• The suspension controllers on the vehicle are redundant with more than one controller for each pod. Failure of one controller will not cause the vehicle to touch the guideway because the permanent magnets still provide force and the stability of the suspension can be maintained by the operative controllers.
• All electronic controllers have battery backup on their power supplies so that the control does not fail if the power fails. The vehicle can then be magnetically braked without resorting to emergency braking. With a modest amount of emergency generator capability all vehicles can be moved to a station.
• There is no need to transfer propulsion power to the vehicle so maintenance of a catenary or third rail power system is not required. Power for onboard HVAC, communication and control is modest and can be provided by a non-contacting inductive power transfer system that is operative at all speeds.
• The vehicle is captive to the guideway and can not derail. Unless the guideway is destroyed by an external force, the worst case result from component failure is for a vehicle to skid to a stop on skid rails that are part of the guideway. This type of emergency stopping has been successfully demonstrated on the Transrapid Maglev Systems.