...The Dream of Flying without leaving the earth...
The "SwissRapide Express®" is a new and innovative solution to the country's intercity capacity needs. At the same time, it offers a quantum leap in fast, punctual and environmentally friendly transportation:From Zurich to Berne in 20 minutes
From Lausanne to Geneva in 10 minutes
From Zurich to Winterthur in 8 minutes
Every 5 minutes
Punctual and sustainable
Launched in 2006, the SwissRapide Express® is based on the proven Transrapid Maglev Monorail(Magnetic Levitation) technology, successfully travelling over 20 million km in daily service in Shanghai since 2003, safely and highly punctually.
Source: ThyssenKrupp Transrapid GmbH
News
Zürich, 20.10.2011
Visit to the Transrapid Test Line in Emsland (TVE)
Together with partner companies as well as representatives from politics and the press, the SwissRapide consortium visited the Transrapid Test Line in Germany (TVE). Also on board were five representatives from Turkey, who are evaluating a project to construct a high-speed Maglev line between Istanbul and Ankara. The guests from SwissRapide could ride in the newest maglev vehicle TR09 and were impressed how smoothly the maglev train levitated. The visit included two runs on the test line at speeds up to 320km/h, the inspection of the technical systems, the guideway and the point systems. Unfortunately, the future of the 30 year old test track is uncertain, since the German government is no longer willing to cover the operational costs of the test line and even considers a dismantling of the facility. Thus this may have been the last visit to the Transrapid Test Line.
See also the following NZZ article, which was released based on the SwissRapide visit.
Daejeon, Korea, 11.10.2011
SwissRapide AG at the Maglev 2011 International Conference
With over 200 delegates and experts from 5 continents around the world, Niklaus H. Koenig, President and CEO of SwissRapide AG, presented the status of the SwissRapide Express® Project as well as the unique PI2 financing model developed by SwissRapide AG together with its partner companies. With the set-back of the extension project in Shanghai, the SwissRapide Express® Project has now become one of the most advanced Maglev railway projects in the world. Project financing was one of the central themes at the 4-day conference in Korea, with several delegates from other Maglev projects worldwide showing considerable interest in the SwissRapide PI2 financing model. Also included in the conference programme was a visit to the Korean Urban Maglev system, currently under development by the Korean Institute of Machinery & Materials in co-operation with Hyundai Rotem.
Basel, 19.10.2010
The SwissRapide Express® at Global Energy Basel
SwissRapide AG has been chosen to make a unique presentation of the SwissRapide project to international banks and investors at the first ever Global Energy Basel “Sustainable Infrastructure Financing Summit” on 11th / 12th January 2011. SwissRapide was chosen both for its ground-breaking concept to bring Swiss cities together via ultra-fast connections thus creating “Switzerland, the Big City”, as well as for the focus on sustainable mobility throughout the life-cycle of the project. Other key sustainable infrastructure projects worldwide chosen to be presented include the California High Speed Rail project, Bangalore Metro and the Desertec project. Guest speakers to the summit include Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York; David Miller, Mayor of Toronto; John Jackman, Director, Macquarie Capital Advisors; Amitabh Kant, CEO & Managing Director, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation and Christoph Frei, Secretary General, World Energy Council.