RealMaglevs

So, you've been building maglev routes and buying maglev trains all the time in TTD. Did you know that there are actual maglevs running, that you can even test ride? One of them is the German "Transrapid" system, which uses static magnetic levitation (maglev) to travel without any moving parts. There is more information about it at the Transrapid home page, and even though it resembles TTD's monorail more than its maglev, it is in fact a maglev.

Since version 2.0 of TTDPatch, you can actually play with the Transrapid too, by loading the "DB Set", available as a new graphics set.

Another maglev train that is still under development is the Japanese MLX, which you can find at the home page. This one relies on dynamic magnetic levitation, which means that it will only levitate once it is fast enough. It appears that this is what TTD's maglev is modelled after, because it also has the guide rails at the side of the tracks, and TTD's Chimera seems to be very similar to the MLU002N test vehicle.