Munich Airport: Magnetic Levitation Train Could Take Off Again

At a meeting at Munich Airport, Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU), the new airport CEO Jost Lammert, and construction entrepreneur Max Bögl presented their plan for a "Munich Magnetic Levitation Train Feasibility Study." This could revive the idea of a high-speed rail link between the center of the Bavarian capital and the airport near Freising, albeit on a different technological level and significantly cheaper.

The so-called Transport System Bögl TSB relies on more economical technology and less high-speed: A maximum of 150 km/h instead of up to 500 km/h as with the Transrapid. This simultaneously dramatically reduces energy and operating costs. These are expected to be between 30 million and 50 million euros per kilometer of track. There has been a test track in Sengenthal since 2017. According to Bögl, the train planned in the current project is designed for routes of up to 50 kilometers.

Less speed, lower costs, less space

The lower speed also requires much smaller structural dimensions: The TSB appears almost dainty in comparison to the Transrapid. With the TSB, the much more compact tracks encompass the train, rather than the train encompassing the tracks as with the Transrapid. The train glides two centimeters above a magnetic field and combines up to six carriages, which can transport up to 726 people.

The construction entrepreneur has been operating a test track in Sengenthal, located in the Upper Palatinate, since 2017. According to reports, the system functions as promised. The ministry only disclosed that it aims to "test innovative applications in local transportation to explore technical and economic potentials compared to other transport systems." The connection to the airport, currently only reachable by Munich's S-Bahn train, is often criticized as prone to disruptions and slow.

The TSB might also potentially render the long-discussed long-distance rail connection obsolete. The company TransportTechnologie-Consult Karlsruhe GmbH has been commissioned to conduct the assessment and now has a year to explore the potentials. Since 2018, one million euros of budget funds have been allocated annually for the research, according to Minister Scheuer on-site.