Abstract

A levitation-propulsion mechanism for an inductive repulsion type magnetically levitated railway having a vehicle with a truck and a track with a U-shaped cross-section with spaced opposed walls between which the truck runs, has a plurality of vertically positioned superconducting coils on both sides of the truck at intervals therealong in the direction of travel of the vehicle. Guidance coils are mounted on the inside surfaces of the walls of the track at intervals therealong in the direction of travel of the vehicle and opposed to the corresponding superconducting coils. Upper and lower levitation coils are positioned adjacent to the guidance conductor coils and opposed to the superconducting coils, the upper and lower coils being symmetrically positioned above and below, respectively, a horizontal line through the center of the guidance coils, and the upper and lower conductor coils are null-flux connected in a closed circuit. The guidance coils can be connected to a propulsion power source, in which case they become propulsion-guidance coils. Alternatively the levitation coils can be connected to the propulsion power source, in which case they become levitation-propulsion coils.