MAX Bögl, Germany, and Xinzhu Road & Bridge Machinery, China, have successfully delivered all contracts for the construction of a 3.5km demonstration maglev line and the supply of a maglev vehicle and related train control technology for the project in Chengdu, China.
The agreement to develop the maglev line using Max Bögl’s Transport System Bögl (TSB) technology was signed in 2018. Construction of the line required the transport of track infrastructure for the elevated line in more than 650 containers from Germany to China, as well as the successful commissioning of the route with a maglev vehicle built at Max Bögl’s headquarters in Sengenthal, Germany.
The maglev train has been successfully demonstrated on the line, reaching a top speed of 169km/h during a test with the three-section vehicle in April 2021, and 181km/h in April 2024, a record for medium and low-speed maglev technology.
Completion of the project was marked by the signing of a cooperation agreement for the further development of TSB by Max Bögl and newly-founded Sichuan Development Maglev Technologies, which like Xinzhu is a subsidiary of Sichuan Development Holding Group.
The hope is that the successful demonstration of the line, and the new cooperation agreement, will stimulate the development of commercial projects, with several schemes proposed in China and Germany.
Bavaria’s prime minister, Dr Markus Söder, visited the demonstrator line in Chengdu in March following a visit to Sengenthal in November 2023. The city of Nuremberg is reportedly investigating the use of the technology as an alternative to extending its light rail network to Nuremberg Messe and Klinikum Süd.
Max Bögl is marketing TSB as a turnkey system, including infrastructure, vehicles and train control, which is suitable for the transport of both people and freight in urban and suburban areas.
