An Analysis of MAGLEV as a prospective Primary Means of Inter-City Transport in India by 2030 Working Paper 01 Prateek Biswas

1. An Analysis of MAGLEV as a prospective Primary Means of
Inter-City Transport in India by 2030
Prateek Biswas
Working Paper 01
Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal
email.prateekbiswas@gmail.com
March 2014
©2014 by Prateek Biswas. All rights reserved.

2. ABSTRACT
New technology has always been designed with a purpose of improving an existing system by
building a new system, with a new framework, on its own area of operation. But what if the new
yet fully-tested technology sets out to replace the previous technology on a scale never seen
before. Are the risks acceptable.
MAGLEV, with its radical engineering system utilizing conducting magnets as a means of train
levitation and propulsion at cruise speeds of 500 kmph is this new technology. The core
fundamental behind the adoption of the MAGLEV Transportation system onto the current Indian
Rail network is to bring a new age of a Fast, Environmentally Clean and Financially Lucrative
Train grid that will not only replace the current Indian Diesel/Electric Trains but also replace
Domestic Flights as the primary medium for Inter-City Commercial Travel.
In particular, this paper will analyze the improvements in MAGLEV in the last 30 years and
discuss its technical and more importantly, economic merits over Conventional High Speed Rail
as a viable option for a future upgrade of the Indian Rail network.
© 2014 by Prateek Biswas
All Rights Reserved

3. I. A Basic Introduction to the MAGLEV Technology and its Present Development
MAGLEV or Magnetic Levitation is a method of propulsion, which differs from standard ground
methods of transportation in a manner that it does not use friction as its means of required
driving force.
A typical MAGLEV system consists of Guidance Magnets on the underside of the Train (that
may be super-cooled depending on the system) and a separate set of Guidance and Propulsion
Coils on the track itself used to propel the train forward. The Guidance Coils on the track repel
the magnets on the train, allowing it to levitate upto a height of 1-10cm. Once the train is
levitated, an alternating current is passed to subsequent Propulsion coils causing the train to be
pushed forward by backward coils by repulsion and pulled forward by the forward coils by
attraction at the same time.
Because of the non-reliance of traction for this system, and the fact that MAGLEV trains levitate
on a cushion of air, the trains are capable of accelerating and decelerating much faster.
Currently, the only tested and in use/planned for commercial use MAGLEV systems are the
EMS (Electromagnetic Suspension) and EDS (Electrodynamic Suspension). Let us discuss the
difference in core technologies as well the resulting commercial applications for each.
EMS
In the EMS system, electronically controlled electromagnets under the train attract and repel it to
the steel track underneath. The C-shape of the Train undercarriage and the T-shape of the track
complement each other perfectly to ensure a uniform levitation height. The EMS system can be
used to levitate the train at all speeds, even at standstill.
The inherent flaw with this system is that magnetic attraction theoretically varies inversely with
the cube of the distance. With small variations in the distance between the train and track due to
vibrations, the attraction forces vary by a large amount. This dynamic instability has been solved
by complex feedback systems which have managed to maintain very high tolerances for
operation.
This system has been commercially used in the Shanghai TransRapid network since 2004 and
has worked without a glitch for the last 8 years apart from a single fire incident in 2006 caused
by faulty electrical wiring.

4. EDS
The EDS system as compared to EMS system, utilizes superconducting magnets, supercooled by
cryogenic coils. This requires a higher level of operational maintenance as compared to EMS. As
compared to EMS system, here both the guide way and the train exert magnetic fields, and the
combination of attraction and repulsion reactions cause the train to levitate, with a principle that
is free of dynamic instability, removing the need for complex feedback system. For propulsion,
the attractive and reactive forces generated by the sidewalls cause the train to accelerate.
The main differentiating factor in the EDS system is that the magnetic flux from its super-
conducting magnets is not strong enough to support the train at standstill and hence, a provision
for a secondary rubber wheel system for speeds less than 100kmph is made. In practical
applications, the development of advanced rubber compounds free of wear and tear has made
this added inconvenience insignificant.
The EDS system has been currently approved for construction in the Chuo-Shinkansen line in
Japan, connecting Tokyo and Osaka, Japan’s largest ports, by 2030. The economic savings for
the cities by this system is accounted to be around US$ 100 Billion for the first 50 years of its
operation, completely recompensing the Capital Cost.
The development and commercialization of the MAGLEV system has been for 2 purposes:
1. The replacement of Low Speed Rail as the Primary network for low-cost Inter-City travel
and the replacement of High Speed Rail (hereby designated as HS) such as TGV, as a
viable alternative for future upgrades to the same network.
2. The replacement of petroleum-depleting Domestic Airline Service as the most time-
competitive and clean-energy network for Inter-City travel.
This paper will discuss how the MAGLEV system and its present-day modifications are fully
capable of fulfilling this purpose in the next 50 years.

5. II. Replacing the Current Indian Rail Network
At present our Indian Rail network comprises of 115,000 km of track spread over 7500 stations.
It transports over 25 million people daily. The annual revenue of the Indian Railways is approx.
US$ 18 billion, 70% is by freight transportation.
In actuality, the Indian Railways supplies passenger tickets at subsidized rates, and runs at a loss
which is more than compensated by the profits earned by freight transport. This in turn provides
an opportunity to implement a profitable system to generate revenue by passenger tickets from a
Super-Speed Rail network which would transport passengers between cities in a duration time
that will be cut down by more than 75%. Faster transport is always equivalent to larger growth in
national scale businesses.
The issue at present comprises the comparatively Larger Capital Cost of building a Super-
Speed Rail infrastructure from scratch, considering that the existing rail lines are incompatible
for such lines. This very important economic dilemma is solved not by comparing current Indian
Rail System to MAGLEV but by comparing High Speed Rail to Maglev.
 While it is true that the Broad Gauge used in 91% of our current track is compatible with
proposed Steel on Steel HS Rail System, usage of HS Rail is considered very dangerous
in lines that currently also carry freight.
 It is most likely that an HS System cannot be directly introduced by replacement of
current Passenger Trains on the same line, whose trains are already choked by the
relatively lower class population comprising of almost 60% of Rail passengers, who will
not be able to travel in the HS Rail due to the higher ticket costs.
 Moreover, as we shall see further in this paper, an HS or MAGLEV Rail is also designed
to relieve the Air Traffic congestion and the accommodation of this new influx of
passengers will not be possible in the existing Rail Network.
This leads to the building of a separate dedicated line for any possible HS/MAGLEV Line. The
costs of implementing a separate dedicated HS Rail System are comparable to the construction of
a MAGLEV infrastructure. To support this inference, take a look at this data,
Railway Date Type of System Cost per km Distance Comments
Madrid - Albacete 2010 High Speed line €9.57 million 304 km
Seoul-Gimpo, Korea 2010 Airport line $98.1 million 20.4 km
Yichang-Wanzhou,
China
2011 Main line $9.1 million 377 km
Surface with
278km in tunnel or
bridges

6. Haikou-Sanya, China 2010 High Speed line $10 million 308 km
Copenhagen 2011-2018 New Metro line $247.5million 16 km All underground
In comparison, the Construction Cost of a standard EMS MAGLEV Transrapid track in
Shanghai on dedicated pillars every 25m accounted to approximately US$ 40 million per km for
a 30km track.
The Construction Cost of an EDS SCMAGLEV all-concrete modular guide way design track
developed by Germany and Japan, which is faster and cheaper to build, will drop down further to
US$ 20 million per km considering that the U-shaped EDS channel in comparison to a T shaped
EMS channel can theoretically be built at ground level, with provisions to prevent unwanted
interactions with the surrounding environment that may disturb the track.
Other further advantages of MAGLEV system over a conventional Rail System is:
1) MAGLEV being a non-contact type of transport between the train and the track is
capable of all-weather operations. Rain, snow, or dust does not hinder this frictionless
transport system. This leads to dramatically lower maintenance costs for the same track.
2) Sound levels will be far lower considering the only sound will be from the expulsion of
air, and not the engine or the steel wheel-on-steel track sounds. This allows for
MAGLEV lines to be built far closer to metropolitan areas.
3) A MAGLEV System is environmentally clean. At present, 70% of the Indian Railway
locomotives run on Diesel, a fossil fuel. Depletion of petroleum reserves has been a
concern for a while now, and it is time to stop the use of Petroleum as our primary fuel
for transportation. HS Rail Tracks require overhead electricity lines which can be
cumbersome and dangerous. MAGLEV eliminates this necessity by underground power
lines that supply electricity only to the track.
4) Power efficiency is far higher. The only resistance to be countered is Air Resistance
compared to friction. Saving power is a necessity at present.
5) Considering that there is no contact between the track and train, MAGLEV tracks can be
built in areas where the weight of the locomotive questions the structural stability of the
track. For example, rail tracks on multipurpose bridges can cause the bridge to fail if the
weight of the cars added to the weight of the train at the point of crossing is too high. In
such a case, MAGLEV system would be perfect.

7. III. Replacing the Current Domestic Flight Service
At present, Indian airports handle almost 60 million passengers for the year 2013-2014, nearly a
400% rise from the 14 million domestic passengers 10 years back in 2003-2004. The rise is
growing exponentially, with slight dips occasionally owing to fluctuating fuel prices.
The Centre for Aviation has projected that by the year 2023, Indian Passenger Traffic will
increase to 90 million. This enormous load on existing airports, especially in metropolitan cities,
will lead to greater infrastructure difficulties, more number of runways required to accommodate
for greater number of flight departures and arrivals per hour and greater number of terminals to
accommodate these passengers. At a certain point in the future, the flight accident probability
will be far too high in a highly congested Indian airspace.
To relieve the load on existing airports, it is necessary to understand, why the MAGLEV system
is the best possible system to replace it. This paper in particular addresses replacing the primary
means of high speed travel from domestic flights to MAGLEV specifically between the
metropolitan Indian cities. The issue that questions why a MAGLEV system is favorable over
Airlines is the Speed Difference, especially considering how the most important merit of
MAGLEV is its unprecedented ground speed.
Theoretically yes, the average speed of a MAGLEV train system is 500 kmph, considerably less
than the average speed of 800 kmph speed of an airplane. But factoring in other aspects,
MAGLEV remains at par in terms of on-time serviceability.
 While airlines are flexible, commercial air routes are not. Flight routes when highly
congested can cause delays upto 30min. In comparison, commercial MAGLEV lines as
implemented in Shanghai have an on-time arrival and departure accuracy of 99.98%.
 The average distance between major Metropolitan cities of the India is approximately
1400km. Theoretical flight time is 1hr 45min. Theoretical MAGLEV time is 2hr 45min.
The difference is approximately an hour, which is more than compensated by cut down of
unnecessary time excesses such as a 2hr early arrival for domestic fights, baggage
handling time, aircraft taxiing delay etc.
 MAGLEV is an all-weather transportation system that is unaffected by delays caused due
to rain, snow etc. that affect flights to a very large extent. Functional reliability for a
MAGLEV proves to be far more advantageous than the overall flight Time Delay.

8. Apart from Time considerations, the other areas where MAGLEV line is at par/better than the
Domestic Airline System are:
1) After 80 years of commercial flying, airlines are still using petroleum as it primary
aviation fuel. As stated earlier as well, petroleum reserves are rapidly depleting, and with
this rate of consumption, petroleum will not even remain for International flights which
as yet does not have a feasible replacement for itself. Apart from that, as evidenced by the
2012 fuel price hike, the volatility of fuel prices affects customers considering private jet
companies are unwilling to fly their planes at losses with no backup revenue service in
place unlike the government controlled proposed MAGLEV line.
2) MAGLEV trains are far safer as compared to flights primarily because these trains are
unaffected by any scope of human error. Despite the fact that the trains are levitating at a
certain height above the ground, magnetic coils on the train itself will prevent it from
falling even in an instance of power outage of the track. Power to the track is supplied
purely for propelling the train forward. On the other hand, airplanes have no backup
system in place save for a secondary engine.
3) Though not specifically designed for it, MAGLEV lines are capable of transporting
freight domestically with at par or even better punctuality than domestic flights. The
studies done by port facilities in California over freight-handling capacities in Single-
Stack Fully Loaded and Double-Stack Partially Loaded by MAGLEV came to the
following conclusions.
Per Consist Per Hour Per Day Per Year
Single-stack 20 sections 20 400 8000 2,920,000
Double-stack 20 sections 40 800 16000 5,840,000
1) Capacity in each direction
2) Assume 20 hr per day operating period
Operating Configuration Consist Length
Containers
4) Passenger congestion. At present, average number of passengers travelling between Delhi
and Mumbai is 700. Currently the MAGLEV system allows trains with a passenger
capacity of 600 (4 times that of a domestic Airbus A-320) departing with a frequency of
30min, the entire day. Despite the presence of a single two-way track between 2 cities,
MAGLEV lines are more than capable of handling a passenger capacity of 7200 per day.

9. IV. Other Areas of Uncertainty for Adoption of MAGLEV
Power Consumption
Considering the fact that the MAGLEV track is levitating an entire train of 600 passengers, it is
often incorrectly assumed that the power consumption for MAGLEV track would be incredibly
high. To counter this, let us look at the data, measuring Energy demand for the ICE 3 German
High Speed Rail vs the Shanghai Transrapid for the same load capacity.
Speed
(kilometers/hour)
Specific energy consumption
(Watts hours m-2
km-1
)
ICE 3 Transrapid
150 24 27
200 28 31
250 33 35
300 40 41
330 46 45
350 50* 47
400 - 56
430 - 64
( m2
refers to usable interior space)
Because of the elimination of a standard engine, wheels, bearings and other conventional rail
parts, a MAGLEV coach is much lighter and travels with a much higher power efficiency owing
to negligible friction. As the propulsion system is capable of working in reverse without the use
of standard frictional brakes, while decelerating, energy is transferred back to the track power
line. This phenomenon helps in saving power to a great extent.
Apart from this, it is estimated that EDS SCMAGLEV systems will use 30% less power than
standard EMS MAGLEV.
As it can be seen, power consumption for a
MAGLEV line is at par with the energy
consumption of any High Speed Rail of the world.
In fact, at speeds above 300 kmph, MAGLEV has
lower power consumption than HS Rail.

10. Safety
Safeties for any experimental transportation system is imperative to kick start its commercial use.
A persistent query among critics of the MAGLEV system has been whether it is absolutely safe.
It is reasonable to question this considering a train is travelling at 500 kmph levitated by barely 1
cm from the track.
To address this, let us look into the safety records for the only commercial MAGLEV line. The
Shanghai Transrapid has a safety record of 99.98%, unparalleled by any other means of
transport. A MAGLEV train cannot be derailed by any means. The extensive feedback systems
incorporated into the Transrapid have made it certain that distance between the track and train
remains uniform at every elevation, bend, or distance.
In a case of power outage in the track, the onboard magnets would be unaffected and would keep
the train levitated in the center of the Guide way. The SCMAGLEV has a provision to lower its
rubber wheels powered by a battery as an auxiliary means of propulsion as well.
Ground Vibrations and Magnetic Fields affected Humans
By tests performed on both the Shanghai Transrapid and the upcoming Japanese SCMAGLEV, it
was determined that the actual ground vibrations are below the perception of humans.
Initial testing of SCMAGLEV indicated interference of magnetic fields with passengers’
pacemakers and hard drives, but now, magnetic fields have been optimized and meet all
magnetic field exposure guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing
Radiation Protection.

11. V. Proposal for Implementation of MAGLEV Phase 1 in India
Phase 1 Introduction:
Phase 1 of my plan is aimed at interconnecting the Top 5 Business Hub Cities in India, namely
Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, all of which are the only ones with presently 10
million+ flight passengers per year. Phase 1 of the MAGLEV system is designed to connect
these cities with the most time-competitive journey durations.

12. Phase 1 Network:
Delhi to Mumbai: 1300 km Mumbai to Bangalore: 800 km
Delhi to Kolkata: 1300 km Bangalore to Kolkata: 1500 km
Delhi to Bangalore: 1700 km Bangalore to Chennai: 250 km
Mumbai to Kolkata: 1600 km
Phase 1 Finance:
Passenger Ticket Revenue:
 Total number of passengers per day :
Number of passengers per direction * No. of directions = 1500 * 14 = 21000 passengers
 Revenue per day : 21000 * 50 = US$ 1050000/- (Ticket Price INR 3000 = US$ 50)
 Revenue per year : US$ 383.25 Million
Revenue from freight from Indian Railways:
 Estimated revenue per year by 2020: US$ 15 Billion
Construction Cost:
 Track Cost: Total Distance * Cost/km = 8450 km * US$ 20 Million = US$ 169 Billion
 Total Cost including Stations and Trains: US$ 170 Billion
By the estimates provided based on approximate data, it would take Indian Railways
approximately 11 years to pay off the Construction Cost for MAGLEV system using Revenue
from Freight + Passenger tickets, which is substantially lucrative considering the system is
designed for an Operation Period for at least the next 75 years.

13. VI. CONCLUSIONS
 MAGLEV is a fully tested technology, capable of widespread commercial use, and
already in place in Shanghai and approved for construction in Japan.
 An HS Rail Line cannot be incorporated into existing Indian Railway tracks, and the
construction costs for a new track for HS Rail are comparable to the construction costs of
a new track for MAGLEV.
 Apart from that, MAGLEV is faster, smoother, safer, more capable of all-weather
applications and uses comparable amount of power compared to an High Speed Train
Line.
 Compared to domestic airlines, despite its lower speed, MAGLEV has a better on-time
reliability and are actually trip-time competitive on 1500 km domestic routes, by
reducing unavoidable time excesses in airports.
 MAGLEV is also capable of handling domestic freight effectively and of relieving Air
Traffic congestion with ease.
 By constructing MAGLEV dual tracks between the 5 major cities of India, it would take
Indian Railways 11 years to pay off Total Costs for Maglev for a 75-year proposed
Operation Period.
 Most importantly, MAGLEV uses clean energy for operation and is the best alternative
for a Fast transport system that does not rely on fossil fuels that will be depleted in the
next 50 years by current usage trends.
The merits of MAGLEV as the best way forward for an Inter-City Transport System have been
discussed thoroughly and it would be highly beneficial if the Indian Government could divert
even 5% of its resources from Oil Exploration and Drilling towards researching low-cost
methods for construction of a MAGLEV system.

14. VII. References
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev#Power_and_energy_usage
2. http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/maglev-train2.htm
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train
4. http://www.northeastmaglev.com/frequently-asked-questions-about-scmaglev
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_airports_in_India_by_passenger_traf
fic
6. http://www.railway-technical.com/finance.shtml
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Railways#Passenger_coaches
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transrapid#Energy_requirements
9. http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/ilonidis2/
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICE_3