Picture of maglev vehicle

Maglev is the fastest railway system in commercial operation in the world. The construction began in April 2001 of the first commercial Transrapid system and the system was up and running by 2004. The 30-km line runs between. Shanghai Pudong International Airport and the Longyang Road. An end-to-end ride takes about eight minutes. A world record for commercial maglev systems was set on November 12, 2003. A five-section train achieved the top speed of 501 km/h (311 mph) while another vehicle passed at 430 km/h on the adjacent track. The Transrapid in Shanghai has a design speed of over 500 km/h (310 mph) and a regular service speed of 430 km/h (267 mph) The secret to its speediness? Electromagnetic levitation (or maglev) technology. Electromagnetic force is used to make the train hover, and to provide vertical and horizontal stabilization. The frequency, intensity and direction of the electrical current in the track control the train's movement, while the power for the levitation system is supplied by the train's onboard batteries, which recharge whenever the train is moving. By putting the propulsion system in the guideway rather than onboard, the cars can be lighter, which enables the floating train to accelerate to nearly 200 mph in about 2 minutes.