Amsterdam to Groningen in under an hour looks to be possible
From Groningen to Amsterdam in 51 minutes? It could be possible with a magnetic track. During the Let’s Gro inspiration festival, the Freedom of Mobility foundation once again argued for the use of magnetic floating technology as an alternative to the traditional Lely line. As reported by the Dagblad van het Noorden.
For years, there has been a debate about whether there should be a Lely line between Groningen, Lelystad and Amsterdam. This fast train would therefore take just under an hour for the journey from Groningen to Amsterdam. Wouter van Gessel of Freedom of Mobility thinks the train will take 1.18 hours between the two cities.
He sees even more potential in the magnetic track, which means that trains can accelerate and brake much faster. A magnet train does not suffer from frost, snow, storm or leaves on the rails. Magnetic trains are already being used extensively in Japan and China. According to Van Gessel, the technology costs more, but it also has more advantages: “A magnetic track improves public transport so much that car use decreases much more,” he predicts.
An additional advantage, according to Van Gessel, is that Groningen Airport Eelde can get a boost with a station at the airport. “Then even Lelystad Airport is unnecessary,” he says.
Image: the Shanghai MagLev train by Flickr user Edwin Steele. License here
