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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

147 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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[–] JillyB@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago

Japan is in the late stages of developing a maglev section of the Shinkansen. It has liquid helium cooling for semiconductors and lots of considerations to make sure the cabin and surroundings aren't exposed to very strong magnetic fields. It's just more expensive to do all that.

After Japan rolls this out and works out the kinks, it might get cheaper since a lot of they've done a lot of the development.