Welcome message from Prof. Dr. Hiroyuki Ohsaki (University of Tokyo, Japan) On behalf of the International Steering Committee, I sincerely welcome you to the Maglev 2016 conference in Berlin, Germany. Since the first Maglev conference in Boston, USA in 1977, the 22 Maglev conferences were held in North and South America, Asia and Europe. In the 21st century the conferences were held in Switzerland, China, Germany, USA, Korea, and Brazil. This is the 23rd Maglev conference and the fifth conference held in Germany, which has contributed significantly to the progress of maglev technology. The Maglev conference will provide a unique opportunity for engineers, researchers, and those involved in railway industry, transportation planning and urban design to meet and exchange the latest information on maglev and linear drive technologies. With fruitful exchange of the information, I believe the conference could contribute a lot to improvement of operational characteristics and practical realization of new systems. The Maglev 2016 conference will be held in Berlin in cooperation with InnoTrans 2016. I would be very happy to have you enjoy the conference, the rail industry event, and the stay in Berlin. Chair, International Steering Committee of Maglev 2016 conference Hiroyuki Ohsakiweiterlesen