SWISSMETRO: Combined Propulsion with Levitation and Guidance

Swissmetro is a MAGLEV Project between the main cities of Switzerland, designed for a speed up to 500 [km/h] in two tunnels under partial vacuum. Two propulsion variants are considered: - the short stators of the linear homopolar motors are fixed with the tunnel tracks; - the stator of the motors is on board of the vehicles. The levitation, the guidance and the transfer of energy are independent. The authors investigate the possibilities to combine the propulsion with the levitation and the guidance. Polarized inductors for the levitation and the guidance are studied. The electromechanical component designs are presented, considering the specificity of the tunnel partial vacuum.