Should england Invest in Maglev trains?!?

Question

With a speed comparable to turbo jets (559 mph) you could get from Manchester to London in about 20 or so mins..

They are VERY green too. using Electro magnets, they get more power for their money :D

would you use one instead of your car? its certainly quicker

Answer 1

Mag lev systems have been talked about at least since the 1960s but there are still no extensive systems anywhere in the world.  Contrast that 40 years of more or less nothing with the spread of steam hauled trains between 1828 and 1868.  

This indicates to me that there are fundamental problems with mag lev technology, though it does not prove it..  My guesses are

1.  Appallingly expensive to set up.

2.  Uses ginormous amounts of energy just to lift the train off the track.Then uses ginmormous amounts more to push the train through the air at whatever speed.  Not very green at all.

3. Suitable only for passengers and perhaps very light freight.    4. Almost no passenger railway service makes money even with existing rails that have been there for years.  The expense to set up all but guarantees the system will never pay for itself.  

Ordinary electric trains on upgraded conventional track are far cheaper to build and run as no energy has to be expended lifting the train.  20 minutes from Manchester to London sounds attractive but 80 minutes running at a quarter the speed could still probably be much faster than by plane as you don't have to mess about at the airport waiting for check in and all the rest of the bother.

Answer 2

Don't know about UK but if America scrapped all internal flights and replaced them with maglev train services then this would help reduce global warming, in many ways. Not only would there be emisions from the planes but there would be less from peoples cars as a maglev could stop in a more convenient location than an airplane (closer to city centres etc). BTW there is a maglev plan for the UK, see http://www.500kmh.com/

Answer 3

The problem with Maglev is that ordinary trains can do everything maglevs can do, at about 1/10 the cost.  

Really.  There's no such thing as a 559mph maglev.  There is a 361mph maglev, but then, there's a 357mph regular train.  That train is, in fact, the TGV/Eurostar technology which England already has in service London-Paris.  And it's 100% compatible with existing railroads, trains and stations.

In other words, why do you want pie-in-the-sky when you already have your cake AND are eating it too?

Oh, and maglevs aren't less energy intensive. Think about it, how much energy does it take to float a train on magnets?  Lots.  How much does it take for it to sit on steel wheels? None.    TGV>Maglev, the end.

Answer 4

Just how many Nuclear Power Plants do you think it takes to lift a train and propel it down the tracks? Or coal power plants how green do you think they are now? Once at the station you have to take a Solor powered electric battery powered cab/taxi with caustic metal hydrate batterys to your final destination. Your research has some flaws. Just how many Kilovolts of energy does it take to lift a train?

Answer 5

NO, it is horribly expensive and evolving technology, the R & D is still ongoing. Other types of trains cannot run on maglev so all the infrastructure would need replacing. Just not practical.

High speed rail like france's TGV I think is the best way to go for the foreseeable future.

For one mile of mag-lev a country could upgrade 500 miles of railroad already in place.