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Why are maglev trains still rare? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by frightful_hobgoblin@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

135 comments fedilink hide all child comments

They were invented decades ago.

They have fewer moving parts than wheelbois.

They require less maintenance.

There's obviously some bottleneck in expanding maglev technology, but what is it?

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[–] Arfman@aussie.zone 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I remembered seeing a video by Real Engineering that explained a lot on Maglev and it's pros and cons but one of the summaries that really hit it off for me and if I remember correctly is that it cost 11 times more to build per kilometre compared to conventional high speed rail, for about 70% more top speed while using 30% more energy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4L_0CDsd1I

Personally I feel unless they come up with better superconductors, there's still a long way to go before it really takes off.