The Forgotten Ukrainian Maglev: How Trains of the Future Were Designed 50 Years Ago

Today, when people talk about space-age speeds on Earth, the first things that come to mind are futuristic vacuum train concepts like Hyperloop or Japanese magnetic levitation trains (maglevs). Yet surprisingly, even half a century ago, Ukrainian scientists were actively working on creating magnetic-levitation transport capable of reaching an incredible 500 km/h. This story is evidence of Ukraine’s powerful scientific potential, which, unfortunately, did not receive the development it deserved.

The demand of the time: 500 km/h as the new standard

In the early 1970s, the world’s transport system faced the so-called “mid-distance paradox.” The rapid development of jet aviation made long-distance flights commonplace, but for trips of 500-1000 kilometers, airplanes proved economically inefficient and logistically complicated. A new type of transport was needed — one capable of reliably and quickly carrying passengers from one metropolis to another without the inconveniences of airports. The ideal solution seemed to be a speed of 400-500 km/h.

Conventional railways based on the “wheel-rail” principle could not achieve such figures. At speeds above 300 km/h, the adhesion between the steel wheel and the rail dropped sharply. This led to destructive vibrations, excessive material wear and, as a result, made further acceleration impossible. There was only one way out — abandon wheels and move to magnetic levitation. The train had to “float” above a special guideway, having virtually no physical contact with the surface. This would reduce friction to a minimum, leaving only aerodynamic air resistance.

Two paths to levitation: Ukraine’s choice in favor of EDS

At the time, engineering thought worldwide was divided into two main directions in maglev development. The first was electromagnetic suspension (EMS), which used conventional electromagnets. Moscow engineers chose this path, creating prototypes of the TP series. Their first car, TP-01, ran on a 36-meter factory track as early as 1979. This vehicle, weighing about 12 tons and 9 meters long, could carry 20 passengers. However, the key problem with EMS was its extremely small levitation gap — only 10 millimeters. Maintaining such a microscopic clearance at 400 km/h was extraordinarily difficult, and any irregularity in the track or gust of wind could lead to catastrophe.

The second, much more complex but more promising, direction was electrodynamic suspension (EDS). This technology was based on the use of superconducting magnets. As the train moved, the extremely powerful magnetic field generated by the onboard magnets interacted with currents induced in the aluminum guideway. This interaction created a repulsive force that lifted the car above the guideway. The advantage of EDS was the ability to increase the levitation gap to 10-15 centimeters, making high-speed travel safer and more stable.

It was this more technologically demanding but potentially revolutionary technology — electrodynamic suspension (EDS) — that was chosen in the Ukrainian SSR. Within the framework of a union-wide program coordinated by the All-Union Scientific Research and Design and Technology Institute of Electric Locomotive Engineering (VElnDI) in Kyiv, the most complex engineering tasks were placed on the shoulders of Ukrainian scientific institutes.

A symphony of Ukrainian science: developing the components of the future

Creating a full-fledged electrodynamic maglev required deep research and innovation in several related fields of physics. The central element of the system was superconducting magnets. To achieve superconductivity — a state in which a conductor completely loses electrical resistance — the material had to be cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero (about -269 °C) using liquid helium. This process required the development of highly advanced onboard cryostats capable of maintaining such a low temperature stably under dynamic motion.

The Kharkiv Institute for Low-Temperature Physics and Engineering (FTINT) took responsibility for creating these complex cryogenic systems. The scientists were tasked with developing the “thermoses” of the future, capable of reliably keeping liquid helium inside a car racing at 500 km/h while isolating the system from vibrations and external heat.

At the same time, Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI), with extensive experience in designing linear electric motors since the mid-1960s, focused on developing propulsion systems. As early as 1966, the first experimental car equipped with two 5 kW linear motors was built there, and the following year a unique circular monorail guideway 525 meters long appeared at the Ukrainian SSR Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy. Based on this team of enthusiasts, the Specialized Design Bureau of Linear Electric Motors (OKB LED) was founded in Kyiv. Until the collapse of the USSR, this bureau continued successful developments and, in particular, in 1980 manufactured 800 kW linear induction motors for VElnDI, designed for speeds of 400 km/h — without analogues in the world at the time.

The control system was no less important. Automated control systems (ACS) had to ensure the safety of a multi-ton train moving at cosmic speed. The V. M. Glushkov Institute of Cybernetics (Kyiv) was developing such systems. The cybernetics specialists worked on algorithms that would control acceleration and braking in real time, maintain safe intervals between trains, and monitor the parameters of cryogenic levitation. Human reaction was obviously too slow for such speeds.

“Transmag”: Dnipro’s hub of innovation

The roots of the Ukrainian maglev project go back to the late 1960s, when the first research on transport with magnetic and air suspension began at the Dnipropetrovsk branch of the Institute of Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR under the leadership of Academician V. A. Lazaryan. Later, this institution was transformed into the Institute of Technical Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.

In the early 1980s, a specialized laboratory for researching superconducting electromagnetic systems was established in Dnipro, led by Viktor Dzenzerskyi. As the scope of work expanded, on February 1, 1989, the Department of Physical and Technical Problems of Transport on Superconducting Magnets, “Transmag,” was founded on the basis of the Institute of Geotechnical Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, also under Dzenzerskyi’s leadership.

It was in Dnipro that the test infrastructure for full-scale components of the future maglev was being built. Industry historians note the key role of the Dnipro team in the union-wide program, especially in developing cryostats and superconducting electromagnets needed for the EDS system.

Unique test rigs and materials of the future

Since building a full-scale test track dozens of kilometers long would have been extremely expensive, Ukrainian engineers came up with an inventive solution — they created a unique dynamic test rig. It was a large wheel with an aluminum rim, spun up by powerful motors. A developed cryogenic magnetic module was mounted on a special suspension attached to this rim, simulating track movement at speeds above 300 km/h. Sensors collected data on lifting force, levitation-gap stability, the behavior of liquid helium under acceleration, and material durability.

At the same time, institutions in the Ukrainian SSR were working on innovative composite materials for the car bodies. These materials had to be extremely light, like those used in aviation, yet able to withstand enormous aerodynamic loads. This was especially important in scenarios where two trains passed each other in opposite directions, when the combined closing speed would reach 1000 km/h.

Unfulfilled ambitions: why the project was halted

The plans to implement maglev were extremely ambitious. The first experimental and operational line in the USSR was supposed to be the section connecting Yerevan with the city of Abovyan. The project envisioned the first phase of a 3.2 km system to be completed by 1990. More than 40 organizations and enterprises took part in its implementation. The initial design speed was 250 km/h, but later it was reduced to 180 km/h due to insufficient traction substation power.

However, by the end of the 1980s, the project ran into insurmountable obstacles unrelated to technology. First, the cost of building maglev infrastructure — special guideways, precise installation of aluminum rails and linear motor windings — turned out to be astronomically high.

Second, the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and the powerful earthquake in Armenia on December 7, 1988, in the zone where the first route was to be built, forced the country’s leadership to urgently redirect enormous financial, material and scientific resources to dealing with the consequences. Funding for the high-speed ground transport program was sharply reduced and later frozen. Construction of the guideway that had already begun was mothballed.

The legacy of the Ukrainian maglev: its impact on the future

Although the Ukrainian maglev project never reached commercial launch, this does not diminish its engineering significance. Ukrainian scientists proved the fundamental possibility of creating heavy transport on an electrodynamic cushion using cryogenic technologies. Developments in linear motors, automated control systems, and superconducting work at high speeds, created in laboratories in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv, became the basis for many related fields.

For comparison, the Japanese prototype on superconducting magnets, ML-500, reached a speed of 517 km/h in 1977-1979. It was by the same physical scheme of electrodynamic levitation, tested by Ukrainian engineers on rotating rigs more than half a century ago, that today’s Japanese L0-series maglevs exceed 600 km/h, continuing the same scientific line of development. Ukrainian engineering thought, although it never brought its project to completion, left a significant mark on the history of high-speed transport.