Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Nestled in the German hinterland sits a test site for a technology that was supposed to change how we move from A to B: The Transrapid, a levitating train, gliding along at speeds of up to 450 km/h. But today, the tracks, which one saw flocks of visitors hop on a test ride, are abandoned. What happened?
#PlanetA #Maglev #Transrapid
Reporter: Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann
Video Editor: Frederik Willmann
Supervising Editor: Adam Baheej Adada, Michael Trobridge
Factcheck: Jeannette Cwienk
Thumbnail: Em Chabridon
Special thanks to Markus Bauer, CEO of thyssenkrupp Transrapid International GmbH, for a detailed background interview and providing archive footage.
Read More:
Overview of maglev trains:
ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd76158.pdf
News article written after 2006 accident:
spiegel.de/international/aftermath-of-high-tech-train-crash-germany-s-transrapid-project-in-doubt-after-crash-a-438995.html
David Harder's website (in German):
magnetbahn.de
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:27 The Transrapid dream
04:15 The TR07
05:30 How it works
07:00 Why it failed
10:10 Comeback?
14:44 The TR09
We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. We'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
Follow Planet A on TikTok: tiktok.com/@dw_planet
Nestled in the German hinterland sits a test site for a technology that was supposed to change how we move from A to B: The Transrapid, a levitating train, gliding along at speeds of up to 450 km/h. But today, the tracks, which one saw flocks of visitors hop on a test ride, are abandoned. What happened?
#PlanetA #Maglev #Transrapid
Reporter: Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann
Video Editor: Frederik Willmann
Supervising Editor: Adam Baheej Adada, Michael Trobridge
Factcheck: Jeannette Cwienk
Thumbnail: Em Chabridon
Special thanks to Markus Bauer, CEO of thyssenkrupp Transrapid International GmbH, for a detailed background interview and providing archive footage.
Read More:
Overview of maglev trains:
ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd76158.pdf
News article written after 2006 accident:
spiegel.de/international/aftermath-of-high-tech-train-crash-germany-s-transrapid-project-in-doubt-after-crash-a-438995.html
David Harder's website (in German):
magnetbahn.de
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:27 The Transrapid dream
04:15 The TR07
05:30 How it works
07:00 Why it failed
10:10 Comeback?
14:44 The TR09
We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. We'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
Follow Planet A on TikTok: tiktok.com/@dw_planet
