid at the Emsland test facility Transrapid is a German monorail system using magnetic levitation. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Transrapid at the Emsland test facility Transrapid is a German monorail system using magnetic levitation. ...

It should also be emphasized that maglevs are complete transportation systems. The term maglev refers not only to the vehicles, but to the vehicle/guideway interaction; each being a unique design element specifically tailored to the other to create and precisely control magnetic levitation.

The various technological approaches to maglev can be very similar or very different, depending upon the manufacturer.

Due to the lack of physical contact between the track and the vehicle, the only friction exerted is that between the vehicles and the air. Consequently maglevs can potentially travel at very high speeds with reasonable energy consumption and noise levels. Systems have been proposed that operate at up to 650 km/h (404 mph), which is far faster than is practical with conventional rail transport. The very high maximum speed potential of maglevs make them competitors to airline routes of 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) or less. The world's first commercial application of a high-speed maglev line is the IOS (initial operating segment) demonstration line in Shanghai that transports people 30 km (18.6 miles) to the airport in just 7 minutes 20 seconds (top speed of 431 km/h or 268 mph, average speed 250 km/h or 150 mph). Other maglev applications worldwide are being investigated for feasibility. In physics, friction is the non-conservative resistive force that occurs when two surfaces travel along each other when forced together. ... NOiSE is a one volume manga created by Tsutomu Nihei as a prequel to his much-acclaimed ten-volume work, Blame! It offers some rather sketchy information concerning the Megastructures origins and initial size, as well as the beginnings of silicon life ... Trains can travel at very high speed, are heavy, are unable to deviate from the track and require a great distance to stop. ... Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ; Lumazi: Zanhe) , situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ...

Technology

Maglev Propulsion

See also: Fundamental Technology Elements in the JR-Maglev article.

See also: Technology in the Transrapid article.

Image File history File links Maglev_Propulsion. ... Image File history File links Maglev_Propulsion. ... JR-Maglev is Magnetic levitation train system which is developped by Japan Railway Technical Reasearch Institute(association of Japan Railway Group). ... JR-Maglev is Magnetic levitation train system which is developped by Japan Railway Technical Reasearch Institute(association of Japan Railway Group). ... Transrapid at the Emsland test facility Transrapid is a German monorail system using magnetic levitation. ... Transrapid at the Emsland test facility Transrapid is a German monorail system using magnetic levitation. ...

Three types of technology

There are three primary types of maglev technology:

• one that relies on superconducting magnets (electrodynamic suspension or EDS),
• one that relies on feedback controlled electromagnets (electromagnetic suspension or EMS),
• and a newer potentially more economical system that uses permanent magnets (Inductrack).

Japan and Germany are active in maglev research, producing several different approaches and designs. In one design, the train can be levitated by the repulsive force of like poles or the attractive force of opposite poles of magnets. The train can be propelled by a linear motor on the track or on the train, or both. Massive electrical induction coils are placed along the track in order to produce the magnetic field necessary to propel the train. A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor (with boiling liquid nitrogen underneath) demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... Magnetic lines of force of a bar magnet shown by iron filings on paper A magnet is an object that has a magnetic field. ... Electrodynamic Suspension (EDS) is one method that can be used for maglev trains. ... In Maglev Trains Electromagnetic suspension (EMS) in Maglev trains is a system whereby a powered electromagnet maintains a train at a constant distance from a track. ... Inductrack is a completely passive magnetic levitation train system, using only unpowered loops of wire in the track and permanent magnets (in Halbach arrays) on the train to achieve levitation. ... A linear motor is essentially an electric motor that has had its stator unrolled so that instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. ... An induction coil (archaically known as a Ruhmkorff coil) is a type of disruptive discharge coil. ... Current flowing through a wire produces a magnetic field (M) around the wire. ...

Unmoving magnetic bearings using purely electromagnets or permanent magnets are unstable because of Earnshaw's theorem; on the other hand diamagnetic and superconducting magnets can support a maglev stably. Conventional maglev systems are stabilized with electromagnets that have electronic stabilization. Earnshaws theorem states that a collection of point charges cannot be maintained in an equilibrium configuration solely by the electrostatic interaction of the charges. ... Diamagnetism is a very weak form of magnetism that is only exhibited in the presence of an external magnetic field. ...

The weight of the large electromagnet is a major design issue. A very strong magnetic field is required to levitate a massive train, so conventional maglev research is using superconductor research for an efficient electromagnet. An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by a flow of electric current. ... There are various types of trains designed for particular purposes, see rail transport operations. ...

Inductrack

A newer, perhaps less-expensive, system is called "Inductrack". The technique has a load-carrying ability related to the speed of the vehicle, because it depends on currents induced in a passive electromagnetic array by permanent magnets. In the prototype, the permanent magnets are in a cart; horizontally to provide lift, and vertically to provide stability. The array of wire loops is in the track. The magnets and cart are unpowered, except by the speed of the cart. Inductrack was originally developed as a magnetic motor and bearing for a flywheel to store power. With only slight design changes, the bearings were unrolled into a linear track. Inductrack was developed by physicist Richard Post at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Inductrack is a completely passive magnetic levitation train system, using only unpowered loops of wire in the track and permanent magnets (in Halbach arrays) on the train to achieve levitation. ... Aerial view of the lab and surrounding area. ...

Inductrack uses Halbach arrays for stabilization. Halbach arrays are arrangements of permanent magnets that stabilize moving loops of wire without electronic stabilization. Halbach arrays were originally developed for beam guidance of particle accelerators. They also have a magnetic field on the track side only, thus reducing any potential effects on the passengers. Halbach Array defeats Earnshaws Theorem This permits free floating true magnetic bearings and stable levitation with passive permanent magnets. ... A 1960s single stage 2MeV linear Van de Graaff accelerator, here opened for maintenance A particle accelerator is a device which uses electric and/or magnetic fields to propel electrically charged particles to high speeds. ...

Spacecraft research

Currently, some space agencies, such as NASA, are researching the use of maglev systems to launch spacecraft. In order to do so, the space agency would have to get a maglev-launched spacecraft up to escape velocity, a task that would otherwise require elaborate timing of magnetic pulses (see coilgun) or a very fast, very powerful electric current (see railgun). Maglev-launching could also be used to make conventional launches more efficient: accelerating a craft up to mach 1 before firing the main engines can save 30% of the weight of the launch vehicle (Heller, 1998). NASA Logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Ariane 5 lifts off with the Rosetta space probe on March 2, 2004. ... In physics, for a given gravitational field and a given position, the escape velocity is the minimum speed an object without propulsion, at that position, needs to have to move away indefinitely from the source of the field, as opposed to falling back or staying in an orbit within a... A coilgun (also known as Gauss gun or Gauss rifle) is a type of cannon that uses a series of electromagnets to accelerate a magnetic shell to very high velocities. ... In electricity, current is the rate of flow of charges, usually through a metal wire or some other electrical conductor. ... A railgun is a form of gun that converts electrical energy—rather than the more conventional chemical energy from an explosive propellant—into projectile kinetic energy. ... Mach number (Ma) (pronounced as mack in International English or mock in the American English) is defined as a ratio of speed to the speed of sound in the medium in case. ...

Pros and Cons of different technologies

Each implementation of the magnetic levitation principle for train-type travel involves advantages and disadvantages. Time will tell as to which principle, and whose implementation, wins out commercially.

It must be noted, that the Inductrack and the Superconducting EDS are only levitation technologies. In both cases, vehicles need some other technology for propulsion. A linear motor is used for propulsion in Japanese Superconducting EDS MLX01 maglev. Inductrack, should it ever be developed into a commercial transport technology, will have to solve the propulsion problem, as well as the need to deliver the propulsion energy onboard (due to itself being a completely passive technology). A Jet engine or a linear motor are being considered. A Pratt and Whitney turbofan engine for the F-15 Eagle is tested at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, USA. The tunnel behind the engine muffles noise and allows exhaust to escape. ...

The German Transrapid electromagnetic maglev uses a linear motor for both levitation and propulsion.

Neither Inductrack nor the Superconducting EDS are able to levitate vehicles at a standstill, although Inductrack provides levitation down to a much lower speed. Wheels are required for both systems, whereas EMS systems are wheel-less.

The German Transrapid, Japanese HSST (Linimo), and Korean Rotem maglevs levitate at a standstill, with electricity delivered from guideway power rails. If guideway power is lost on the move, the Transrapid is still able to generate levitation down to 10 km/h speed, using the power from onboard batteries. This is not the case with the HSST and Rotem systems.

Existing Maglev Systems

JR-Maglev at Yamanashi

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 529 KB) Summary JR-Maglev (which is Maglev train in Japan). ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 529 KB) Summary JR-Maglev (which is Maglev train in Japan). ... JR-Maglev is Magnetic levitation train system which is developped by Japan Railway Technical Reasearch Institute(association of Japan Railway Group). ... Yamanashi (山梨市 Yamanashishi) is a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. ...

Birmingham 1984–1995

The world's first commercial automated system was a low-speed maglev shuttle that ran from the airport terminal of Birmingham International Airport (UK) to the nearby Birmingham International railway station from 1984 to 1995. The length of the track was 600 m, and trains "flew" at an altitude of 15 mm. It was in operation for nearly eleven years, but obsolescence problems with the electronic systems made it unreliable in its later years and it has now been replaced with a cable-drawn system. There is also a Birmingham International Airport in the United States. ... Birmingham International railway station is located in the borough of Solihull, just east of the city of Birmingham in England. ... This page is about the year 1984. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Berlin 1989–1991

In Berlin, the M-Bahn was built in the 1980s: a driverless maglev system with a 1.6 km track connecting three U-Bahn (metro) stations. Testing in passenger traffic started in August 1989, and regular operation started in July 1991. Because of traffic changes after the fall of the Berlin Wall, deconstruction of the line began only two months later and was completed in February 1992. The line was replaced by a regular U-Bahn line. This article is about the city in Germany. ... M-Bahn train at the Nürnberg railway museum The M-Bahn or Magnetbahn was a local transport train built in the 1980s in Berlin. ... The 1980s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1980 and 1989. ... U-Bahn is a common German abbreviation for Untergrund-Bahn (literally, underground train), referring to a means of urban rapid transit, internationally known as subway, underground or metro. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Berlin Wall on November 16, 1989 The Berlin Wall (German: Die Berliner Mauer) was a long barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin and the surrounding territory of East Germany. ...

Transrapid

Transrapid, a German maglev company with a test track in Emsland, constructed the first operational high-speed conventional maglev railway in the world, the Shanghai Maglev Train from downtown Shanghai, China to the new Shanghai airport at Pudong. It was inaugurated in 2002. The highest speed achieved on the Shanghai track has been 501 km/h (311 mph), over a track length of 30 km. Transrapid uses EMS technology. Transrapid at the Emsland test facility Transrapid is a German monorail system using magnetic levitation. ... Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... Shanghai Maglev Train is the first commercial maglev line in the world. ... Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ; Lumazi: Zanhe) , situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ... Shanghai Pudong International Airport (Exterior) September 2004 Pudong International Airport (Chinese: 浦东国际机场 pinyin: Pǔdōng Guójì Jīcháng) is an airport located in the eastern part of Pudong district of Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. ... Pudong seen from the Bund Pudong (浦东, pinyin: PÇ”dōng), officially known as Pudong New District (浦东新区, pinyin: PÇ”dōng XÄ«n QÅ«), is a district of Shanghai, China. ... Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ; Lumazi: Zanhe) , situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ... In Maglev Trains Electromagnetic suspension (EMS) in Maglev trains is a system whereby a powered electromagnet maintains a train at a constant distance from a track. ...

JR-Maglev

Japan has a test track in Yamanashi prefecture where test trains JR-Maglev MLX01 have reached 581 km/h (363 mph), faster than wheeled trains. These trains use superconducting magnets which allow for a larger gap, and repulsive-type "Electro-Dynamic Suspension" (EDS). In comparison Transrapid uses conventional electromagnets and attractive-type "Electro-Magnetic Suspension" (EMS). These "Superconducting Maglev Shinkansen", developed by the Central Japan Railway Co. ("JR Central") and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, are currently the fastest trains in the world, achieving a record speed of 581 km/h on December 2, 2003. If a proposed Chuo Shinkansen is built, connecting Tokyo to Osaka by maglev, this test track would be part of the line. Yamanashi Prefecture (山梨県 Yamanashi-ken) is located in the Chubu region on Honshu island, Japan. ... JR-Maglev is Magnetic levitation train system which is developped by Japan Railway Technical Reasearch Institute(association of Japan Railway Group). ... Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. ... Proposed Chuo Shinkansen route (gray) and existing Tokaido Shinkansen route (gold). ... Long a symbol of Tokyo, the Nijubashi Bridge at the Kokyo Imperial Palace. ... Osaka Castle Location in Japan Osaka Aquarium (Kaiyukan) Osaka railway station View from Osaka Castle. ...

Linimo, Nagoya East Hill Line

The world's first commercial automated "Urban Maglev" system commenced operation in March 2005 in Japan. This is the nine-station 8.9 km-long Tobu-kyuryo Line Linimo, otherwise known as the Nagoya East Hill Line. The line has a minimum operating radius of 75 m and a maximum gradient of 6%. The linear-motor magnetic-levitated train has a top speed of 100 km/h. The line serves the local community as well as the Expo 2005 fair site. The trains were designed by the Chubu HSST Development Corporation, which also operates a test track in Nagoya. Urban-type maglevs patterned after the HSST have been constructed and demonstrated in Korea, and a Korean commercial version Rotem is now under construction in Daejeon and projected to go into operation by April of 2007. A part of the Global Loop at Expo 2005 Expo 2005 is the Worlds Fair held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. ... Rotem is a South Korean company manufacturing Rolling Stock. ...

FTA's UMTD program

In the US, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Urban Maglev Technology Demonstration program has funded the design of several low-speed urban maglev demonstration projects. It has assessed HSST for the Maryland Department of Transportation and maglev technology for the Colorado Department of Transportation. The FTA has also funded work by General Atomics at California University of Pennsylvania to demonstrate new maglev designs, the MagneMotion M3 and of the Maglev2000 of Florida superconducting EDS system. Other US urban maglev demonstration projects of note are the LEVX in Washington State and the Massachusetts-based Magplane. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) within the U.S. Department of Transportation provides financial and technical assistance to the local transit systems. ... General Atomics is a nuclear physics and defense contractor in southern California. ... California University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1852, is one of the universities of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. ...

Southwest Jiaotong University, China

On December 31, 2000, the first crewed high-temperature superconducting maglev was tested successfully at Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China. This system is based on the principle that bulk high-temperature superconductors can be levitated or suspended stably above or below a permanent magnet. The load was over 530 kg and the levitation gap over 20 mm. The system uses liquid nitrogen, which is very cheap, to cool the superconductor. December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15 (VA), 2 , p Density 1. ...

US patent, 1969

The first patent for a magnetic levitation train propelled by linear motors was US patent 3,470,828, issued in October 1969 to James R. Powell and Gordon T. Danby. The technology underlying it was invented by Eric Laithwaite, and described by him in "Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers", vol. 112, 1965, pp. 2361-2375, under the title "Electromagnetic Levitation". Laithwaite patented the linear motor in 1948. Eric Roberts Laithwaite (June 14, 1921–November 27, 1997) was an English engineer, principally known for his development of the linear induction motor. ...

Economics

High-speed maglevs can be expensive to build, but are comparable to the capital costs of building a traditional high-speed rail system from scratch, a highway system or a system of airports. More importantly, maglevs are significantly less expensive to operate and maintain (O&M) than traditional high-speed trains, planes or intercity buses. The data coming out of the Shanghai maglev demonstration project indicates that O&M costs are quite low, and are indeed covered by the current relatively low volume of 7,000 passengers per day. Ridership on this Pudong International Airport line is expected to rise dramatically once the line is extended from Longyang Road metro station all the way to Shanghai's downtown train depot.

The Shanghai maglev cost US$1.2B to build which means that at 20,000 passengers a day at US$6 per passenger it will take around 30 years to pay off just the capital costs, not accounting for track maintenance, salaries and electricity. This computes to US$60 million per mile. The proposed Chuo Shinkansen line is estimated to cost approximately US$82 billion to build.

However, when one considers the cost of airport construction ($70 billion for a new airport) and 8-lane Interstate highway systems that cost around US$50 million per mile, it becomes immediately apparent that maglev's costs are competitive, especially considering that they can handle much higher volumes of passengers per hour than airports or 8-lane highways and do it without introducing any air pollution along their ROW's (right of way).

Low-speed maglevs (100 kph, or 60 mph), such as the Japanese HSST or Korean Rotem, are expected to cost somewhere around US$30 million per mile. Besides offering improved O&M costs over other transit systems, these low-speed maglevs provide ultra-high levels of operational reliability and introduce zero noise or air pollution into dense urban settings.

As maglev systems are deployed around the world, experts fully expect construction costs to drop as new construction methods are perfected.

Proposals

Shanghai-Hangzhou

China is considering maglev as a possible technology option for building a planned high-speed rail network to connect major cities, although the cost may make this impractical. Talks with Germany on the possible construction of a second Transrapid maglev rail linking Shanghai to Hangzhou have started. The Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev line would become the first inter-city Maglev rail line in commercial service in the world. The line will be an extension of the only other Maglev line in commercial service, the Shanghai airport Maglev line. The new line would have to be in service no later than 2010. Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; pinyin: ; Shanghainese IPA: ; Lumazi: Zanhe) , situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ... Hangzhou (Chinese: 杭州; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hang-chou) is a sub-provincial city in China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. ... Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev Train is a proposed maglev train line from Shanghai to Hangzhou. ... Shanghai Maglev Train is the first commercial maglev line in the world. ...

London-Glasgow

A maglev line has recently been proposed in the United Kingdom from London to Glasgow with several route options through the Midlands and Northeast, and is reported to be under favourable consideration by the government. [1] [2] Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7,421,328 and a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million. ... Glasgows location in Scotland Glasgow (or Glaschu in Gaelic) is Scotlands largest city and unitary council, situated on the River Clyde in the countrys west central lowlands. ...

Honolulu

The city of Honolulu, Hawaii is said to be planning a Linimo class urban Maglev for its main mass transit train. Honolulu as seen from the International Space Station Honolulu is the largest city and the capital of the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Monarch Akahi Nui Governor Linda Lingle (R) Senators Daniel Inouye (D) Daniel Akaka (D) Official language(s) Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ...

Philadelphia

In Philadelphia a maglev project is being studied that would connect to the city's international airport and urban core, with additional links being added in the planning stages. Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ...

San Diego

San Diego is considering a high-speed maglev line to the Imperial County Airport. San Diego County in the Southwest corner of California. ... Imperial County Airport (IATA: IPL, ICAO: KIPL) is an airport located in Imperial, California serving Imperial County. ...

Southern California, Las Vegas

High-speed maglev lines between major cities of southern California and Las Vegas are also being studied. This plan was originally supposed to be part of a I-5 or I-15 expansion plan, but the federal government has ruled it must be separated from interstate work projects. This article is about the city of Las Vegas in Nevada. ...

Baltimore-Washington

A 64 km project linking Camden Yard in Baltimore and Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport to Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Pittsburgh

A 75 km project linking Pittsburgh Airport to Pittsburgh and its eastern suburbs.

Vactrain

see also Swissmetro

More exotic proposals include maglev lines through vacuum-filled tunnels (see Vactrain), where the absence of air resistance would allow extremely high speeds, up to 6000-8000 km/h (4000-5000 mph) according to some sources. Theoretically, these tunnels could be built deep enough to pass under oceans or to use gravity to assist the trains' acceleration. This would likely be prohibitively costly without major advances in tunnelling technology. Alternatives such as elevated concrete tubes with partial vacuums have been proposed to reduce these costs. If the trains topped out at around 8000 km/h (5000 mph), the trip between London and New York would take a breathtakingly short 54 minutes, effectively supplanting aircraft as the world's fastest mode of public transportation. Swissmetro is a futuristic project of national transportation for Switzerland, based on high-speed trains circulating in low-pressure tunnels. ... A vactrain is an exotic, as-yet-unbuilt proposal for future high-speed railroad transportation. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7,421,328 and a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million. ... State nickname: The Empire State Official languages None. ...

UniModal

UniModal is a proposed personal rapid transit system using Inductrack suspension to achieve average commute speeds of 160 km/h (100 mph) in the city. UniModal or SkyTran is a proposal by Douglas Malewicki for a 160km/h (100mph) personal rapid transit system. ... Older children can use personal rapid transit without adult help. ...

See also

• High-speed rail
• Magnetic levitation
• Transrapid
• Shanghai Maglev Train, world's first commercial maglev line
• Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev Train, proposed maglev line in China
• Swissmetro
• JR-Maglev MLX01
• Chuo Shinkansen, planned Tokyo-Osaka maglev Shinkansen line
• Aérotrain, hovercraft train with similar properties
• Personal rapid transit

Japanese Shinkansen trains began the development of modern high-speed railways (shown here: West Japan Railway Company 500 Series Shinkansen at Kyoto). ... Magnetic levitation is the process by which an object is suspended above another object with no other support but magnetic fields. ... Transrapid at the Emsland test facility Transrapid is a German monorail system using magnetic levitation. ... Shanghai Maglev Train is the first commercial maglev line in the world. ... Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev Train is a proposed maglev train line from Shanghai to Hangzhou. ... Swissmetro is a futuristic project of national transportation for Switzerland, based on high-speed trains circulating in low-pressure tunnels. ... JR-Maglev is Magnetic levitation train system which is developped by Japan Railway Technical Reasearch Institute(association of Japan Railway Group). ... Proposed Chuo Shinkansen route (gray) and existing Tokaido Shinkansen route (gold). ... The Aérotrain was a hovercraft train developed in France from 1965 to 1975. ... Older children can use personal rapid transit without adult help. ...

References

• Heller, Arnie: “A New Approach for Magnetically Levitating Trains--and Rockets”, Science & Technology Review, June 1998.

External links

Transrapid

• The International Maglev Board
• Transrapid
• Slideshow on the Transrapid
• Shanghai Pudong Airport Maglev in depth
• The UK Ultraspeed Project
• Consortium Transrapid Nederland
• Baltimore-Washington Maglev Project
• California Maglev Project
• Magnetbahn-bayern
• Bmg-bayern
• Maglev Quicklinks
• Swissmetro

Japanese Maglev

Linear Motor Car

• RTRI MLX01
• RTRI Maglev R&D
• RTRI Technologies of Maglev

• Yamanashi Linear Express Fan Club (in Japanese)
• A site with MLX01 video and photo (in Japanese)
• MLX01 Video

• Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI)
• RTRI Maglev Systems Development Department
• Central Japan Railway Company
• Central Japan Railway Company - Chuo Shinkansen
• Central Japan Railway Company - Superconducting Maglev
• Central Japan Railway Company - Linear Express
• Linear Chuo Express (in Japanese)
• Linear Chuo Express for kids website (in Japanese)
• Linear Chuo Shinkansen Project

• Other Japanese Maglev Links

Linimo

• Linimo

Maglev train companies

These websites contain further information provided by companies building maglev trains (alphabetical order).

• General Atomics (USA)
• HSST (Japan)
• Maglev2000 (USA)
• Rotem (Korea)
• Transrapid International (Germany)
• Ultraspeed (UK; uses Transrapid technology)
• Swissmetro (Switzerland)
• Boeing

General

• Federal Railroad Administration - MAGLEV
• Report to Congess: Costs and Benefits of Magnetic Levitation
• Urban Maglev Interest Group
• Maglev in Asia (China, Shanghai), Japan (Yamanashi) and Germany (Munich; TVE)
• Lawrence Livermore's InducTrack Site
• UniModal personal rapid transit system
• Magnetic Levitation for Transportation