4.3 LTS Maglev train Ë 95commercial service. It is verified that this system has sufficient capability for high-
speed operation. A further high-speed passing test of 1026.3 km/h was carried out
on November 16, 2004, exceeding the potential passing speed for the commercial
service. The stability of both vehicle and ground equipment was confirmed [63].
Through 15 years of tests verifying technology, safety, and reliability at the YMTL, the
cumulative travel distance has reached almost 880,000 km with 140,000 test riders
having experienced the ride [1].
One of the most important areas of a LTS EDS Maglev train was the develop-
ment of reliable superconducting magnets [64]. The 16 superconducting magnets
were attached on the vehicle’s bogie. Within the superconducting magnet cryostat,
four superconducting coils made of niobium-titanium (Nb-Ti) wires were installed.
The superconducting magnet, capable of generating a maximum magnetic field of
5.5 T, was small (5.4 m long×1.17 m height) and light (1400 kg), enabling total weight
reduction of the vehicle. The superconducting magnet could maintain stability from
mechanical vibration or electromagnetic interference applied during high-speed run.
Moreover, on-board superconducting magnets required neither cryogen nor power
supply except for the refrigerator power source [1].
Existing Superconducting Maglev vehicles in Japan adopt LTS magnets using Nb-
Ti wires wound in a racetrack configuration. The LTS coils were cooled by liquid
helium in cryogenic vessels and their radiation shield plate was maintained at about
80 K by liquid nitrogen (Figs. 4.4 and 4.5). Evaporated gas helium and nitrogen were
completely re-liquefied by on-board refrigerators. The LTS magnets were energized
at the train depot and operated in a persistent current mode with the help of a
superconducting switch. The decay rate of the magnet current was below 0.1%/day;
thus, they did not require any on-board energizing power units [65].
Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) has built the Tokaido Shinkansen,
the world’s first high-speed railway. After deliberation, in December of 2007, JR
Central announced plans to build a superconducting Maglev train line connecting
Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka with a maximum speed of 505 km/h [1, 63]. Starting from
central Osaka to the heart of Tokyo, the superconducting Maglev train will travel in
67 minutes, 44% faster than the most advanced bullet trains, and traveling by Maglev
Fig. 4.4:Schematic view of LTS magnet using Nb-Ti wires of the EDS Maglev train in Japan [65].