Maglev trains create no direct pollution emissions and are significantly quieter than traditional transport methods when operating at the same speed.
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In high-speed intercity transport, using maglev trains can offer an especially good cost-benefit ratio as regards land purchase, construction, operation, maintenance and environmental protection. Future technological advances can be expected to improve this ratio even more.
Maglev trains use magnetism to levitate above the tracks on which they travel. They are faster, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly than modern wheeled trains.
Even though the train can travel up to 375 miles per hour, a rider experiences less turbulence than on traditional steel wheel trains because the only source of friction is air. Another big benefit is safety. Maglev trains are “driven” by the powered guideway.
The magnetic field generated by the Superconducting Maglev has no impact on health, as it is controlled with various measures to keep it below the standards established in international guidelines (ICNIRP Guidelines). The standards are set at approx. 1/5 to 1/10 the level that could affect the human body.
Maglev trains are “driven” by the powered guideway. Any two trains traveling the same route cannot catch up and crash into one another because they're all being powered to move at the same speed. Similarly, traditional train derailments that occur because of cornering too quickly can't happen with Maglev.
The benefits of this method are that it is incredibly stable at high speeds. Maintaining correct distance between train and guideway is not a concern (Lee, 2006). The drawbacks are that sufficient speed needs to be built up in order for the train to levitate at all.
The construction of the SCMAGLEV alone is set to create 205,000 jobs nationwide. Factoring in additional growth in supporting industries and businesses, increased tax revenue to local municipalities, effects on tourism, and access to more of the region in less time, the economic benefits will be monumental!
While high-speed maglev infrastructure is relatively expensive to build, maglev trains are less expensive to operate and maintain than traditional high-speed trains or planes. At higher speeds, most of the power needed is used to overcome air drag.
Trains Emit Less CO2 Than Other Transport MethodsRecently developed hydrogen-powered trains are the most eco-friendly trains in the world, emitting nothing except steam as a by-product and creating very little noise.
Compared to highspeed passenger rail, maglev passenger rail consumes roughly twice the power per passenger kilometer. For commercial freight I found an efficiency figure of 520 ton-miles per gallon (660 kg-km/MJ). Assuming 70kg for the average commuter passenger this gives us an efficiency of (116 kg-km/MJ) for maglev.
Its vehicle operates without contact, levitating about 3.9in inside a U-shaped guideway. Magnetic force from levitation and guidance coils keeps the vehicle centered in the guideway, both vertically and horizontally, preventing derailment at the time of an earthquake.
In addition, the energy consumption can be further reduced by use of regenerative braking, an energy recovery mechanism where the kinetic energy of the train can be regained when the train slows down. Maglev is also a very cheap and efficient mode of transportation.
Present Maglev systems cost 30 million dollars or more per mile. Described is an advanced third generation Maglev system with technology improvements that will result in a cost of 10 million dollars per mile. Plotkin, D.; Kim, S. Lever, J.H.
By replacing wheels and supporting machinery with electromagnets or super-conducting magnets, levitating trains are able to reach incredible speeds. Preventing interaction between wheels and rail also means less noise, vibration and mechanical failure, and fewer problems in the event of bad weather.