Racing Ahead The Advancements of Maglev

Writter: Matthew Robson

Speeding down the tracks at over 300 miles per hour, maglev trains might be the future of mass transportation. Maglev technology is most prevalent in Japan and China but may be making their way into the United States soon. Maglev technology incorporates research in superconductors and long-term knowledge of magnetic fields.

Maglev trains function like classical diesel or steam trains by riding on tracks, but instead of using metal wheels, they use the repelling forces of magnets to make the train float. These trains are not powered in the classic sense of using a steam or diesel engine, instead, using attraction and repelling magnetic forces to pull and push the train with no contact.

“SCMAGLEV stands for Superconducting Magnetic Levitation,” Sr. Communicvations Specialist at Northeast Maglev, Ashley Mcmillian said. “and it means we use superconductivity to create ultra-powerful electromagnets that can lift the train and float it down a guideway, with no loss of energy.”

This results in a train that only needsa to touch the ground when moving at very slow speeds or when it is being serviced. The added efficiency is able to transform into major benefits in reduced emissions.

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“SCMAGLEV is an ultra-low-emission mode of transportation,” Mcmillian said. “This means we’ll be able to prevent tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, helping to improve air quality in the region.”

Conventional diesel trains are still advancing, and their improvements are useful for the development of maglev. According to Mike Gerlach, the lead hardware engineer at Wabtec, a partner of GE Transportation, conventional trains are still innovating.

“One of the key areas of concern is safety,” Gerlach said. “We do failure mode analysis. Failure modes effect analysis, if something were to fail would it make things break down?”

It is important for mass transportation to be very reliable and safe for passengers because it transports so many people per day. According to CEO Tony Morris American Maglev Technology (AMT) highly values safety.

“The real advantage for us is the energy savings and the no moving parts,” Morris said. “We don’t have to worry about cows or cars.”

AMT designed and built the first full-scale maglev train and short course in the United States. In this theoretical test model, they were able to identify many safety benefits along with benefits from new, improving technologies. By lifting the track above the ground, they were able to decrease the number of obstacles in its way. According to Ashley Mcmillian at Northeast Maglev they found similar results in improved safety. Northeast Maglev is working on a current project using a maglev technology called Superconducting Magnetic Levitation or SCMAGLEV.

“SCMAGLEV trains are so exciting because it can completely change our expectations around what reliable, safe and comfortable public transportation can and should be in the United States.” said Mcmillian “We use superconductivity to create ultra-powerful electromagnets that can lift the train and float it down a guideway, with no loss of energy.”

On traditional trains, the technology is also increasing to try and catch up with maglev. Maglev uses many more recent, less tested mechanics, which could lead to problems if they

“All large transportation projects face similar challenges as they expand, especially when they need to build brand-new infrastructure, like what we see with the SCMAGLEV,” said Mcmillian. “We have robust plans in place to reduce or eliminate the chance of these problems happening, but we’re also prepared to face any challenges that may arise.”

The same preparation to meet any challenge that may come up is an idea that is echoed by Gerlach when describing their workflow. It is important to build in redundancy for these new components, but it is also important for preexisting technologies to keep up to date with redundancy.

“There’s a lot of redundancy built into locomotives,” said Gerlach. “It is not always a big problem if there ever is a failure... they usually have multiple locomotives pushing a cargo, sometimes it will cause a big failure or just stop the train.”

Along with reliability, Gerlach said that they were implementing many new technologies. Wabtec is starting to use electric-powered locomotives, and they are improving communication between train cars. Many of these mechanisms already exist in maglev, so the more difficult problem for them is making sure that they have enough demand.

“In fact, our models show that a significant portion of our ridership will come from people who would have taken a short-haul flight, once the full line is built between New York City and

Washington, D.C.” said Mcmillian. “This is great news, since short-haul flights are very energy inefficient and burn a lot of fossil fuel. The SCMAGLEV is an ultra-low-emission mode of transportation.”

These low emissions are very beneficial to the environment and are an added decrease in cost while running the train. These trains are more efficient than planes, and it seems that the only roadblock is waiting to finish planning and get approval to make these trains.

“Normally these projects take decades to be put in place,” said

Maglev speeds ahead of the competition at over 300 miles per hour when compared to . These overwhelming technological advances are what improve our mass transportation system and increasing ridership makes this possible.

“we know there will be demand for these trains” Mcmillian said.