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Magnetic levitation technology (maglev) |
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| Maglev is an innovative ground transportation system based on magnetic levitation technology. Maglev trains are propelled and braked by a linear motor.
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Technology field: Non-conventional trains (Maglev etc.)
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General information
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Description
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General criteria
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Environmental criteria
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Impacts on energy efficiency:
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Energy efficiency potential for single vehicle: 5 - 10% |
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Energy efficiency potential throughout fleet: not applicable |
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Other environmental impacts: ambivalent |
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Economic criteria
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Application outside railway sector (this technology is railway specific)
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Overall rating
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Overall potential: promising |
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Time horizon: long-term |
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The on-going discussion on the Transrapid technology is very controversial, especially in Germany. The principal technological feasibility has been demonstrated, but the financial hurdles are very high. An unbiased environmental assessment of maglev technology shows interesting potential in some areas. If compared to air travel, energy efficiency is clearly in favour of transrapid technology. The comparison with conventional high-speed rail transport is not as striking, but is likely to be still in favour of maglev technology at least if equal speeds are compared. From an energy efficiency point of view, the transrapid therefore deserves consideration. This does not say anything about the need and the economic feasibility of such a system. The biggest potential of the Transrapid is expected to lie in long national and international passenger transport where the time gain is significant compared to future high-speed railway systems achieving up to 330 km/h. |
 date created: 2002-10-09 |
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| © UIC - International Union of Railways 2003 |
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