3.7 Normal-conductive Maglev Ë 75Fig. 3.4:The first commercial automated EMS Maglev system in UK [80].
of the track was 600 m, the levitation gap was 15 mm, and it was propelled by linear
induction motors. This system stopped operating in 1995 due to aging of the electrical
system rather than the Maglev technology itself.
The German Transrapid [82–84] Maglev system is an intercity high-speed system
and is the fundamental innovation in railroad engineering since the construction
of the first railroads. Instead of wheels and rails, the Transrapid uses non-contact
electromagnetic levitation, guidance, and propulsion systems. Feedback control elec-
tronic systems guarantee that the suspension clearance remains constant (about
10 mm). The suspension system is supplied by on-board batteries which are recharged
in the process of operation by linear generators integrated into the support magnets.
The synchronous long stator linear motor is used both for propulsion and braking,
and the motor primary coils are mounted on the guideway. The braking energy can be
fed back into the electrical network.
In the early 1970s, Germany began Maglev development. From the start of Transra-
pid 02 in 1971 to the successful development of the current Transrapid 09, the Germans
underwent development road of more than 30 years. The Transrapid 09 (Fig. 3.5)
started test operation in July 2008.
During commissioning in Shanghai in November 2002, the Chinese bullet train
repeatedly reached a speed of more than 440 km/h, thereby exceeding its designed
revenue service operation speed of 430 km/h. The maiden trip of the Transrapid train
on its first commercially operated route worldwide started from Shanghai’s Long Yang
Road to the Pudong International Airport on December 31, 2002 [85]. This was the first
commercial demonstration operation line for an EMS high-speed Maglev system in
the world. On November 12, 2003, a Shanghai Transrapid carried its passengers to a
new world record for standard-specification ground-transport vehicles: 501 km/h. The
maximum speed is not used in daily service due to the relatively short route length of
30 km [86].
The HSST Maglev technology [87] is based on a normal conductive system levi-
tated by the attractive force of magnets and propelled by LIM without wheels. Japan