Maglev is short for Magnetic Levitation. Hence, the train is using magnetism to reduce friction. By having magnets on the track be opposed to magnets on the bottom of the train, the magnetic repulsion keeps the train levitating slightly above the tracks.

The force exerted by a magnet is called The push or pull of magnetism can act at a distance, which means that the magnet does not have to touch an object to exert a force on it. When you close the refrigerator, you feel the pull before the magnet actually touches the metal frame.

Maglev is a transport method that uses magnetic levitation to move vehicles without touching the ground. A maglev train floats above the tracks on a “cushion” of magnetic field.

Trains that hover just above the tracks are actually possible due to magnetic levitation, or maglev for short. These trains use powerful magnets to stay in the air. Magnets generate a magnetic field. This magnetic field can push or pull on other nearby magnets, or generate a force.

A full-length Transrapid — up to as many as 20 sections — can carry just over 19 U.S. tons per section, or could therefore carry as much as 386 U.S. tons of air cargo Page 4 “Dispelling the Top Ten Myths of Maglev” (continued) High Speed Rail 2010 Conference: White Paper Page 4 in one vehicle.

Japan operates two independently developed maglev trains. One is HSST (and its descendant, the Linimo line) by Japan Airlines and the other, which is more well known, is SCMaglev by the Central Japan Railway Company. The development of the latter started in 1969.

Maglev electromagnetic-powered braking This type of brake employs electromagnets mounted on the “bogie,” the chassis on which the wheels are fastened. When actuated, the magnets create “eddy currents,” in which the electromagnetic force acting on the rails helps decrease the train speed.

How does the simple electromagnetic train work? When the battery is placed inside the coil and both magnets are touching the coil it produces a closed circuit between the two magnets, and current flows. As the current flows through the conductive copper wire a magnetic field is created around the wire.

High-speed maglev (short for magnetic levitation) trains float on air because electrified metal coils in the guideway, or track, repel large magnets attached beneath the train. Since there’s no friction, the train can go fast — more than 300 miles per hour!

There are several disadvantages with maglev trains. Maglev guide paths are bound to be more costly than conventional steel railways. The other main disadvantage is the lack of existing infrastructure.

Elon Musk’s estimates have suggested that building his Hyperloop-like system between LA and San Francisco (about 400 miles) will cost in excess of $7 billion. Hyperloop seems to be a really expensive and convoluted way of just making maglev trains faster. But it’s not speed that we need, it’s accessibility.

The high cost of maglev systems results from the need for a stand-alone guideway construction featuring active magnetic coils embedded directly into the guideway or on the vehicle and, in the case of the Japanese design, the addition of very low temperature liquid cooled superconducting magnets.

It looked at the entire technical and economic feasibility of setting up a hyperloop over a 350-km distance between Chennai and Bengaluru. It has estimated that the cost would work out to $20 million per km, including the cost of land; comparatively, the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed rail costs $28 million per km.

Because of the way maglev (in various ways) repels the train above its track, derailments are unlikely: the further the vehicle gets from its track, the stronger the magnetic force pushing it back. No signalling or moving parts to go wrong, with all the trains travelling at the same rate.

Shanghai maglev train