Maglevs and High Speed Rails

Physics ISP Summary Introduction When English inventor Richard Trevithick introduced the steam locomotive on 21 February 1804 in Wales, it achieved a speed of 8 km/h (5 mph). In 1815, Englishman George Stephenson built the world's first workable steam locomotive, commissioned by the Killingworth colliery. In 1825, he introduced the first passenger train, which steamed along at 25 km/h (16 mph). Today, trains can fly down the tracks at 500 km/h (311 mph), and fly they do by not touching the tracks. …

…e completely fenced off, and the tracks maintained in top condition. Although there have been derailments, in the almost two decades of daily operation, there has been no casualties. At high speed, it is impossible to read line-side signals. All signaling information is transmitted to the train through the rails directly to onboard monitors in the cab. Most of the high-speed train functions are controlled digitally, true to being the vehicle of the digital age.