Maglev: the history
Economics
The economics of maglev have been a hot topic in the past, with many people doubting the cost-to- performance ratio and comparing it to conventional methods. An example of this was presented in the Shanghai Transrapid in 2004, the world’s first commercial high -speed maglev system. The whole project took around 1.3 billion dollars and 2.5 years to build, but it has been in a huge deficit since its opening. Due to the lack of passengers and the high maintenance costs, the project was expected to lose nearly a million dollars every year. 17 However, the extension in 2006 employed an all-concrete design that cost 30% less and took less time to build, which, along with other new construction methods, put the price below its alternative competitors. 18
Conclusion
In conclusion, although not quite there yet, the maglev systems around the world have shown us a promising future in human ity’s next step towards evolving our existing rail infrastructure. Since there is no need for moving parts in the system, Maglev trains will have longer lifecycles, be more energy efficient, and ultimately be cleaner than conventional rail as they are electrically powered. The system, after a century of development contributed by various scientists around the world, not only puts our understanding of an incredibly useful physical phenomenon to use but also combines various physics principles to finally assemble into an application that will hopefully benefit and inspire humanity further in the future. .
17 Wang Yu Lei ( 王珏磊 ), Xu Tai Yue ( 徐太岳 ), ‘ 上海磁 悬 浮 项 目 酝酿 地上 转 地下 示范 线 年 亏 几 亿 ’ , 《 时 代周 报 》 (2009) at http://news.sina.com.cn/c/sd/2009-02-26/092817292982.shtml; consulted: 30/7/2023. 18 ‘Modular Guideway Manufacturing’, North American Maglev Transport Institute (Sept 2011), at https://web.archive.org/web/20110919050405/http://namti.org/?page_id=3281; consulted: 30/7/2023.
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