The Maglev Car Project

1900 - Robert Goddard and Emile Bachelet conceived the concept of friction-less trains

1930 - German scientist Hermann Kemper studies the use of magnetic fields in conjunction with trains and airplanes

1969 - American scientists James R. Powell and Gordon T. Danby patented the first design of magnetically levitated trains. The first Maglev train was of a four-passenger design.

1970 - Germans and Japanese begin to research and develop towards their versions of Maglev technology possibly to be used for future development plans for a possible Maglev system

1970 - The United States’ Federal Roadrail Administration studies high speed ground transportation later abandoning interest in Maglev technology

1972 - Commissioning of the air cushion vehicle by Kraus Maffei, Transrapid 03, begins

1973 - Commissioning of the air cushion vehicle by Kraus Maffei, Transrapid 04, begins

1979 - Operation of the world's first Maglev train with longstator propulsion (Transrapid 05) to be licensed for passenger transportation occurs at the International Transportation Exhibition (IVA 79) in Hamburg. During the three-week exhibition, the Transrapid 05 carries more than 50,000 passengers in scheduled operation.

1986 - The United States decides to refuse to fund any future research of Maglev technology

1990 - U.S. Federal Government combined with the Federal Railroad Administration begins to support Maglev technology for a second time and implements the National Maglev initiative

1991 - Germany’s government certifies operation of the first Maglev train for the public

1991 - The Maglev train Transrapid 07, a newer version of the Transrapid 04, is proposed to connect a line between Hamburg and Britain

1997 - Japan’s version of a Maglev train broke the world speed for a manned train. The speed was 280.3 mph that was reached on a track near Tokyo

1998 - A Hamburg to Berlin route was supposed to be complete

2003 - A new Maglev train in Shanghai is opened to the public because of congested roadways. This version can hold 450 passengers. The ticket price is only 6 U.S. dollars. This system cuts times from 30 minutes to less than 8 minutes for a 19-mile distance between Shanghai’s financial district and it’s international airport. It took a 1.2 billion dollars to make. Pittsburgh or Baltimore will have a Maglev train in the near future.

2005 - A Tokyo to Osaka route to be finished