Transport minister Dr Wee Ka Siong recently received a courtesy visit from representatives from the South Korean rail industry. Among them were EP Korea Railway and Maglev MKC. During the meeting, the minister was briefed on plans for a maglev train system for Putrajaya. The briefing was presented by EP Korea Railway’s senior managing director, Yoo Jai Tark. The minister also said that the Ministry of Transport will be holding further discussions with the Ministry of Federal Territories “soon” on developing the train system for the Putrajaya area. There will apparently be an emphasis on the way it will integrate with the other transportation systems already in the area.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org
Maglev train systems make use of magnetic levitation. This tech conveys a number of benefits compared to traditional rail systems - key among which are the lowered maintenance cost due to having less moving parts. In turn, this potentially leads to better energy efficiency at higher speeds due to not having to deal with rolling resistance. This also leads to faster acceleration and deceleration, as well as emitting less noise associated with either process.
On the flip side, construction costs for maglev track are generally exorbitant.
Maglev trains run at speeds of 430km/h or more, but there are also low speed systems that cost approximately USD100 million per km to build.
Why do we stop at Maglev? Shouldn’t we look at hyperloop – which theoretically costs lower than Maglev? And why Putrajaya? Is waiting time in traffic jams for ten minutes in the morning and evening too much for civil servants? Or, is this a show-case of a modern city? Silly ideas from some demented folks, especially when the average family is suffering from inflation, cost of living and fixed income.
References:
Transport Ministry in talks with Korean train maker to build Maglev system in Putrajaya, Ian Chee, www.lowyet.net, 14 June 2022
Comparison of conventional high speed railway, maglev and hyperloop transportation systems, Mehmet Nedim Yavuz and Zubeyde Ozturk (www.dergipark.org.tr)
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