Advocating Fast, Reliable, Safe, Clean, Quiet & Sustainable Maglev Transport

We assume you landed here because you have interest in the subject of magnetic levitation transport (a.k.a. maglev). NAMTI and this website were created as a reliable resource for accurate information regarding maglev technology. It was not created by or for any particular manufacturer (our honesty and directness makes them uncomfortable because they have to work with government agencies), but NAMTI does emphasize that the sooner America deploys an advanced maglev transport system, the sooner it can start to become competitive in the international high-speed ground transportation market. In other words, we advocate maglev transport development and deployment as a means to create thousands of good paying high-tech jobs in America that will never be in jeopardy from the inferior 40-year old train technology being peddled by foreign fast train manufacturers in America today.

At this time, America has an antiquated passenger rail system and a passenger rail manufacturing industry that doesn’t really exist, so there cannot be any potential for an export market. However, precisely because America’s passenger rail system is so antiquated, it has the golden opportunity to leap-frog the 40-year old style fast train systems being deployed elsewhere in the world (such as all over China), and which are being considered for several fast train corridors in the U.S.

Link to the North American Maglev Transport Institute website The fact that China always maintained a vibrant passenger rail network is the very reason they decided and were effectively able to upgrade their entire network. This is one of the main reasons why they chose not to aggressively deploy maglev systems much beyond Shanghai, but they have begun construction of a low-speed maglev (east-west S-1 Line) in Beijing that is of their own design.

However, this leaves the market still open for maglev development and deployment in North America, if our politicians will only stop pandering and listening to foreign rail manufacturers with their promises of new green manufacturing jobs in America. Never mentioned, much less discussed, is the subject of the future operator’s need (Amtrak?) for extensive and frequent maintenance requirements for fast train networks and the exorbitant costs and annual O&M subsidies such maintenance regimens will bring.

The discussion in the press and punditry is only about initial capital costs and sufficient ridership numbers. Never do life cycle costs, which includes maintenance and system longevity (robustness), figure into the calculus of these seemingly weighty discussions. At present, the super high maintenance costs of fast mechanical steel-wheel-on-steel-rail systems is the 800 pound gorilla in USDOT’s plan for bringing fast trains to America – and it is the states, and their future generations, that will get stuck with the costs for feeding that gorilla.

With higher maintenance costs, come higher passenger fares. Just ask any Washington, DC Metro rider (Metro only hits 60 mph (100 km/h) on its fastest runs) about the fair increases, frequent breakdowns, degrading ride quality, service delays, and canceled service during snow storms – and, by the way, Metro is heavily subsidized in spite of its excellent ridership. The public understands what is at stake because they are the ones paying for deploying and using the systems. Unfortunately, the vision and discussions by our leadership on how to deliver systems that dramatically improve efficiency of inter- and intra- city transport, that is also more affordable and sustainable, is seriously lacking. Maglev is the answer and it is available now, if only the government and its bureaucracies would get out of the way.

What Is Maglev?

First of all, maglevs are not trains. Maglev transport is not mechanically-based, maintenance-intensive railroad technology, nor is it high-speed rail (HSR),or what we at NAMTI prefer to call fast High-Maintenance Rail (HMR)

High-speed maglev transport (HSM) is non-mechanical electric-powered Electronic Transportation Technology (ETT). Maglev requires no-contact (friction) for braking and propulsion and that makes it perfect for very safe, all-weather, high-speed transport for intercity travel and/or airport connectors

Low-speed maglev (LSM) systems are extremely well-suited for low-speed (60 mph), quiet, all-weather, ultra-reliable urban transport.

Both these modes have several radical improvements over existing mechanically-based rail transit systems, not the least of which is dramatically lower maintenance requirements – the single biggest headache for every transit system in the world. Maglev systems simply have the lowest life cycle costs of any fast mode of transport and are the quintessential definition of sustainable transport.

This site serves several functions:

1. To provide a basic introduction to the general principles of magnetic levitation for commercially ready-for-deployment maglev systems; including, systems that employ superconducting electro-magnetic repulsion levitation methods and systems that employ electro-magnetic attraction methods.
2. To provide detailed technical aspects of the various maglev systems shown, including initial capital costs, infrastructure longevity, O&M costs, and dramatically lower life cycle costs (LCC).
3. To show the North American population and its leadership which maglev systems are ready for commercial deployment now and have dramatic advantages in lower maintenance requirements, all-weather reliability and low operational costs that render our existing mechanically-based rail transit systems obsolete.

These activities will be supported by papers written by maglev   transportation engineers and other professionals. Plus, there will  be many uploads of rarely seen videos of overseas commercial maglevs in operation,  photographs (be sure to notice the drop down menus) and other visual aids that will quickly demonstrate the quantum leap forward we would realize over our present  oil-reliant, mechanically-based, transportation system – if and when we start to deploy non-contact electronic maglev transport instead of the old mechanical and maintenance intensive systems our governments insist on deploying.

We hope to convey the transformative impact that ultra-reliable, all-weather, frictionless maglev transport systems will have on the North American economy. For example, real estate development will explode around new stations that service ultra-reliable maglev travel and be a boon to local job creation. Destinations plagued by heavy snowfall that brings wheeled transport to a standstill and shuts down airports, need never again leave intercity travelers stranded or the community isolated from the outside world.

Then there are also the environmental benefits of maglev. Not only does maglev transport itself impart an extremely low environmental impact, but its successful deployments around the country will mean a lessening of the environmental impacts of the dirty carbon transport systems it supplants, such as regional airlines that have no pollution controls whatsoever. Plus, there is no salting needed for ice-slick guideways. Maglevs are simply free from all the limits of friction-based transport.

NAMTI editorials run periodically and address not only technical issues, but also the present state of transportation politics in North America; which we would categorize presently as disappointing at best, and outright obstructionist at worst. Often times, the truth is not pretty.

For those who want to learn more about the many overlying factors that affect maglev deployment in North America, this website provides much of the latest information on various maglev technological developments, progress of international maglev deployment projects, and our perspective on maglev’s potential contribution to North America’s transportation system, as well as the difficulties of deploying a disruptive electronic transportation technology (ETT)into a mechanically driven, oil-reliant transportation system.

Maglev Myths Busted

Here are ten basic facts about maglev transport:

1. Maglev transport is not mechanical, High-Maintenance Rail technology (HMR)
2. Maglev is not just one technology; there is more than one way to magnetically levitate a vehicle
3. Maglev systems are long electric motors  – the vehicles and guideways (tracks) are interdependent and comprise the two basic elements of an electric motor with no need for bearings or grease
   
4. There are low-speed maglevs for local/medium distance urban transport and there are high-speed maglevs for inter-city transport and airport connectors
5. Maglev is not “too expensive” to build, operate and maintain and is now actually less costly to deploy and operate than HMR and much more cost effective
6. Maglev has non-contact, frictionless operations which allows inherently super low maintenance and low life cycle costs, regardless of weather conditions
7. Maglev’s non-contact propulsion and braking mean low noise operation
8. “Proven” maglev systems are in commercial operation in Nagoya, Japan (March 2005) and Shanghai, China (March 2004) and both systems operate with a 99.97% on time – to the second – schedule reliability due to precise computer controlled operations
9. Maglev systems can operate on steeper grades in all-weather conditions with unchanged schedule reliability
10. High-Speed Maglev (HSM) systems are vastly superior to all traditional (regardless of speed) rail in acceleration, braking, safety, noise levels, all-weather operations, infrastructure longevity/sustainability, maintenance and now, construction costs and speed of construction

Be sure to check this site often as the information will change and/or be updated frequently. We truly hope you come away from here with a better understanding of how this technology works and how strategic maglev deployments can vastly improve transportation options for the people of North America, while also vastly improving the transportation experience for travelers.