Maglev trains float above their tracks using powerful magnets, eliminating the friction that limits conventional rail. Without wheels touching rails, these trains can reach extraordinary speeds. Japan’s L0 series maglev set the world record at 603 km/h (374 mph) in 2015, more than double the cruising speed of most bullet trains.
Two Ways to Float a Train
There are two competing approaches to magnetic levitation, and they work on opposite magnetic principles. Electromagnetic suspension (EMS) uses attractive forces: magnets mounted underneath the train pull upward toward the underside of a steel guideway, lifting the vehicle off the ground. Electrodynamic suspension (EDS) uses repulsive forces: superconducting magnets on the train push against magnetic fields in the track, shoving the train upward.
Germany’s Transrapid system uses EMS. The train wraps around a T-shaped guideway, with magnets pulling up toward the rail from below. Because attractive magnetic force grows stronger as the gap shrinks, this system is inherently unstable. Electronic sensors measure the gap thousands of times per second and adjust the magnet current to keep the train at a precise hovering distance. If the train drifts even slightly closer to the rail, the system dials back the magnetic pull before contact occurs.
Japan’s SCMaglev uses EDS. Superconducting magnets on the train interact with metallic loops embedded in the concrete walls of a U-shaped guideway. These loops are arranged to do three jobs: one set creates a field that lifts the train about 5 inches above the track, a second set keeps the train centered horizontally, and a third drives the train forward. Both the levitation and centering loops work on the same self-correcting principle. The further the train drifts from center, or the closer it sinks toward the bottom, the stronger the magnetic resistance pushing it back into position.
What Makes Superconducting Magnets Special
Ordinary electromagnets can levitate a train, but superconducting magnets generate fields up to 10 times stronger. The trade-off is temperature. Traditional superconducting materials only work when cooled to less than 450 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, typically using liquid helium. That extreme cooling requirement adds weight, cost, and complexity to the train.
Newer high-temperature superconductors are changing this equation. These materials can operate in liquid nitrogen baths at around minus 321°F, which is far warmer in physics terms and dramatically cheaper to maintain. Researchers have demonstrated onboard superconducting magnet systems that hold their magnetic field (retaining 96.5% strength) for over 9 hours without active cooling power. At designed speeds above 600 km/h, that covers more than 5,400 km of travel, enough for extremely long routes without needing to re-cool the magnets. This kind of advance could eventually make superconducting maglev systems lighter and less expensive to operate.
How the Train Moves Forward
Levitation gets the train off the ground, but a separate system pushes it forward. Maglev trains use a linear synchronous motor, which is essentially a conventional electric motor unrolled into a flat strip and built into the guideway itself. Alternating current flows through coils embedded along the track, creating a magnetic wave that travels down the guideway. The superconducting magnets on the train lock onto this wave and get pulled along with it, like a surfer riding a swell.
Speed control is straightforward: change the frequency of the alternating current in the guideway coils, and the magnetic wave moves faster or slower. The train follows. This means there’s no engine on the train itself. The guideway is the motor. That keeps the vehicle lighter and shifts the heavy power equipment to ground-based stations along the route.
In advanced designs, the same set of magnets handles propulsion, levitation, and lateral guidance simultaneously. The interaction between the onboard magnets and different sets of guideway coils produces all three forces at once, which simplifies the train’s design even if the physics behind it is complex.
Why Maglev Trains Can’t Derail
The guideway isn’t just a flat surface the train hovers over. It’s a channel the train wraps around or sits inside. In the Transrapid EMS system, the vehicle’s magnet arms curl underneath the edges of the T-shaped guideway, effectively capturing it. The train can’t jump off the track because it’s physically embracing the rail structure from below. Separate guidance magnets on the vehicle pull laterally toward guidance rails on both sides, keeping the train centered.
In the Japanese EDS system, the U-shaped guideway acts like a trough. The train rides inside it, with repulsive magnetic forces from the walls providing centering. If the train shifts left, the magnetic resistance from the left wall increases while the right wall’s resistance decreases, nudging it back to center. This passive stability means the system corrects itself without any electronic intervention.
Both designs make traditional derailment scenarios essentially impossible. There are no wheels that can climb over a rail, no switches that can be set wrong in the conventional sense, and no way for the vehicle to leave the guideway under normal magnetic operation.
Noise and Energy Differences
Because there’s no wheel-to-rail contact, maglev eliminates the loudest noise source on conventional high-speed trains: the grinding and vibration of steel on steel. At comparable speeds, maglev systems measure about 4 to 8 decibels quieter than conventional high-speed rail at similar distances from the track. At 400 km/h, the Shanghai Transrapid recorded about 100 decibels at roughly 30 meters from the guideway, and the noise drops by 7 to 10 decibels each time you double your distance from the track.
That said, maglev isn’t silent. At top speeds, aerodynamic noise (the sound of the train pushing through air) becomes the dominant source. And studies of residents near the Shanghai maglev found that the sudden onset of noise as the train approaches can be more startling than the sustained rumble of conventional trains, even when the overall sound level is lower. People reported annoyance levels similar to road traffic, partly because of how abruptly the sound arrives and vanishes.
Where Maglev Runs Today
Only a handful of commercial maglev lines exist. The Shanghai Transrapid, which opened in 2004, covers 30 km between the city and Pudong airport in about 7 minutes, reaching 431 km/h in daily service. South Korea operates a short low-speed maglev at Incheon Airport. Japan’s Linimo line near Nagoya uses a simpler maglev system for urban transit.
The most ambitious project under construction is Japan’s Chuo Shinkansen, a superconducting maglev line that will connect Tokyo and Nagoya. Originally planned for 2027, the opening has been pushed back to no earlier than 2035, largely due to a prolonged dispute over tunnel construction beneath Shizuoka Prefecture and concerns about its impact on water resources in the Oi River basin. That dispute reached a resolution in early 2026, with JR Central agreeing to compensate for any decrease in river water flow. The full line would eventually extend to Osaka, cutting the Tokyo-to-Osaka travel time from about 2.5 hours by bullet train to roughly one hour.
The technology’s biggest barrier isn’t physics. It’s cost. Building a dedicated guideway with embedded electromagnets and power systems is far more expensive per kilometer than laying conventional rail. That infrastructure investment is the main reason maglev remains limited to a few showcase routes rather than replacing high-speed rail networks worldwide.