Transrapid Wants To Bring Technical University To Bingen

The Technical University of Bingen placed a bid for the sale of the Transrapid TR 90. Even if the connection is missing at first glance, the university explains where the idea came from: Günter Steinmetz, the “father” of the Transrapid, is a graduate of TH Bingen. He had studied mechanical engineering there in the 1970s. Steinmetz himself has kept in touch with his university over the years and supports the idea of ​​giving the Transrapid a new home in Bingen: "I think the idea is good, because my technical training was the basis of my developments."

Until October 25, potential buyers were able to submit their bids to the federal recycling company (Vebeg). The Technical University has bid for an end section of the Transrapid TR 90 for sale. Sufficient sponsors were found to financially secure the transport and the subsequent installation. “The actual bid is a symbolic amount. However, we hope that we can score with our reasoning and that the decision is made in favor of the university,”explains Prof. Klaus Becker.

A technology monument for the region

The TR 90 was the last vehicle developed in Germany and tested on the track in Lathen. He ran without a driver and achieved top speeds of 400 km / h. Technical President Prof. Klaus Becker personally experienced the breathtaking speed of the Transrapid on the test track in 1999 during a visit and is convinced of the technology. However, he also sees the difficulties of such a system: “The wheel-rail system has a development lead of more than 150 years and can therefore fall back on a dense rail network. This infrastructure would first have to be created for the Transrapid - which was certainly one of the killer criteria for this great invention.”

Günter Steinmetz is still concerned with levitation technology. Even if the severe accident in Lathen in 2006 initially meant the end of his invention in Germany. It stands for developments made in Bingen, as well as many other alumni of the university, such as Gideon Sundback, the inventor of the modern zip fastener or Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the term "science fiction" - all former members of the Binger University. With the Transrapid, the TH, the city and the region could erect a technology monument that takes into account the high-tech potential of the region. (kj)

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