“This is not the end of the line for the Transrapid Technology”

Berlin, Germany – This is the response from Transrapid International in Berlin to the decision to stop the Transrapid Project in Munich: The Transrapid is the best solution for linking Munich Airport to the city center when traffic, economic and environmental factors are taken into consideration.

The projected cost of the Transrapid line amounting to 1.85 billion euros is based on estimates from the year 2004. The construction industry estimated the costs in response to an invitation to bid from German Rail in November 2007. This resulted in greatly increased construction costs compared with the earlier estimates. Traditional rail systems would have been affected in the same way by these developments.

In contrast, the costs for the Transrapid System itself (vehicles, traction, operations control system, etc.) have been maintained and confirmed. Cost increases for personnel and materials since 2004 have been offset by optimization measures (design to cost).

It is for this reason that the decision not to build the magnetic levitation (maglev) line in Munich does not mean the death knell for Transrapid technology. It is still very much a flagship technology, with great interest in it worldwide – especially in the light of the global discussion on climate change. However, it must be said that the decision not to go ahead with the project in Munich does not help its global market positioning.

It is now all the more important to continue marketing of the Transrapid system as a future-oriented rail system for all application fields – mainline services, rapid regional services and airport feeder lines – in order to bid for international projects and to open up new application fields.

The Research & Development Program – known by its German abbreviation WEP – for the magnetic levitation (maglev) technology will continue apace, and will include trials and demonstrations at the Transrapid Test Facility (TVE) in Emsland, Germany. Operations are expected to resume in Emsland in the early summer of this year.