Railing at 550 km/hour on the existing rail infrastructure? It’s the dream of the Polish company Nevomo. It has conducted its first successful trial on its test track in Nowa Sarzuna in Poland.

We all know the Maglev trains, those floating carriages lifted and pulled by magnetism and which reach incredible speeds of more than 400 km/hour by the lack of friction. Of the high-speed version, only two are operational worldwide, but Nevomo wants to change that with an in-house developed hybrid system dramatically.

‘Tangible solution for today’

The Polish company has developed a technology to deploy magnetic levitation trains on the existing infrastructure, with some essential but smart modifications.

Last week, Nevomo pulled off a world first and successfully tested a prototype on a stretch of 720 meters of conventional railway line. The wagon was six meters long and weighed two tons. Recorded top speed on the two-track line remained modest at 136 km/hour, but this was the first test of its kind.

CEO of Nevomo, Przemek Ben Paczek, said: “For the first time in railway history, a rail vehicle moved not on the existing tracks, but over them, without friction. It shows that our MagRail technology is not just a vision for the future but a tangible solution for today.”

Gateway to Hyperloop

Nevomo’s technology, called Magrail Booster, adds magnets to the carriages and levitation beams to the infrastructure. It works according to an intelligent routine.

The transformed running rails can distinguish between conventional and magnetic trains. The levitation beams with a linear motor stator are mounted between the running rails and are energized only when a magnetically equipped vehicle is within range.

Interestingly, Nevomo started as Hyper Poland and was focused on building a hyperloop concept as the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has patented this. It’s a crossing between a train and a plane.

However, the company has stepped down from the ambition and sees a faster opportunity to optimize the existing rail network. The Hyperloop concept hasn’t been abandoned, though. The company now regards it as next-phase technology as it demands infrastructural changes.

Beating planes

The first applications are investigated in the freight sector, where the company wants to combine magnetic levitation technology with automated trains. It hopes to commercialize a first version as soon as next year.

The technology must make rail more competitive over distances longer than 1 000 kilometers as the applied speed rises significantly. It could beat planes as a more carbon-friendly alternative.

Nevomo works closely with names like French SNCF, Italian Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, and Austrian GATX to look into complete and partial applications of magnetic levitation. GATX, a lessor of railcars specialized in freight, has already announced joining further tests.