Just picked up on YAHOO news the horrific pictures of a mag lev crash in Germany. I wonder what kind of effect this will have on them- between a fire in Shanghai and this… looks like it’s back to the drawing board.
Erik
This from the Associated Press:
By IMKE ZIMMERMANN, Associated Press Writer 42 minutes ago
LATHEN, Germany - A high-speed magnetic train traveling at 125 mph crashed in northwestern Germany on Friday, killing at least one of the 29 people aboard and injuring others in the first fatal wreck involving the high-tech system. A town councilman said the number of fatalities would rise.
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Note the important point: ‘crashed head on with a maintenance vehicle’. Translation: somebody was where they shouldn’t have been.
This has nothing to do with Maglev technology; it can happen with any train… any car or truck… ships… airplanes… horses… kids on the playground.
These high speed maglev trains do not compare to trucks , cars , planes , boats and even ordinary trains, they can realy only be compared to dedicated high speed trains like the French TGV or Japanese Bullet Trains wich carry millions of passengers and don’t crash into other vehicles.
Optimist. Or haven’t you encountered Murphy yet?
Actually in terms of speed and potential risk I would compare maglevs to airplanes. That the interiors of maglevs mimic the ambience of an airplane is deliberate. What strikes me as being distinctly odd is that you have to buckle your seat belt on airplane landing and takeoff, supposedly the most dangerous times of the flight. At that point in time in most airliners you’re traveling at about 140-150 knots. Yet, here we have maglevs traveling at twice that speed and the passengers wear no belts at all!
Too bad about the crash. As with any transport vehicle, there will eventually be mishaps. I wonder what the reactions will be when one of the future “space tourist” flights go awry, or when the first Airbus A380 goes down?
Would like to compliment you on your avatar Erik. My father worked MOW for Southern Railway most of his life. I truly love those Southern E8s!!