Editing Transrapid (section)

===Market segment and historical parallels===
Compared to classical railway lines, Transrapid allows higher speeds and gradients with less weathering and lower energy consumption and maintenance needs. The Transrapid track is more flexible, and more easily adapted to specific geographical circumstances than a classical train system. Cargo is restricted to a maximum payload of {{Convert|15|t|1|lk=on|abbr=off}} per car. Transrapid allows maximum speeds of {{Convert|550|km/h|0|abbr=on}}, placing it between conventional high speed trains ({{Convert|200|–|320|km/h|0|disp=or|abbr=on}}) and air traffic ({{Convert|720|–|990|km/h|0|disp=or|abbr=on}}). The magnetic field generator, an important part of the engine being a part of the track, limits the system capacity.

From a competition standpoint, the Transrapid is a proprietary solution. The track being a part of the engine, only the single-source Transrapid vehicles and infrastructure can be operated. There is no multisourcing foreseen concerning vehicles or the highly complicated crossings and switches. Unlike classical railways or other infrastructure networks, as jointly administrated by the [[Federal Network Agency]] (Bundesnetzagentur) in Germany, a Transrapid system does not allow any direct competition.