Passengers injured in German maglev accident

More than 20 people were injured today when a high-speed magnetic train came off the tracks during a test run in a town in western Germany, local police said.
The Transrapid magnetic train went off the tracks in the town of Lathen at around 10.05am (0805 GMT), according to a police spokesman from the nearby town of Osnabrueck.

Confirming that passengers were still onboard the train, the spokesman added: "The magnetic levitation train is hanging halfway off."

He gave the number of injured as 25, while another regional police department said 21 people were hurt.

Magnetic levitation, or maglev, trains use electrically charged magnets to cause the trains to hover just above the track - formally known as a guideway - allowing them to glide along without friction.

Different types of maglev are currently under development in Germany and Japan. The German trains can reach 450km per hour (270mph) on the 32km (20 mile) test track. The Japanese trains can reach more than 310mph (500kph), which would allow passengers to travel from Paris to Rome in just two hours. In comparison, a Boeing 777 aeroplane used for long-range flights can reach a top speed of about 562mph (905kph).


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Passengers injured in German maglev accident

David Batty
Friday September 22, 2006
Guardian Unlimited


A crane lifts the wreckage of a high-speed magnetic levitation train that came off its guideway during a test run in western Germany. Photograph: Nigel Treblin/AFP/Getty Images



More than 20 people were injured today when a high-speed magnetic train came off the tracks during a test run in a town in western Germany, local police said.
The Transrapid magnetic train went off the tracks in the town of Lathen at around 10.05am (0805 GMT), according to a police spokesman from the nearby town of Osnabrueck.

Confirming that passengers were still onboard the train, the spokesman added: "The magnetic levitation train is hanging halfway off."

He gave the number of injured as 25, while another regional police department said 21 people were hurt.

Magnetic levitation, or maglev, trains use electrically charged magnets to cause the trains to hover just above the track - formally known as a guideway - allowing them to glide along without friction.

Different types of maglev are currently under development in Germany and Japan. The German trains can reach 450km per hour (270mph) on the 32km (20 mile) test track. The Japanese trains can reach more than 310mph (500kph), which would allow passengers to travel from Paris to Rome in just two hours. In comparison, a Boeing 777 aeroplane used for long-range flights can reach a top speed of about 562mph (905kph).


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The world's only commercially operating maglev train is based in Shanghai, China, which currently runs between Longyang Road station at the city's centre and Pudong international airport. A fire broke out in an electrical storage compartment on the train on August 11, generating large amounts of smoke but causing no serious injuries.
Last month the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, raised the prospect that a Conservative government would introduce a maglev railway in the UK, as part of a package of measures to reduce pollution.

The maglev system has significant environmental advantages. The trains have no engine and no wheel contact, so there is insignificant noise pollution or vibration. In addition, they do not use fuel, meaning that there is no air pollution - at least not from the vehicle.

However, the technology is hugely expensive, with the German plan to link Berlin and Hamburg estimated to cost £3bn.



Stagecoach wins South West Trains contract

Ros Davidson
Friday September 22, 2006
Guardian Unlimited UK


Waterloo station, a focal point on the South West Trains network. Photograph: PA

Stagecoach, the major transport company, has been awarded the contract to run the South Western Trains franchise from February 2007, the Department for Transport announced today.
Stagecoach Group has agreed to pay the DfT a premium of £1.19m over the life of the 10-year franchise. The contract will be extended for the final three years, if Stagecoach's performance is good enough.

Stagecoach currently operates the South Western franchise and Island Line on the Isle of Wight, which are being consolidated into a single expanded South West franchise under the new contract.

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