60 Ë 3 Magnetic levitation
Maglev versions have different unique performances. In the constant pursuit of the
“perfect” Maglev transportation, the new HTS Maglev train may be one of the best
candidates.
More books and review articles about the Maglev vehicles can be found in the
references (Maglev books and reviews at the end of this chapter).
3.2 Rail traflc – the mainstream of the 21st-century
transportation
Comparing the rail traffic with other traffic modes, we find that rail traffic is undoub-
tedly the most reliable traffic mode. Its reliability results not only from a lower number
of traffic accidents, but also less loss incurred from these accidents. Car and airplane
accidents were 8.6 and 7.1 times, respectively, more frequent than railway accidents
in Japan in 1985. Compared with the automobile and aircraft accident rate, rail traffic
accidents are nearly negligible. The mortality rate of the Japanese Shinkansen was
zero during 34 years of operation. The mortality rates (people per 10 billion person-
kilometers [pkm]) for cars, planes, and trains were 501, 5.31, and 0.78, respectively [1].
The total number of people killed worldwide in road traffic accidents is more than 22
million [2], which is close to the 26 million soldiers killed in World War II.
In addition, railway traffic has a series of advantages [3]. Compared to automobile
or air transport, railway transport produces the lowest amount of emissions. Rail-
way traffic is an efficient and environment-friendly transport system in most cases,
where large volumes of goods can be transported for long distances quickly and
with a minor impact on environment. Transport’s share of CO 2 emissions from fuel
combustion is about 30% of all emissions. CO 2 emissions for railway, bus, aviation,
and automobile are 19, 51, 109, and 147 g/pkm, respectively [4]. From the total costs
of reduction of negative impact on environment in the transport industry, only 8%
comes from railway transport, whereas up to 90% comes from road transport, even
though its traffic performance is lower by 50% than the traffic performance of railway
transport. Transportation taxes are based on the environmental (pollution, noise,
etc.) cost; thus, it is more competitive to increase railway than highway and aviation
transport.
Another important argument placing railway transport above road transport is a
lower occupation of agricultural land. While road transport occupies almost 74% of
such land, railway transport occupies only 26%, even though its traffic performance
is almost twice as big as that of road traffic. In general, the total area for highways is
three to four times that required for the railway.
In the national economy, railway traffic has its specific and irreplaceable position.
It enables and facilitates transportation of goods at much cheaper cost. In comparison
with road carriers, railway transport also has lower restrictions. Road carriers must