Maglev RR - Green, Clean, Fast, 600mph
No Wheels, No Engine, No Noise, No Pollution, No Problem
So Why Aren't They at a Train Station Near You?
They're green, clean, fast, quiet. No wheels, one track. Maglev stands for magnetic levitation. They glide on a cushion of air. Because of the way Maglev works, there's now little chance of derailment. The higher the train gets from the track, the stronger the magnetic force pushing it back. It's a greener transit solution. One problem - they're very expensive.
Magnetic Levitation Travel
The tech uses magnetic fields to lift the train a small distance above the track and make it move. It's much faster than a regular train. A Maglev in Japan has broken a world record at 600 mph. A trip from Toronto to Vancouver is forecast to take 3 hours on Maglev by 2035.
All Aboard in Asia
Only a handful of commercially viable systems have been built. Only 3 survive - all in Asia. China likes the system so much it plans to launch it in 12 cities by 2020. It has the world's fastest operational system at 268 mph. South Korea has an unmanned system called Ecobee. And Japan is building a system that just tested at speeds of 600mph.
Why Not More Systems
The drag is money. In the US, it would cost an estimated $100 million per mile to build and there's no guarantee of a profit. For now, Asia is the magnetic force in railway.
 |
| Maglev Train |
So Why Aren't They at a Train Station Near You?
They're green, clean, fast, quiet. No wheels, one track. Maglev stands for magnetic levitation. They glide on a cushion of air. Because of the way Maglev works, there's now little chance of derailment. The higher the train gets from the track, the stronger the magnetic force pushing it back. It's a greener transit solution. One problem - they're very expensive.
Magnetic Levitation Travel
The tech uses magnetic fields to lift the train a small distance above the track and make it move. It's much faster than a regular train. A Maglev in Japan has broken a world record at 600 mph. A trip from Toronto to Vancouver is forecast to take 3 hours on Maglev by 2035.
All Aboard in Asia
Only a handful of commercially viable systems have been built. Only 3 survive - all in Asia. China likes the system so much it plans to launch it in 12 cities by 2020. It has the world's fastest operational system at 268 mph. South Korea has an unmanned system called Ecobee. And Japan is building a system that just tested at speeds of 600mph.
Why Not More Systems
The drag is money. In the US, it would cost an estimated $100 million per mile to build and there's no guarantee of a profit. For now, Asia is the magnetic force in railway.
Comments
Post a Comment