HSST stands for High Speed Surface Transport. It is Japanese Maglev technology that is now offered around the world by HSST Development Corporation. So far two projects have received final approval and several others are under study in different parts of the world.
The trains are magnetically levitated and propelled by a linear induction motor (LIM), not by more common rotary electric motors. Ordinary direct current electromagnets attached to the bottom of the vehicle lift it up towards a steel rail. A gap sensor measures the gap between the train and the guidewayand an electric current amplifier controls the current to the electromagnets to keep the cushion at 8 mm. The primary coil of the LIM is attached to the vehicle side, and the secondary side (the aluminum reaction plate) is attached to the top of an iron rail. To change speed, linear motors can vary the voltage and the frequency of the current supplied to the motors.
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