The news last week that the U.S. government would distribute $90 million in grants for maglev planning studies excited those who see the technology as the future of transportation. Rather than relying on steel rails, maglev trains float down the line about a half an inch above the track surface, kept aloft by powerful electromagnets. They consume less energy and move faster than normal trains because they are not affected by ground friction; their rights-of-way, meanwhile, cost about the same to build. [SButtonZ button="digg"]

Though researchers have been exploring the concept for decades, maglev is a relatively new technology; the first floating train didn’t open to passengers until 1979, when Hamburg exhibited a short 50 mph line for six months. In 1984, a slow maglev train in Birmingham, England commenced operations between the airport and a nearby rail station, but it was shut down after a decade of unreliability.

It was only in 2004 that maglev’s true potential entered into the public consciousness with the start of 270 mph train operation of a 19-mile line linking Shanghai’s business district and airport. Built by German company Transrapid, the train covers the distance in just over seven minutes, achieving high acceleration rates that conventional trains can’t match. Though it has struggled to attract riders because of its inconvenient station locations and high ticket prices, the line stands as powerful real-world example of maglev’s potential: it has been 99.98% dependable while consuming 40% less power than an equivalent rail system. It can also handle sharper curves and higher gradients than its steel-on-steel peers.

Despite its numerous advantages, maglev faces long odds just about everywhere. Germany advanced a proposal for a Berlin-Hamburg line, and then a project from Munich to its airport, but both corridors were canceled after the government refused to commit the necessary funds. Even an extension of the Shanghai project to Hangzhou has been permanently suspended due to community resistance and unfounded fears of radiation. Worst for the technology’s reputation was a high-profile crash that killed 23 people at Transrapid’s Emsland test facility in 2006.

But maglev’s principal disadvantage remains the fact that it is incompatible with existing rail lines, unlike traditional high-speed rail. This means higher costs and more community opposition in sensitive urban areas, where fast track-based trains can slow down and use legacy tracks. Those obstacles may be impossible to overcome for all but the few projects built in places where there are no existing rail lines and where the approach into downtown is direct.

Even so, maglev continues to command interest around the world. Here’s a review of the most compelling proposals.

Tokyo-to-Osaka: Chuo Shinkansen

Executives at the Central Japan Railway Company have a huge ambition: to connect Tokyo and Osaka in one hour with a new 300 mph maglev system. The line would relieve the overcrowded Tokaido Shinkansen conventional high-speed train and reduce travel times by more than 50%. The first phase of the project could open by 2025 between Tokyo and Nagoya, but this segment alone would cost more than $50 billion to build.

Japan certainly have the technological know-how to make the project happen. The nation has been working on maglev since 1962 and in late 2003 sped a train to 361 mph along a specially-build track, setting a new, and still unbeaten, record. The system under consideration does not produce enough levitating power to keep a train in the air at low speeds—so engineers have incorporated retractable wheels for “take off” and “landing,” just like airplanes. [Pic]

London-to-Glasgow: UK Ultraspeed

Unlike its counterparts in on the European mainland, the British government has done little to expand and improve its train system in recent decades apart from completing a link to the Channel Tunnel and France. Maglev buffs, however, have a plan for a 500 mile line between London and Glasgow that would connect the cities in just two hours and thirty minutes and bring all of the country’s biggest cities within easy commuting distance of one another.

The project would use the same German technology as the Shanghai equipment, called electromagnetic suspension, which allows trains to levitate even when they’re sitting still.

Any hopes for a U.K. maglev, however, were likely scuttled earlier this year when it became apparent that a conventional high-speed rail system had gained the support of politicians on both the left and right. [Image: HowStuffWorks]

Pittsburg-to-Greensburg, PA: The Pennsylvania Project

This proposal has received some $50 million in planning funds from the U.S. government over the past ten years, but it’s sometimes hard to understand why. The 54-mile corridor would connect Pittsburgh Airport, downtown Pittsburgh, Monroeville, and Greensburg in 35 minutes. The latter two cities have a combined population of around 50,000—bringing into question whether this project would be an underused boondoggle.

But the Pennsylvania Project could be the keystone of something much more significant: a connection between New York and Chicago, running through Philadelphia and Cleveland. Prospects for that line, however, are so low that they’re hardly even worth mentioning. [Image]

LA-to-Las Vegas: California Nevada Super Speed Train

After President Obama announced the government’s historic investment in high-speed rail earlier this year, Republican Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal went on record in opposition, arguing that it would be spent on the development of this “Disney-gambling” train between Anaheim and Las Vegas. Since then, Republicans have continued to focus on this 270-mile project, whose $12 billion cost they point to as a perfect example of reckless government spending.

But advocates for the project, mostly from Nevada, claim that the line would be economically beneficial and improve the conditions on congested I-15. As a first step, they have asked Washington for almost $2 billion to build a 35-mile route between Sin City and Primm, on the California border. But the project is in direct competition with a traditional high-speed rail line called Desert Xpress that has garnered the support of influential Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). [Pic]

Baltimore-Washington Maglev

Proponents of a link between these two cities see it as the core of a much longer corridor eventually linking Boston with Charlotte, dramatically speeding up commutes between the major cities of the East Coast. This 40-mile project was estimated in 2002 to cost about $4 billion to construct and would allow people to get from Union Station in Washington to downtown Baltimore in just 20 minutes.

With 27,000 estimated daily passengers, Baltimore sees this project as a catalyst for the revival of its urban core. BWI Airport’s attractiveness to the region’s travelers would expand once it is just 10 minutes from each city’s downtown. Amtrak, which already runs the popular and profitable Acela train on the corridor, taking just 30 minutes to complete the journey, likely doesn’t find this project very appealing. [Image]

Switzerland: Swissmetro

If the other maglev projects described here seem a little fantastical, a system proposed for Switzerland is downright pie-in-the-sky. The Swissmetro would connect all of the country’s major cities with a vacuum tunnel buried hundreds of feet under the Alps.

By sucking the air out from the underground tubes, the line could eliminate friction almost entirely—making it possible to make the 60-mile journey between Zurich and Bern in just 12 minutes at up to 350 mph.

There’s one big problem, though: where do you find the $60 billion needed to build the thing?

[Top Image via]

SEE ALSO:

The Infrastructurist Chart: How Do The World’s Most Ambitious High Speed Rail Projects Measure Up?

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