Maglev vehicles travel along a guideway of magnets which control the vehicle's stability and speed. With maglev technology, there are no moving parts at higher speeds.
In high speed operation, there is no physical contact with the guideways. Maglev vehicles have set several speed records and Maglev train systems can accelerate and decelerate much faster than conventional trains; the only practical limitation is the comfort of the passengers and increasing energy consumption at higher speeds.
There are two types of Maglev systems for passenger transport. High speed Maglev such as the Transrapid and the JR Chuo Shinkansen have travel speeds of up to 600 km/h. By contrast, urban and regional Maglevs are designed for speeds of up to 200 km/h.
Maglev systems can also be used for fast container freight traffic. These Cargo maglev systems use other floating techniques. It does not make economic sense to transport particularly heavy bulk cargoes, such as ores, coal, earth, grain, etc., using Maglev systems. Air freight containers may be an option worth considering under certain conditions.