memorandum

Trip report: TVE visit by International Maglev Board
Lathen, Germany
June 5, 2009
Executive Summary
On Friday, June 5, 2009, twenty-three members of the International Maglev Board visited the
full-scale Transrapid testing facility in Lathen, Germany to discuss recent events in the maglev
field and to ride on the TR09 production vehicle.
The IMB group was hosted by Prof. Dr. Ralf Effenberger, managing director of IABG, the
independent testing group that operates the test facility. As planned, there were no on-site
attendees from Siemens, ThyssenKrupp or Transrapid International.
During the six-hour visit, the IMB members took at least two trips around the track, hitting top
speeds of 350 km/h, or 218 mph, along the straightaway section, and also observed -- from
designated viewing areas roughly 25 meters, or 82.5 feet away from the moving vehicles -- noise
and vibration levels during vehicle operations at different pass-by speeds of 200 km/h, or 124
mph, and 300 km/h, or 186 mph.
Afterward, Dr. Effenberger briefed the group on the status of the TVE and its future plans, and
the visit concluded with a walking tour of the maintenance hall and the exterior grounds.
Some high-quality pictures from the trip can be found at three Internet sites:
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“Maglev Transrapid in Germany, 2009” at http://magnetbahnforum.de/index.php?inGermany (IMB website)
"Picture sheet of the visit of the TVE, Lathen" at http://www.lemtry.de/TVE.html shows
11 pages, each page having 10 photos or so.
“Transrapid Test Track, 2009. 06. 05.” at http://www.tricon.hu/~don/transrapid is a
single-sheet of approximately 90 additional photos.
Discussion
On Friday, June 5, 2009, twenty-three professional staff and forum moderators of the
International Maglev Board – a news and technical discussion site that is found at
http://maglevboard.net – visited the full-scale testing facility known as Transrapid
Versuchsanlage Emsland, or TVE, in Lathen, Germany. Most of the group arrived by bus from
Dusseldorf.
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Trip report: TVE visit by International Maglev Board
June 5, 2009 (cont’d)
The purposes of the visit were to discuss recent events in the maglev field, to ride on the TR09
production vehicle, and to observe its noise and vibration levels from inside and outside the
vehicle. The TR09, intended for the Munich airport connector project that was cancelled a year
ago, has been undergoing limited operations testing at the TVE, with no public access allowed,
but just recently was certified safe for “professional visitors” to ride.
The IMB group was the second delegation to visit the facility in the past 10 days, after a group
from Switzerland. More visits are planned in the coming months.
Dr. Ralf Effenberger, Managing Director of Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, or IABG,
which has been the independent testing group responsible for operating the test site since 1982,
originally invited and then hosted the IMB group upon their arrival, as shown below.
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Trip report: TVE visit by International Maglev Board
June 5, 2009 (cont’d)
After being welcomed by Dr. Ralf Effenberger, the group was driven to the observation area in
the north straightaway to witness -- from designated viewing areas roughly 25 meters, or 82.5
feet away from the moving vehicles -- TR09 runs at two different pass-by speeds of 200 km/h, or
124 mph, as the vehicle headed into the northern loop and then at roughly 300 km/h, or 186
mph, as the vehicle exited the northern loop and headed along the main part of the straightaway.
Afterward, we drove down the straightaway to observe the always-popular high-speed switch in
operation, as shown below.
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Trip report: TVE visit by International Maglev Board
June 5, 2009 (cont’d)
Following the switch visit, we returned to the visitor center, where each IMB member then took a
classic two-cycle ride around the track on the TR09.
The TR09 vehicle is very attractive, in the opinions of most attendees. The airport-shuttle
interior is radically different from the intercity designs we've seen in the past variants, of course,
with two-by-two seating throughout, fewer in the ends and some side-mounted 'pews' to
accommodate easy movements in and around the interior. There is also plenty of luggage space
between and around the seats and in storage bins near the doors, as shown in the pictures
below.
Due to recent safety restrictions issued from the German federal government, only 15 people at a
time were allowed to ride, only in the middle section, and everyone had to stay seated at all
times. We hit a top speed during each run of “only” 350 km/h, or about 202 mph, as this is the
target speed for the original Munich airport-shuttle project.
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Trip report: TVE visit by International Maglev Board
June 5, 2009 (cont’d)
After the rides, Dr. Effenberger gave a short overview presentation of the TVE and IABG's future
plans: They "most likely" will get a one-year extension for continued TVE operations after June
30th, and in conjunction with Max Bögl, one of the guideway suppliers -- who is providing
significant consulting and financial support – IABG will attempt to draw business and research
work to the TVE, with the goal, over time, of becoming the "single point of contact" for maglev
information and expertise in Germany, from what we surmised. (We are attempting to obtain a
copy of the presentation.)
Finally, we went on a walking tour of the maintenance hall – almost eerily very quiet and clean -and outside to the transfer table/vehicle yard at the end of the visit.
Impressions
Random impressions collected from IMB members before, during and after the visit:
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Trip report: TVE visit by International Maglev Board
June 5, 2009 (cont’d)
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There were no items for sale in the visitor center, it having been closed for the past two
years. We did pick up a nifty poster, though, of the many vehicle variants over the years.
Created independently by IMB moderator Kenji Eiler and copyrighted by ThyssenKrupp, a
framed poster sits inside the entrance of the visitor center, as shown below.
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They've installed a small elevator (finally!) along the left side of the loading platform to
accommodate less-hearty individuals who might have trouble with the platform stairs.
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Trip report: TVE visit by International Maglev Board
June 5, 2009 (cont’d)
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Most participants felt the riding experience of the TR09 rivalled that of ICE trains, except
for some slow-speed vibrations that dissipated with increasing speed, with the
advantages of being quieter overall and providing long-term financial benefits due to its
non-contact operations.
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The only other native English speaker was Mr. Ian McNab from Manchester, Wales/UK,
who's a former plumber and business entrepreneur (who‟s heard of a „pushooka‟ game
board?) who supports the UK Ultraspeed project on the IMB as a forum moderator.
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Trip report: TVE visit by International Maglev Board
June 5, 2009 (cont’d)
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After the visit, many in the group went into downtown Dusseldorf to the Restaurant
Brauhause for dinner...arriving about 8:30pm and leaving much later. (No work-related
value in this tidbit, really, just a personal/social item. It was clear that the group enjoyed
unwinding and getting to know each other better. )
Conclusion
There are some high-quality pictures from the trip that can be found at three Internet sites:
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
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“Maglev Transrapid in Germany, 2009” at http://magnetbahnforum.de/index.php?inGermany (IMB website)
"Picture sheet of the visit of the TVE, Lathen" at http://www.lemtry.de/TVE.html
“Transrapid Test Track, 2009. 06. 05.” at http://www.tricon.hu/~don/transrapid
_______________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: This report was prepared by Mr. Laurence E. Blow, IMB Professional and founder of
the consulting firm MaglevTransport, Incorporated. It is a personal recollection of events and is
not intended as a technical report or an official publication of any sort. Mr. Blow therefore accepts
any and all responsibility for its contents. For any further communications please visit his Web
site at http://www.maglevtransport.com or email him at larry@maglevtransport.com.
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