# Case Study of an Integrated Design and Technical Concept for a Scalable Hyperloop System
## 4 Functional Definition
### Lane Switch  
A fundamental chance for novel high-speed ground transportation, beyond achieving high speeds, is the ability to offer non-stop trips. High-speed trains often cannot provide this today because cities along the route in Europe demand connectivity, necessitating intermediate stops. This situation leads to the need for small, flexible pods to meet the varying demand. However, small vehicles are only feasible if:  
* the aerodynamic drag and therefore the energy consumption is low, which is achievable due to the vacuum,
* the headway of vehicles is drastically reduced thanks to a modern traffic management system, potentially even to a distance where a pod cannot brake when the previous pod fails dramatically (covered in Section 4.7),
* there is a way to switch lanes at a high frequency and preferably full speed, rendering a mechanical lane switch on the infrastructure side impossible. Although high-speed and high-frequency lane switching has not yet been tested in operation, several concepts are outlined in Figure 5.  
1. Horizontal switching with the EMS mounted on top of the pod. This allows the nominal suspension to be used during lane switching. The downside is that the guidance system loses functionality during the switching process, and there are structural disadvantages: the force counteracting the weight of the payload has to be transmitted from the floor of the pod to the ceiling, then through the structure of the tube down to the foundation. This increases the structural costs of both the infrastructure and the pod. 2. [PERSON] [20] and Virgin Hyperloop [21] present a rail-like horizontal switching system without moving parts by equipping the levitation system with two magnetic iron circuits. Additionally, a concept is outlined to use only one electromagnetic coil for both the necessary magnetic circuits. A more detailed design created by the authors showed, however, that this option is geometrically impractical. Therefore, essentially two separate EMS systems would be required, both capable of carrying the entire load at full speed, leading to a significant mass increase. 3. Here, the nominal EMS system can be gradually turned off to land on a secondary EDS system; therefore, the pod can branch off by lowering itself vertically. The EMS and EDS tracks would then move apart in z-direction, completing the switch. After the switch, a new EMS track would appear, allowing the exiting pod to gradually turn on the EMS system and return to nominal levitation. Pods staying on the lane are not required to perform this transition, therefore keeping the number of transitions on a trip to a minimum. This simple setup is considered fail-safe and lightweight. However, the requirement that the cabin fits between the guideway and that the switch only works above a certain speed are drawbacks. Also, branching off or merging induces a jump in magnetic drag as well as vibrations when the EDS takes over. Depending on the chosen propulsion system, this can lead to a deceleration of the pod and reduced  
Figure 5: Conceptual sketches of different high-speed and high-frequency lane switching concepts for electromagnetic suspension. (**A**) Horizontal switching, hanging from the top. (**B**) Rail-like horizontal switching with a secondary electromagnetic system. (**C**) Vertical switching with a secondary electrodynamic system. (**D**) Vertical switching with a movable electromagnetic suspension. passenger comfort for the duration of the lane switch. Theoretically, it is possible to switch horizontally with the same system and prevent the space requirement of the cabin by lowering only one side of the levitation system to EDS while keeping the other side of the EMS active. However, the transition to the secondary levitation system would have to happen at every lane switch and not only when merging or branching off, making it uncomfortable for passengers.