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 Welcome to the Magnetic Levitation Trains Special Page! While most trains have so far been ordered for conventional rails, for economical and compatibility reasons, megnetic levitation on rails offers many significant advantages. Above all, where 'conventional' super high speed trains are noisy when running at near full speeds, maglev trains are relatively quiet making their use possible for densely populated areas. Also, there are no moving parts on trains (except for doors and air conditioning ;), which means there are no parts to wear out either. Things that speak against maglev are most often its immense cost of infrastructure and the concerns of safety hasards (not yet known) for the super strong electro magnetic fields created to float the train above the rail.  Several projects have been studying seriously the necessary technologies within last decades. Test tracks have been built in Japan, South Korea and Germany. Despite of this the progress has been slow, the only production track is in use in Shanghai China and the country is at the moment building large extension to the existing track soon to be finished. 
Maglev Background The "German version" of the Magnetic levitation train, the Transrapid Maglev, saw its light in the 1970s as a West German state funded development project. There were actually one project for the conventional rail technology and one for maglev technology. The maglev project evolved through numerous steps and the 31,5 km test track was built between Lathen and Dörpen in Germany for further development and testing. This test track is still in use, although the financiating is currently provided just for a year at the time. In the future the test are probably carried out near Shanghai bacause the production environment is there. There has already been talks about this.  Picture: the aerodynamics of the first generation Maglev train seen at the station seems to gather all kinds of flying animals at the higher speeds. Smashed bugs and maybe whats left of birds cover this train. Hopefully the manufacturer will imitate the super high spweed trains design on conventional tracks to direct the air so that the direct hit occur less often. Picture by Veikko Mäkelä 2009. The idea of magnetic levitation is to minimize the movement friction and to provide needed mechanical support, thus allowing more comfortable rides on greater speeds up to five hundred kilometers per hour (310 mph). Use of this technology provides also an almost noiseless train movement, unlike the current super high speed trains. The Maglevs have not been earlier very successfull because of the initial investment costs, low transportation capacity and incompatibility issues (since there has earlier been no compatible infrastructure available). There might also be issues on the high energy fields' effects on human beings. However, in China near Shanghai, more than hundred kilometers of this expensive track is either finished and in use or under construction. First Maglev installation in Shanghai Breathrough for the transrapid Maglev was the year 2000. That year the City of Shanghai in China committed to connect its city center with the Pudong airport. This track was taken into daily production use in 2004. The track is operated during the daytime with each train carrying maximum of 440 passengers. The maximum operational speed on the way is 430 km/h (267 mph), which the train can maintain only for a short period, because of the length of the track. This maximum speed is not used at all times of the day, and the running speed of 301 km/h (186 mph) is more common for most of the time. Interestingly, the line has become one of the major tourist attractions for the city of Shanghai!  The Maglev technology fits well into larger cities, because despite its super fast speed, the train with no moving parts and floating near the surface instead of touching rails makes practically no soud at all, except for the sound of a wind! Major advantage for modern transportation! Pictures: One of the production units of Shanghai is seen boarding passengers at the station. Pictures by Veikko Mäkelä 2009.   A Shanghai Maglev pictured at the station. Really a "space age" vehicle! Published under GNU licence from a picture by Yosemite. Expansion of the existing track in Shanghai Well operating Shanghai Maglev track is going to have an added length between the cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou. The total length of the new project will be 170 km (105 miles) enabling better usage of the Maglevs greater speeds in populated areas. The total travel time for this distance is expected to be just the incredible 27 minutes! 4 stations are planned: Expo 2010 site (the world expo of 2010 will be in Shanghai), south Shanghai, Jiaxing and Hangzhou itself. The building will start in 2010 and should be finished by 2014.  There was also another project planned in Munich Germany as well to link the Munich Airport and the city center. Because of gross mistakes in calculating the costs this was cancelled before the building actually started. A lesson of honesty well worth considering when building new infrastructure!  Future visions for the Maglev technology With two lines in Shanghai China the Transrapid Maglev is finally on its way forward as a silent, super fast and comfortable way to travel fort the future. Hopefully these installations will show the way to further use of the technology.  | Some of the newer additions:  Brand new TGV-POS's pose in Paris Gare du Nord for the camera. Almost brand new...the locomotives are new, while the coaches are from the TGV-Reséau sets. Single story trains of 320 km/h serve well the limited numbers of passengers between France and Germany. once the volumes pick up, it's guaranteed that the double decked coaches will be swapped to these units. Picture by Sanna Siissalo 2008.  A Thalys PBKA number 4243 boarding in Paris-GNO. As 40% more passengers are expected to travel the Thalyses within next 3 years, seventh daily return trip between Paris and Amsterdam will be added beginning March 2008. Picture by Sanna Siissalo 2008. Picture: One of the production unis of Shanghai is seen boarding passengers at the station. Picture by Veikko Mäkelä 2009. | |
       
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