How the Transrapid works
No wheels, no rails, no motor in the train. In five minutes, you will understand how the Transrapid levitates and runs.
Magnets instead of wheels
The Transrapid does not sit on top of its guideway; it is pulled up toward it from below and hovers 10 millimeters beneath it.
The Transrapid wraps around its guideway like a clamp. Electromagnets hold it in levitation and on track. It is driven by a motor built into the guideway, which carries the train along like an invisible conveyor belt. Because nothing rolls and nothing rubs, there is hardly any wear, and the train reaches speeds of up to 500 km/h.
Levitating, guiding, propelling, braking.
The motor is in the guideway
Beneath the guideway sit the stator packs with the drive winding. Current flows only in the section the train is currently passing over. The train itself therefore needs no heavy motor and stays light.
Because the train wraps around the guideway, it cannot derail.
Components in detail
Everything in detail: the book on the technology
Operations control technology, power supply, onboard networks and the history behind it all: if you want to go deeper, you will find everything clearly explained in my book "Einführung in die Transrapid-Thematik" (Introduction to the Transrapid).
