The Los Angeles transportation infrastructure is inefficient in supporting the daily travel of its commuting residents. The objective of this design is to provide a sustainable transport system that would alleviate road congestion, commuter delays, and wasted energy in Los Angeles. The Aerodynamic Solar Paneled Mag-Lev Train can move large numbers of people throughout the city, while supplying its own power, maintaining environmental sustainability, and minimizing the requirement for additional land and infrastructure. The track system acts as a solar array, a rain collection and filtration system, and is designed to primarily use land that is already owned by the Department of Transportation. 

This design marries MagLev train technology with solar energy collection and deploys the system within the footprint of existing highway infrastructure. Highway medians are exploited for the construction of structural columns and elevated tracks. Reinforcing cables attach to existing or new concrete anchors on the highway’s edge for additional stability.

The supporting superstructure is designed to collect rain water by utilizing its effective surface area as a catch basin. The water is filtered, sanitized, and used to satisfy on board water requirements. Any excess supplements the already short supplied LA public water system. Track drainage is also accomplished this way.

The track surface is embedded with solar panels for propulsion power, and electromagnets line the undersides of each track. The maximum temperature fluctuation in LA is 27.2° C, therefore the gap tolerance is <%0.01 for NdFeB  magnets with a thermal strain of 3.4 x 10-6 in/°C.

The train travels at a maximum speed upward of 200 km/h, and drag is a considerable source of inefficiency. Therefore the cars, especially the engine and caboose, are aerodynamically shaped to reduce resistance.
Created 11/2010. I was Co-Project Leader, and my team member executed the initial CAD work.