Maglev Packet SwitchingThe first electric telecommunication systems utilized hardwired point-to-point connections, then gradually progressed to switchboards, automated mechanical circuit switching (relays) and eventually electronic switches. But the Internet revolution didn’t happen until circuit switching gave way to packet switching. We are now on the verge of a similar revolution in high speed ground transportation. Electronically stabilized maglev vehicles and passive maglev track switches have been demonstrated and are ready to implement maglev packet switching, with the potential to vastly increase the utility and cost-effectiveness of ground transportation.
The Maglev ProblemMagnetic levitation (maglev) using magnetic forces to levitate vehicles on a guideway, eliminates traction and friction, and enables quick acceleration and deceleration at very high speeds. Maglev is also unaffected by weather and uses less energy than conventional high speed rail. Vehicles riding on magnetic cushions are quiet, smooth and comfortable. Maglev demonstration projects have been built to showcase the technology have held the speed record for rail transportation for decades. However, all major maglev implementations constructed thus far have been “maglev trains”, basically a nineteenth-century transportation mode with twentieth-century technology grafted on to replace the wheels, and dependent on mechanical track switch technology (circuit switching).
Despite being “trains”, these maglev systems are not incremental improvements of existing infrastructure. They require completely new guideways constructed on new rights-of-way at tremendous cost. That has been their downfall. They are simply far too expensive to be cost effective, so no commercial entity will purchase them. Presently, there are only two commercial maglev trains in operation, with two others under construction. The Transrapid in Shanghai, began commercial operations in 2004, and the Linimo began relatively low-speed HSST operations in Japan in March 2005.
Generally, a horizontal set of magnets levitates the vehicle vertically above the track and a vertical set at the sides aligns the vehicle from side to side and keeps it on the track. Narrow levitation gaps dictate that tracks must remain in precise and stable alignment. In current designs, either the suspension components must wrap around the track edges or the tracks must wrap around the suspension, making switching cumbersome, slow and expensive.
Prefabricated, robust sections of precision concrete rail with magnetic materials embedded are expensive to fabricate, to transport to building sites, and to assemble and maintain in precise alignment. They also present enormous switching challenges. Tiny levitation gaps require that heavy, cumbersome sections must be moved mechanically and realigned perfectly in order to direct a vehicle from one track to another. Slow switch speeds limit the performance and efficiency of high speed rail and so most installations comprise a single line connecting stations. Cost effective, intricate networks are not yet feasible.
Magline technology fundamentally alters the state of the art and vastly
broadens the range of applications possible for maglev transit.
The vertical levitation gap of Magline design is an order of magnitude larger than those of existing designs, obviating the need for close-tolerance track alignment, and permitting the use of lighter rails and reduces capital costs. Based on a "Halbach Array" of magnets, Magline technology can switch tracks without mechanically moving the guideway.
It thus can achieve high-speed passive switching while maintaining lateral stability and directional control using much lighter guideways. Magline enables a variety of high speed vehicles to run with short headways on elaborate networks of guideways connecting through multiple Transit Oriented Developments and stations.
Lightweight InfrastructureLightweight infrastructure brings several advantages, especially when systems operate using off-line stations and individual vehicles instead of trains. Eliminating massive, heavy trains of cars further reduces the need for mammoth bridges and other extra heavy infrastructural components. Computer controlled individual vehicles running at short headway distances and high speeds can create many new operating efficiencies, because they are able to bypass one another at stations and employ network routing. Off-line stations enable vehicles with no disembarking passengers to bypass stations where vehicles ahead may have stopped. Vehicles arrive more frequently and stop only where passengers aboard hold tickets, reducing wait and travel times.
Substantially less expensive infrastructure means developers can create a larger network to serve more populations even those remote from major cities. The greater the number of hubs in the network, the greater the number of possible paths between destinations. Computers can reroute vehicles at every hub to optimize travel network efficiency and minimize travel times. Routing vehicles based on real time ticket sales data not only eliminates unnecessary stops but also could determine a specific vehicle’s programmed route, bypassing entire sections of the network.
WANs, LANS, and Demand-Based Packet SwitchingA Magline network may have one or more wide area networks (WAN) to connect distant stations and local area networks (LAN) for last mile and intra-city travel. A vehicle might travel at high speed between cities on a WAN and then switch seamlessly to a LAN to reach a local station. Networks of Mobility Hubs have switching advantages analogous to the Internet.
Mobility Hubs also serve as transfer points to facilitate convenient connections to other transit modes as well. For example, a passenger might coordinate the reservation, payment and even sharing of a rental car using a cell phone-based application for pick-up on arrival at a mobility hub. Large numbers of passengers traveling between distant cities at high speeds can connect seamlessly to urban networks to go the last mile within their destination city.