Editing Maglev (section)

=== Development ===
In the late 1940s, the British electrical engineer [[Eric Laithwaite]], a professor at [[Imperial College London]], developed the first full-size working model of the [[linear motor|linear induction motor]]. He became professor of heavy electrical engineering at Imperial College in 1964, where he continued his successful development of the linear motor.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/oct/11/timradford |title=Nasa takes up idea pioneered by Briton – Magnetic levitation technology was abandoned by government |date=11 October 1999 |work=The Guardian |first=Tim |last=Radford |access-date=15 December 2016 |archive-date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221110116/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/oct/11/timradford |url-status=live}}</ref> Since linear motors do not require physical contact between the vehicle and guideway, they became a common fixture on advanced transportation systems in the 1960s and 1970s. Laithwaite joined one such project, the [[Tracked Hovercraft]] RTV-31, based near Cambridge, UK, although the project was cancelled in 1973.<ref>[http://keelynet.com/gravity/laithobi.htm "Obituary for the late Professor Eric Laithwaite"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825091816/http://www.keelynet.com/gravity/laithobi.htm |date=25 August 2010}}, ''Daily Telegraph'', 6 December 1997.</ref>

The linear motor was naturally suited to use with maglev systems as well. In the early 1970s, Laithwaite discovered a new arrangement of magnets, the [[magnetic river]], that allowed a single linear motor to produce both lift and forward thrust, allowing a maglev system to be built with a single set of magnets. Working at the [[British Rail Research Division]] in [[Derby]], along with teams at several civil engineering firms, the "transverse-flux" system was developed into a working system.

The first commercial maglev [[people mover]] was simply called "[[Air-Rail Link#Maglev|MAGLEV]]" and officially opened in 1984 near [[Birmingham]], England. It operated on an elevated {{convert|600|m}} section of monorail track between [[Birmingham Airport, West Midlands|Birmingham Airport]] and [[Birmingham International railway station]], running at speeds up to {{convert|42|km/h}}. The system was closed in 1995 due to reliability problems.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/488394.stm|title=The magnetic attraction of trains|work=BBC News|date=9 November 1999|access-date=28 November 2010|archive-date=6 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706104829/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/488394.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>