Ian Rainey
Tomoaki Seki

"Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Trains"

ABSTRACT -- The United States' Northeast Corridor is home to 17% of the nation's population and is responsible for 20% of the nation's GDP. Existing on just 2% of U.S. land mass, this powerful region is home to many major metropolitan areas but lacks efficient inter-city travel and is greatly constricted by congestion. Clogged highways, airways, and railways act as an anchor on the economy, hindering growth, and increasing travel times and costs throughout.

Northeast Maglev is working to bring the fastest train in the world, the Superconducting Maglev, to the Northeast Corridor. With the goal of connecting the major metropolitan areas and airports along the corridor at 311mph, the project aims ultimately to connect Washington, D.C. and New York City in one hour.

At the heart of the Northeast Maglev project is the Superconducting Maglev (SCMAGLEV). Developed by Central Japan Railway Company, and currently under construction between Tokyo and Nagoya, the SCMAGLEV is a beautiful implementation of an amazing, reliable, and nuanced technology. Superconducting technology allows for the creation of extremely powerful, lightweight, and efficient magnets, capable of propelling the SCMAGLEV to world record speeds. Superconducting magnets onboard the SCMAGLEV interact with wire coils embedded in the sidewalls of the train's guideway to levitate, guide, and propel the train.

Northeast Maglev Senior Vice President Ian Rainey will provide an overview of Northeast Maglev project and the current state of efforts to implement SCMAGLEV technology in the U.S.

Tomoaki Seki, General Manager of Central Japan Railway Company will discuss the development of the SCMAGLEV technology and the basic mechanisms and principles of the SCMAGLEV system.

SPEAKER -- Ian Rainey - Ian Rainey serves as Senior Vice President at Northeast Maglev.

Prior to joining Northeast Maglev, Mr. Rainey worked in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for three years, where he specialized in U.S. defense policy in South Asia. From 1997 to 2004, Mr. Rainey was on active duty in the U.S. Navy.

Mr. Rainey earned his B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1997 and his M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 2006.

SPEAKER -- Tomoaki Seki - General Manager of the Maglev Systems Development Division in Central Japan Railway Company.

Mr. Seki has served Central Japan Railway Company for 30 years. Prior to joining the SCMAGLEV system development team, he engaged in various development projects such as the development of the Traffic Control System of the Tokaido Shinkansen. He also provided technical assistance to the Taiwan High Speed Rail project from its design stage to its opening. He received his B.S. from Michigan Technological University.

Next Week: "Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)", Adam Yingling, NASA-Armstrong

Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov

Ian Rainey Tomoaki Seki

"Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Trains"

Ian Rainey
Tomoaki Seki