3 ms·

TBH, I would've expected a Maglev train to "touch down" in a station, at least that is what I would do if I were to have designed it... Anyone here ever rode o

• detaro 7y ago
  They can touch down/"take off" while stationary (not sure if they do it while stopping in stations), but don't have wheels, so they have to hover to move at all. If both sides of the maglev system fail, they have skids designed to slow them at a safe rate, but that's emergency use only.
• russdill 7y ago
  Just an engineering aside, you'd probably want braces to engage the train rather than the train to lower. If it lowers you have to raise it before it starts again which would require extra energy and substantial force.
  • klingonopera 7y ago
    I think a kind of "landing gear" would be preferable, as its operation could be station-independent, which in turn centralizes maintenance, therefore reducing running costs. AFAIK, there currently isn't an actual Maglev network in operation (just point-to-point - no traffic, no stops), but if there would be, I think it's easier to have any train be able to stop anywhere on the track than to have it stop at specific locations only. But other than that, yes, you're definitely right that any change of elevation of the entire train should be avoided as much as possible. EDIT: I just realized, my last paragraph isn't necessarily true either, i.e. compare the situation to start-stop-sytems on cars, there's a sweet spot in efficiency, when turning off the engine and starting it would cost more than letting it run all the time.