Fast, faster, Transrapid:In 1994, the federal government decided to build a high-speed magnetic train. The magic train is to rush from Hamburg to Berlin. But on February 5, 2000, the mega-project was buried again.
In the early 1990s, Hamburg was still dreaming of getting to Berlin by train faster than from one end of the city to the other. The planned Transrapid is to race from the Hanseatic to the capital in just 53 minutes. For comparison:A journey with the S1 from Blankenese to Poppenbüttel takes 56 minutes. But a few years later, the plans were buried again - on February 5, 2000, the official end came. Years before a tragic accident happened on the Transrapid test track in Lathen, Emsland.
Transrapid decision in March 1994
On March 2, 1994, the dream is within reach:the Federal Cabinet decides to build the 292-kilometre-long route, along which the high-speed maglev train is to travel at up to 430 kilometers per hour. It would be the world's first Transrapid for everyday use. Until then there is only one test loop in Emsland.
The basis for the decision to implement the Hamburg-Berlin route is the financing concept of a group of companies consisting of Thyssen, Siemens, Daimler-Benz and AEG. Deutsche Bahn is to act as the operator.
The mega project has a mega price:the planners estimate 8.9 billion German marks (4.55 billion euros) - initially. A sum that the Federal Audit Office and research institutes criticized as disproportionate from a cost-benefit point of view.
The "worm on stilts" becomes the "whispering arrow"
But initially other things are in the foreground:With its innovative technology and a route across the former German-German border, the Transrapid should become a powerful symbol of unity and represent an innovative Germany. While the maglev train, which traveled along routes on concrete pillars, was mocked as a "worm on stilts" in its early years, many politicians are now raving about the "whispering arrow" that is supposed to shoot through the north. The manufacturers want to catapult an incredible 14.5 million passengers a year between Hamburg and Berlin on two lanes.
But the more time passes, the clearer it becomes that costs and passenger numbers are developing differently than expected. And in different directions:the forecast price is going up, the number of passengers is going down.
Main station and Moorfleet as stations in Hamburg
This is what the Transrapid station at Hamburg Central Station should look like.Meanwhile, the planners' designs are becoming more and more detailed. Accordingly, the Transrapid station in Hamburg is to be built on the south side of the main station. The platform should be at the same height as that of regional and long-distance traffic, so that passengers can easily change trains. In Moorfleet, Transrapid travelers will then board and disembark at a second station.
With 430 kilometers per hour to Schwerin
However, according to the plans, the Transrapid has not yet shown what it is capable of in the Hanseatic city. There he should initially be traveling at a whopping 200 kilometers per hour. Only from the Hamburg-Ost motorway junction should it accelerate to an incredible 430 kilometers per hour as far as Reinbek and then rush through Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania at this speed. Next stop of the miracle train is Schwerin.
From there, according to the draft, it goes straight on to Berlin. As in Hamburg, two stations are planned here:one in Berlin-Spandau, the other at Westkreuz station. At peak times, trains are scheduled to run every ten minutes, otherwise the trains should run every 20 minutes.
Not made for reality
Those involved not only develop the design of the route, but also a schedule with "milestones". As of April 1998, the maglev link between Hamburg and Berlin is scheduled to go into operation as early as 2005. But what's as good as done on paper doesn't make it into reality.
The critical voices are getting louder and louder. In 1998, a popular initiative in Berlin collected more than 130,000 signatures against the project. Not only the financing, but also the assumed noise pollution and possible environmental problems are attracting more and more opponents. In 1999 BUND lodged a complaint with the European Commission.
Nevertheless, the proponents initially try to hold on to the miracle train. For example, the Federal Ministry of Transport is proposing to initially build the route as a single lane for cost reasons. In this case, several two-lane crossing sections would have been necessary. In addition, an originally planned Sprinter line could not have been realized without any intermediate stops.
Billions invested in development and planning
When at the beginning of the year 2000 railway boss Hartmut Mehdorn also expressed massive doubts about the profitability of the maglev connection, the end of the Hamburg-Berlin route was decided after a top-level discussion on February 5, 2000.
By then, the development and planning of the magnetic levitation train had already cost German taxpayers 2.35 billion marks. In addition, the industry has invested another 470 million marks.
Only on the Emsland test loop
In the new millennium, the Transrapid will only race across the 32-kilometer test loop in Lathen in the Emsland, as it has done since the mid-1980s, rather than across the north. Over time, 500,000 visitors test drive the high-speed maglev train - until a serious accident occurs in 2006:the miracle train crashes into a maintenance vehicle that a dispatcher left on the route. 23 people die. The test track closes five years later.
China relies on innovative Transrapid trains
Since then, the dream of the Transrapid in the north has finally come to an end. Only China continues to rely on the technology. The world's first connection on which a maglev train runs in everyday operation is in Shanghai. After all, the place has a symbolic connection to northern Germany:Shanghai is Hamburg's twin city. But it will not stop with this only route so far:In autumn 2019, the Chinese Minister of Transport announced that the Transrapid technology would be a central element of the transport plan up to the year 2050. Accordingly, the start of construction for an approximately 1,000-kilometer connection between Guangzhou in the south and Wuhan in central China is scheduled for 2020. The trains developed in China should reach a top speed of 600 km/h.
Renaissance of the maglev in local transport?
But even in Germany there are still advocates of the Transrapid technology. A construction entrepreneur from southern Germany is hoping for a renaissance. The Max Bögl Group has already invested 35 million euros by the end of 2019 to develop a maglev system for local transport. The trains should be designed for distances of five to a maximum of 30 kilometers and for a speed of up to 150 km/h. Since 2012 there has been an 820 meter long test track on the factory premises. At the time, the company was involved in the construction of the Transrapid line in Emsland - and also acted as a supplier for the Transrapid line in Shanghai. The southern Germans are banking on the Chinese market and are hoping for approval there for their new maglev system.