on existing train routes, successfully testing a prototype vehicle on the Adria-Mestre line near Venice whose speed topped out at seventy kilometres per hour. No modifications were made to the track to accommodate the maglev test carriage, and given the network of underutilised and in some cases abandoned rail infrastructure linking all parts of the continent, the potential applications, despite technical challenges, are significant for efficient and quick transportation of people and goods. Aside from a levitating service run briefly in Germany (die M-Bahn) to supplement gaps left in public transit following the fall of the Berlin Wall until reunification and a few other proof-of-concept trials, there are only six operational lines in China, South Korea and Japan presently with the biggest expensive and barrier to expansion being the high cost laying new dedicated tracks.
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit, a Gloria Gaynor classic plus “All You Tories”
two years ago: Leipzig After-Hours
three years ago: Joseph of Arimathea, Lost Horizon (1973) plus vaccination campaigns as portrayed in movies and television
four years ago: a homecoming staged for the cameras (1973) plus the art of Edward Hopper speaks to pandemic isolation
five years ago: St Patrick in the Russian Orthodox Church plus The Fourth Dimension and the Bible (1922)