Germany: The Federal Railway Authority EBA has granted the relevant licence to TSB Betriebs, the German construction company’s subsidiary, which specialises in developing and introducing the new transport.
Launched in 2010, the TSB project is promoted as low-budget, with the reported cost of construction starting from €20 mln per 1 km. The maglev system is focused on short-distance transportation with an operational speed of 150 km/h. In contrast to the majority of similar technologies, the TSB system has the stator installed on the vehicle, not the infrastructure. The maglev train is powered by the 750 V DC third rail.
Two-car maglev for the TSB project. Source: Max Bögl
The rolling stock prototypes fitted with linear motors are built by German HeiterBlick (the company initiated bankruptcy procedures this year). The driverless passenger trains comprise two to six sections, each with a length of 12 m, a weight of 18.5 t and a capacity of 127 passengers. The vehicles are designed to pass gradients of up to 100‰ and negotiate curves of 45 m. In addition, the company offers the maglev technology for freight container transportation.
Demonstration of a freight maglev on the test track in Sengenthal. Source: Max Bögl
TSB Betriebs has an 820 m test track in Sengenthal, Germany, and a 3.5 km demonstration track in Chengdu, China. The latter saw two world records for medium- and low-speed maglev lines, namely 169 km/h in 2021 and 181 km/h in 2024. The Chinese company Xinzhu, in cooperation with Max Bögl, has produced its own maglev train for China. Besides, the TSB lines were planned for construction in Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Nuremberg and other cities, but neither project has been approved.
