Why can maglev trains go faster than other trains?

Maglev trains are designed to glide through the air. The front is curved so that the air slides over the train as it moves. This helps the train to move faster and reduces friction with the air. Maglev trains can move at speeds up to 300 miles per hour.



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Maglevs eliminate a key source of friction—that of train wheels on the rails—although they must still overcome air resistance. This lack of friction means that they can reach higher speeds than conventional trains.

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Because maglev trains require entirely new guideways, cars, and power specifications, they must be built from scratch. Despite their decades-long allure, implementation costs can be prohibitive relative to HSR. Today there are only six operational maglev trains—three in China, two in South Korea, and one in Japan.

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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.

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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. Additionally, this system is much more complex and costly to implement.

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As noted above the Maglev trains are capable of traveling at speeds nearly twice as fast as the bullet trains. However, the use of such extreme speeds in commercial travel seems unlikely. Whereas Maglev trains travel at speeds of up to 400 or 600kph, bullet trains travel at a modest 320kph.

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Magnetic fields inside and outside the vehicle are less than EDS; proven, commercially available technology; high speeds (500 kilometres per hour or 310 miles per hour); no wheels or secondary propulsion system needed.

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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).

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The Maglev has significantly lower CO2 emissions compared too the traditional InterCity train at 300 kph, mainly due to its lower energy usage. At 400 kph the Maglev has almost half the CO2 emissions than an average motor car and a massive five and a third times less than a short haul airline flight.

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On 22 September 2006, a Transrapid magnetic levitation (or maglev) train collided with a maintenance vehicle near Lathen, Germany, killing 23 people.

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Maglev is also a very cheap and efficient mode of transportation. Maglev operating costs will be only 3 cents per passenger mile and 7 cents per ton mile, compared to 15 cents per passenger mile for airplanes and 30 cents per ton mile for intercity trucks.

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Even if the power goes out, levitation forces keeps the train in the air while it is traveling at high speed. The vehicle comes safely to a stop rather than suddenly falling onto the track.

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In all, the Northeast Maglev is planned to have eight stops, including:
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport.
  • Baltimore, Maryland.
  • Wilmington, Delaware.
  • Philadelphia International Airport.
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • Newark Liberty International Airport.
  • New York City.


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