Frontier line, service 01
Reserved seats
The long way, at speed.
Pioneer is the city's intercity maglev. From Central it calls at three cities, then surveys the ground beyond the map.
Central Change for the metro
The Frontier line begins where the city's own lines end. Change here from the metro; the Pioneer leaves from the same platforms as the day trains.
Three cities, then the survey. The line does not stop at every station.
The train
A long nose, a quiet car, a reserved seat.
- Service
- Pioneer
- Line
- Frontier
- Traction
- Maglev
- Top speed
- 500 km/h
- Seats
- Reserved
- Status
- Under construction
One carLeading car, long nose
Complete train8 cars, 202 m
Design
How it is built, and how it is run.
- Nose
- Long and single-arched. The section changes gradually, so the pressure wave stays soft at speed.
- Roof
- Flat from tail to nose, with the equipment carried inside it.
- Body
- Flush sides and a covered underframe; nothing for the air to trip on.
- Windows
- One continuous band, set flush with the body.
- Pressure
- A pressure-tight body: a tunnel passes as a change of air, not a thump.
- Guideway
- No wheels, no bogies. The train is held and driven by the guideway.
- Suspension
- The cabin rides on its own springs, apart from the magnets below.
- Cab
- A cab at each end. The train leaves from either end and is never turned.
- Cabin
- One class, warm light, filtered air, a window at every row.
- Quiet car
- Car 6 is set aside for silence.
- Crew
- A conductor for every car. Help comes to the seat.
- Luggage
- Luggage travels in the car, within reach.
- Station
- Level boarding, and the same platform at every stop.
- Lounge
- A lounge at every stop, not only at the ends.
- Seat
- A seat that reclines inside its own space, so the row behind keeps its room.
- Access
- Level boarding, and a place for a wheelchair in every car.
- Energy
- Regenerative braking returns the energy of a stop to the guideway.
- Land
- One narrow guideway, not a motorway.
- Air
- Electric at the point of use; no exhaust at the platform.
- Noise
- The nose and the flush body keep the noise at the line, not in the town.
- Maintenance
- No wheels or bogies to replace, so the fleet spends less time in the depot.
- Materials
- An aluminium body that can be melted down and used again.
- Capacity
- Eight cars on one path; the guideway carries more than a road lane.
- Cost
- Few stops, one platform type: the money goes into the line, not the buildings.
- Fare
- One fare, one seat; no yield management.
- Development
- A station is a destination, not a stop.
- Extension
- The line grows one stop at a time: new guideway, the same service.
- Turnaround
- Minutes at each end. A small fleet carries the whole line.
The city is the beginning.
The metro is where we live. The Pioneer is where we are going. Return to the city