Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Managing Director E. Sreedharan says that magnetic levitation (maglev) technology, which will be introduced in Phase III of the project in the city, has “tremendous scope”. Speaking about the successful high-speed maglev projects in China, South Korea and Japan, Mr. Sreedharan said: “The main advantage of the technology is that the trains are very silent and there is no vibration because there are no wheels. The train floats on a magnetic field…and it can take very sharp radius, and elevations also that can be easily managed.” The operation and maintenance cost, he added, is 30 per cent less than a metro, with capital cost being more or less same as a conventional metro. The limiting factors of the technology, he said, is that trains attain speeds up to 400 km per hour, which are difficult to achieve in a city. “We will try maglev with a smaller section in Phase III in Delhi. While it is not ideal for heavy corridors, it is ideal for suburban areas. For small cities like Coimbatore, maglev is the correct solution….[It is] much better than monorail, tram or even a light metro.” Phase III will also provide better carrying capacity with eight-coach trains being introduced. Heavy footfall corridors in Phase-II will also get eight coach trains, which will begin “from next June onward”.