502kmph on Maglev

[Mark]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...00396387878713

[Mark Gleeson]

Sure TGV got to 515 km/h in the mid 1980's and the ride was still better than average intercity train at 160kph

I'll stick with steel wheels its a lot more energy efficient

The Germans have a maglev test track where you can have a go

[apwhite]

How about a Maglev to Navan to solve all these quibbles about manholes and stuff?

[leithreas]

I've often thought that this could be a serious solution to some of our intercity travel needs.
How cool would it be to have a line between Cork, Dublin and Belfast? With a journey time of maybe 1 hour in total? Of course it's pricey but we'd be skipping an entire generation of rail travel and setting, for once, an example to the rest of the world.......And there'd be no doubt anymore about whether or not bus, plane or train is the best way from dublin to cork.

[sean]

Originally Posted by apwhite

How about a Maglev to Navan to solve all these quibbles about manholes and stuff?

Yes. We can let the RPA build it and they can solve the problem at Cannistown by having the Maglev cross the M3 with a level crossing

[EMD]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Sure TGV got to 515 km/h in the mid 1980's and the ride was still better than average intercity train at 160kph

That was a test train, though. 502 km/h is crusing speed for the Maglev, and it is capable of much faster.

The Germans have a maglev test track where you can have a go

And the Bavarian PM (who is still a pretender to the German chancellorship) is attempting to push to have it finished. Article on Forbes...Stoiber doesn't want the Chinese to become the "exporters" of Maglev technology, so it's either a matter of national pride or there's something to this stuff.

[Maskhadov]

I would rather have a ICE Dublin Cork Belfast express. But we need some kind of high speed rail between the 3 cities