Success Meets Political Obstacles: Transrapid Petition Update (January 2025)
It is with great joy and pride that we can announce: Our petition for the Transrapid has reached a milestone with 61,000 signatures! That makes it the third most successful petition on OpenPetition, a clear signal that citizens in Germany are actively demanding a future for this technology. Never in recent decades have so many voices been gathered who believe in the Transrapid. This result underscores the lasting interest and the conviction that the Transrapid is a key to the urgently needed transport transition.
Facts that convince.
The Transrapid is not a pipe dream but an innovation that already exists with enormous potential. Had politics and industry acted more boldly, we could have been using this technology long ago. The main advantages at a glance:
- Relief for overloaded transport routes: It decouples long-distance travel from road, rail and short-haul flights, providing much-needed relief.
- Energy efficiency: At 350 km/h it uses 40% less energy per seat than an ICE 3 and reaches speeds of up to 500 km/h.
- Saves land and costs: Thanks to its elevated system it needs less land, spares the landscape and cuts maintenance costs by 70% compared with the ICE.
- Punctuality guarantee: As an electromagnetic system, it is independent of weather conditions and mechanical wear, a key criterion for punctual long-distance travel.
We could have been using these advantages decades ago. But political short-sightedness and incompetence meant that, despite its immense potential, this technology was left by the wayside for a long time.
Political hurdles: ignorance, instability and short-sightedness
The petition's success is overshadowed by considerable political obstacles:
- Stonewalling in the Federal Ministry of Transport: Although Federal Transport Minister Dr. Volker Wissing (FDP) tested the Transrapid in China himself and spoke positively about it, all of our inquiries and offers of dialogue have remained unanswered to this day.
- Collapse of the federal government: Since the coalition collapsed in November 2024, there has been political paralysis, and serious transport policy has been pushed into the background.
- Election campaign: Short-term campaign strategies ahead of the Bundestag (German parliament) election on February 23, 2025 prevent long-term solutions. Current political events also raise serious doubts about some politicians' understanding of democracy, so that projects like the Transrapid would hardly be heard if they were now "thrown into the election campaign".
The original plan was to hand the petition to Transport Minister Dr. Wissing. Given the current political instability and lack of commitment, we are now looking to summer 2025, when the new transport ministry takes office after the election.
What happens next?
- Handover of the petition in summer 2025: After the Bundestag election and the reshuffle of the transport ministry, the petition is to be handed to the new transport minister. Our goal remains to finally put the Transrapid on the political agenda.
- Ongoing dialogue: Even though the path is currently marked by political ignorance and instability, the petition's success shows that the will of the people is unbroken. You can find further updates on maglevhub.com.
Call to action: act now!
The current political crisis and short-term campaign topics must not keep us from holding on to the urgently needed modernization of long-distance travel. The Transrapid is an opportunity we must not squander.
- Sign and share the petition: Until March 7, 2025 you can still gather more signatures. Every voice counts in strengthening the signal to politicians.
- Vote consciously: Use your vote on February 23, 2025 and choose a policy that takes beneficial technologies, transport policy and the will of the people seriously. We live in a democracy and should use our voice. But remember that no party currently running has the Transrapid in its manifesto. No voting recommendation for any party is given; this is merely a call to simply go and vote.
Conclusion: the journey continues
Although political resistance is great and the current situation seems frustrating, the petition's success shows that the will of the people is unbroken. Together we can pull the Transrapid out of the drawer of missed opportunities and shape a forward-looking transport policy.
Stay informed, share the petition and send a signal for progress!
Together for the long-distance travel of tomorrow,
David Harder, magnetbahn.de
