Maglev Train Crash in Germany 9/22

I saw this on CNN this morning:

Magnetic train crashes on test run
POSTED: 7:18 a.m. EDT, September 22, 2006

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- An elevated Transrapid train carrying around 30 people has crashed on a test run in northern Germany, killing some passengers, authorities said on Friday.

"There were fatalities, we don't know how many yet," said Dieter Sturm, a spokesman for the administrative district of Emsland in northwest Germany.

He said the train had collided with an object on the track while travelling at a speed of at least 200 km/h (120 mph) and that several passengers had been seriously injured.

The Transrapid is a high-speed system which uses magnetic levitation on a special track. The only operational use of the system is as a high speed shuttle to Shanghai airport from the city centre. The site in Emsland is a test facility.

The maglev system was developed by Transrapid International, a joint venture between Siemens AG and ThyssenKrupp.

BBC radio says 21 dead.

By Midnight BST it is 23 deaths.

Info here; another site - warning: with many pictures, many unrelated - here.

What impressed me was that the speed 105 mph, around 170 km/hr was not, particularly, for that vehicle, very high and the destruction appears to equal that of a slightly sub-sonic aircraft wreck. Apparently, some factor of design led to very lightly built equipment. Take a look at the many pictures of the ICE which struck, among other things, a bridge abutmant, at almost twice the speed and decide which you would rather risk. Perhaps the physical limitations of the technology or more likely power costs constrain the weight of the vehicle to this, I think, unacceptable degree.
LS