HIGH SPEED MAGLEV TRAINS IN UK?

[RONOEX]

What do you ALL think about the possibility to bring a "HIGH SPEED MAGLEV TRAIN SEVICE" in UK? Can you imagine, travelling from Peterborough at speed between 350km/h - 430Km/h to Oxford via: CAMBRIDGE, STANSTED AIRPORT, STEVENAGE, LUTON AIRPORT, Aylesbury and Oxford in 52min? Do you think it would be viable? There are few reservations about the Tecnology but it has been working for over 20 years in china! Do you think that system could work here in the United Kingdom? UK Ultraspeed project, didn't go ahead because absurd 29bn to build it. Do you think such Budget is realistic? It's possible to start a project like that, for Less? What is your vision about it?

 

[The Planner]

Considering we can't manage HS2 yet, you probably have more chance of growing wings and flying.

 

[The Pelican]

I used to be very keen on UK Ultraspeed, but such a project would have to follow the completion of HS2. The only physically real intercity maglev project is Japan's Chuo line, which joins the same end points as the 1960s Tokaido Shinkansen (Tokyo and Osaka).

 

[stevieinselby]

It feels like an odd choice of endpoints to join up, and an odd choice of route between them.

No, maglev is unlikely to have any viable application in the UK.

First, the distances are not long enough to justify the high costs. Especially on a route like the one you've suggested, if you're only travelling 20 miles between stops then there's no point in building a line suitable for that speed because you won't reach it, or at least not for long enough to be worthwhile.

But more importantly, it isn't compatible with the existing network. HS2 worked as a concept because you only need to build key parts of the network, and then the trains can continue onto the classic lines to serve a wider range of destinations. Maglev doesn't work like that – you would need to build the entire network you wanted to serve as maglev, no half measures.

 

[Sorcerer]

I'm quite skeptical of Maglevs as a concept because, much like monorails, they aren't compatible with existing infrastructure and at best have limited niche applications. In the case of the UK the distances are too small to justify the extra upfront cost compared to regular high-speed rail. Given that it's not exactly a new technology either, I feel like we'd have seen more of it by now if it was really worth it, but alas conventional rail still dominates.

I don't want to glaze railways too much but they really do seem like the kind of technology that we largely got right the first time and don't really need much reinvention to make work. It might've needed to evolve to modern standards such as greater speeds and electric traction, but at it's core it's still efficient enough to not require any sort of great replacement by something like monorails, Maglevs or Hyperloops.

 

[RONOEX]

I'm quite skeptical of Maglevs as a concept because, much like monorails, they aren't compatible with existing infrastructure and at best have limited niche applications. In the case of the UK the distances are too small to justify the extra upfront cost compared to regular high-speed rail. Given that it's not exactly a new technology either, I feel like we'd have seen more of it by now if it was really worth it, but alas conventional rail still dominates.

I don't want to glaze railways too much but they really do seem like the kind of technology that we largely got right the first time and don't really need much reinvention to make work. It might've needed to evolve to modern standards such as greater speeds and electric traction, but at it's core it's still efficient enough to not require any sort of great replacement by something like monorails, Maglevs or Hyperloops.

Thanks for your Valuable Points Sorcerer!!

 

[43096]

What do you ALL think about the possibility to bring a "HIGH SPEED MAGLEV TRAIN SEVICE" in UK? Can you imagine, travelling from Peterborough at speed between 350km/h - 430Km/h to Oxford via: CAMBRIDGE, STANSTED AIRPORT, STEVENAGE, LUTON AIRPORT, Aylesbury and Oxford in 52min? Do you think it would be viable?

Not a chance of that being viable.

There are few reservations about the Tecnology but it has been working for over 20 years in china! Do you think that system could work here in the United Kingdom? UK Ultraspeed project, didn't go ahead because absurd 29bn to build it. Do you think such Budget is realistic? It's possible to start a project like that, for Less? What is your vision about it?

Pie in the sky, away with the fairies stuff.

 

[HSTEd]

I have thought about maglevs a potentially unreasonable amount.

I'd argue the top speed is not the primary attractiveness of such technology in the UK context.

They place all primary traction equipment on the trackside rather than aboard the train. Consequently they are capable of very large accelerations, limited primarily by passenger comfort.

The trains can accelerate like a tube train (or faster) from standing all the way to 500km/h.

I will find the link and post it in an edit to this post when I have the chance, but I concluded Penzance/West Cornwall to Aberdeen in three hours with about a dozen stops via CArdiff, London and Leeds.

It would look nothing like a conventional high speed railway. It would be the ultimate metro line, running the same stopping pattern at high intensity, all day every day.

EDIT: Here we are!

Aberdeen to Camborne near Penzance in 173 minutes at twelve plus trains per hour.

EDIT #2:
One big thing is that there are two families of Maglevs, electro magnetic suspension (for example, Transrapid) and electro-dynamic suspension (for example, SC Maglev) with different characteristics.
EDS is much better at very very high speeds, where as EMS probably tops out at ~500km/h or somewhat less. Both have very good acceleration.

EMS maglev probably has a significant advantage in the context of demographic and other issues, in that it the train can be built with no moving parts other than doors and the compressors in it's air conditioning/ventilation system.
EDS needs rubber tyre landing gear because it cannot sustain levitation at zero speed.

In both cases the track is essentially non-contact and largely wear free, and the only moving parts would be switches/pointwork - and given the insane performance maglevs are capable of its probably possible to operate without many of those, or many movements of them.

Its operational ongoing costs are probably quite small as a result, and achievable reliability is probably very high.

 

[al78]

No, largely because the UK is crap at large projects (amongst other things) and the £29bn might be better invested in reducing the crapness on the existing railway. Another reason is the UK is a small country with short distances between major population centres, and an ultra-high speed transport system works best when there are large distances between cities that many people want to travel between. The U.S. is better suited geographically speaking, but aircraft already satisfy people's need/desire to travel hundreds or thousands of miles across the country.

 

[RONOEX]

No, largely because the UK is crap at large projects (amongst other things) and the £29bn might be better invested in reducing the crapness on the existing railway. Another reason is the UK is a small country with short distances between major population centres, and an ultra-high speed transport system works best when there are large distances between cities that many people want to travel between. The U.S. is better suited geographically speaking, but aircraft already satisfy people's need/desire to travel hundreds or thousands of miles across the country.

Thank you for your input!!!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Nov 2025 ==

I have thought about maglevs a potentially unreasonable amount.

I'd argue the top speed is not the primary attractiveness of such technology in the UK context.

They place all primary traction equipment on the trackside rather than aboard the train. Consequently they are capable of very large accelerations, limited primarily by passenger comfort.

The trains can accelerate like a tube train (or faster) from standing all the way to 500km/h.

I will find the link and post it in an edit to this post when I have the chance, but I concluded Penzance/West Cornwall to Aberdeen in three hours with about a dozen stops via CArdiff, London and Leeds.

It would look nothing like a conventional high speed railway. It would be the ultimate metro line, running the same stopping pattern at high intensity, all day every day.

EDIT: Here we are!

Aberdeen to Camborne near Penzance in 173 minutes at twelve plus trains per hour.

EDIT #2:
One big thing is that there are two families of Maglevs, electro magnetic suspension (for example, Transrapid) and electro-dynamic suspension (for example, SC Maglev) with different characteristics.
EDS is much better at very very high speeds, where as EMS probably tops out at ~500km/h or somewhat less. Both have very good acceleration.

EMS maglev probably has a significant advantage in the context of demographic and other issues, in that it the train can be built with no moving parts other than doors and the compressors in it's air conditioning/ventilation system.
EDS needs rubber tyre landing gear because it cannot sustain levitation at zero speed.

In both cases the track is essentially non-contact and largely wear free, and the only moving parts would be switches/pointwork - and given the insane performance maglevs are capable of its probably possible to operate without many of those, or many movements of them.

Its operational ongoing costs are probably quite small as a result, and achievable reliability is probably very high.

Brilliant explanation! Thank you for That..