Distance control in magnetic railways

In contrast to conventional railways, in magnetic railways the drive is not installed in the vehicle but in the track. In the Transrapid, wheels and rails of the conventional railway are replaced by a non-contact electromagnetic carrying, guiding and drive system. 

In order to keep the distance of the vehicle to the track constant, air gap control is required. Eddy current sensors from Micro-Epsilon are used for non-contact distance measurement to detect the distance to the mounting rails with high dynamics and accuracy. These robust sensors are insensitive to dirt, moisture and temperature fluctuations. The measurement data is used for distance control.