Luitpold Miller
Manfred Wackers

The article includes a brief description of the system, the state of development as well as the operational performance and safety standards achieved. It summarizes the results of the comprehensive studies "Technical Readiness for Application of Transport Maglev System" and "Possible Application of the New High Speed Rail Systems (High Speed Maglev and Railroad Technology)" published by the German Federal Railway and MVP (Test and Planning Organization for Maglev Systems). At the request of the Federal Minister of Transport, investigations of maglev routes in Germany were carried out. According to first results especially the connection Hamburg-Berlin would be preferable with respect to environmental consistency, attractiveness and profitability. Already in the 80ies a number of application studies have been conducted in the United States. In 1991, the Governor and Cabinet of the State of Florida certified to construct the maglev system Transrapid to connect Orlando International Airport with the center of Orlando's tourism district. This application will have great influence on further projects all over the world.