Safety of High Speed Magnetic Levitation Transportation Systems : German High-Speed Maglev Train Safety Requirements - Potential For Application in the United States

PDFTech ReportDOT-VNTSC-FRA-92-3DOT/FRA/ORD-92/02RR293/R2015Magnetic levitationMagnetic levitation vehiclesSafety engineeringSystem safetySafety factorsVehicle designGermanyUnited States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and DevelopmentDorer, R.Markos, SHWlodyka, R.Lee, H.S.Coltman, M.Hathaway, W. T.Barrington, A. E.Brecher, A.John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITYNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Human FactorsNTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-High Speed Ground TransportationNTL-RAIL TRANSPORTATION-Rail SafetyVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterThe safety of various magnetically levitated (maglev) trains underdevelopment for possibleimplementation in the United States is ofdirect concern to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).This report is the second in a series of reports addressing the safety of high-speed maglev trains andpresents the results of the review to determine the suitability ofGerman safety requirements forapplication to maglev systems as proposed for U.S. operations. The intent of the review was to compare theGerman and U.S. safety requirements in order to assist the FRA in determining what regulations andguidelines may be necessary to ensure a high level of safety for U.S. passenger service.The review focuses on the High-Speed Maglev Trains Safety Requirements. ReeelwerkMagnetschnellbahnen-Sicherheitstechnische Anforderungen (RW MSB), which was developed by aGerman working group of representatives of the German Federal Railways (DB), the Testing and Planningcompany for Maglev Systems, (MVP), the Institute for Railway Technology (IFB), and safety experts ofTUV Rheinland and TUV Hanover, headed by TUV Rheinland, and sponsored by the Federal Ministry forResearch and Technology.The German safety requirements were reviewed in terms of safety related functional areas of the followingareas of the following seven maglev system elements: vehicles; guideway; passenger stations; signal,control, and communications (SCO; plans and procedures; personnel; and operating environment.Potential safety concerns for each of the maglev system functional areas were identified. The Germansafety requirements and the applicable U.S. safety requirements are described and then compared todetermine their applicability to proposed U.S. maglev system operations. Recommendations are alsoincluded for FRA consideration.In general, the German effort appears to ensure the same high level of safety for maglev trains that isexpected in the United States for similar ground transportation technologies. The challenge lies intransferring the experience of Germany to the U.S. regulatory environment