A maglev train on Hus-24.
A maglev train or magtrain was a type of train vehicle which used maglev technology. It was a form of high-speed ground transportation developed in the 20th century on Earth. A maglev train consisted of an engine car pulling many additional cars along a prelaid maglev track.
In the 23rd century, a cross-continental maglev train ran from Stanford Station in Palo Alto, California to Annapolis, Maryland, the width of North America. Trains departed at three-hour intervals. (TOS novel: Traitor Winds)
History[]
On 1 May, 2053, the Eastern Coalition launched a first strike, detonating nuclear weapons in various locations including New York City. Flint, in the guise of Lewis Bixby, survived the blast. Through the wreckage, he followed the city's maglev tracks, making his way to Grand Central Station, then underground to his EMP-shielded workshop. (TOS - Strange New Worlds 9 short story: "The Immortality Blues")
In March 2061, a maglev train trip from New Los Angeles to San Francisco took a little less time than a flight from the Earth to Luna (TOS novel: Federation)
In 2271, Nyota Uhura attempted to board the North American maglev train, but while she was talking to Leonard McCoy a remote fire bomb was detonated, badly injuring the doctor. (TOS novel: Traitor Winds)
In 2274, a maglev train was the only exit from a tritanium mine for two starship crews forced into slave labor on Hus-24. Montgomery Scott rigged the engine car to travel 100 kph for five minutes before its fuel coil overloaded. Hundreds of escaping Starfleet officers hid in the ore cars. Suspecting an escape attempt, Husians barricaded the tracks with trucks. The maglev train smashed through the trucks, but the impact wrecked its stabilizer and gyros, forcing it off the tracks. The officers rushed for cover as Husians fired phasers at them. (TOS comic: "Husian Gambit")
In 2344, while posing as an academician on Romulus, Spock rode a magtrain to the capital city. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Heart)
Earth maglev train stations[]
- Annapolis, Maryland
- New Los Angeles
- New Orleans
- Grand Central Station
- Roosevelt Island Station
- San Francisco
- Stanford Station (Palo Alto, California)
Other maglev trains[]
- Bajor (DS9 novel: Original Sin)
- Capital city, Romulus
- Hus-24 tritanium mine
- Terrestrial enclosure (Starbase Vanguard)
Appendices[]
Appearances[]
- TOS novel: Traitor Winds
- TOS novel: Vulcan's Heart
- TOS comic: "Husian Gambit"
- ST - Typhon Pact novel: Rough Beasts of Empire
References[]
External link[]
- How Maglev Trains work article at the How Stuff Works website.