Maglev Trains: The Future Awaits

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

 

Magnetic levitating trains sound like science fiction, but the fact is that they already exist in three countries - China, South Korea, and Japan - and plans are in the works to expand them into several other nations.  A few brave souls have even begun discussing the idea of starting some limited maglev rail lines within the United States, but wild notions such as that would likely not go unchallenged by America's oil and gas industries.

The "maglev" concept is exceedingly simple in design.   Instead of running on a pair of rails, like traditional trains or even suped-up "high-speed" public transports like Japan's famous "Bullet Train," this new generation of trains travel on one rounded rail.  Strong electro-magnets attached to the underside of the train cars and to the rails attract and repel each other to raise the train off of the rail (or "levitate" it) in air a few inches above the rail, and then pull and push the car into motion.  As the train speeds along without actually touching the rail that is guiding it, there is no friction from large metal wheels to slow it down, and its speed can increase to well beyond what the traditional trains, or even "high-speed" trains can do.

Right now maglev trains are being built that have the ability to run over 300 miles per hour.  The air between the train and the rail does cause a small amount of friction which limits the potential speed of the trains, but technology is quickly being developed that will circumvent that hurdle and will allow for the creation of even faster trains.

The technology is already here, and if the infrastructure was in place, people in the United States could travel, in the comfort of extra-wide train cars, from New York City to Los Angeles in under eight hours!

Right now there is some talk within the halls of our government about making major improvements in rail travel in the US, but most of that talk is centered on increasing the routes of the more traditional "high-speed" trains that operate on the existing rail system.  That method has more political support than the "maglev" option because it would be cheaper to implement.  Many existing rails could be updated and used for high-speed trains, but maglev would require a totally new one-rail system - probably an "elevated rail" that would not interfere with existing highways and rails.

However, once the large expenditure for a new elevated, single-rail system had been made, operation of the maglev trains would be much cheaper than operating traditional diesel or electric-powered trains, and maglev trains produce almost no pollution - and are quieter.  By riding on a cushion of air, there is essentially no wear-and-tear on the undercarriages of the trains, which translates into less money being spent on repairs.  Maglev trains can make tighter turns than normal trains, and are far less likely to jump the track, and if they are on elevated tracks they will not be subject to crashes with vehicle traffic.  Also maglev trains can climb steeper grades than traditional trains which would create less need for tunnels or long routes around mountainous features.

In short, maglev trains are cheaper to operate than traditional trains, and they are faster, safer, and greener - but as long as the United States remains under the strong political influence of the airline and fossil fuel industries, the notion of magnetic levitating trains is likely to be ignored by our government and treated as though the whole notion was nothing more than Buck Rogers' science fiction.

But the truth is that that they aren't science fiction.  Maglev trains are operating in some of the more advanced parts of the world today, and at some point the United States of America will enter the 21st century of transportation - whether it wants to or not!