Launch Coaster

A launch coaster replaces the traditional chain lift hill with a propulsion system that rapidly accelerates the train from a standstill to top speed in just a few seconds. The main technologies are: LSM (Linear Synchronous Motor) launches, where electromagnetic coils accelerate a fin attached to the train — smooth, precise, and reusable; LIM (Linear Induction Motor) launches — similar but less energy-efficient; hydraulic launches, used by Intamin on record-breaking coasters like Kingda Ka (0 to 206 km/h in 3.5 seconds); and compressed-air launches. Some coasters feature multiple launches throughout the circuit, maintaining energy across the layout.

The sudden, powerful acceleration of a launch is a defining sensation that no lift hill can replicate. Taron at Phantasialand, the world's longest launched coaster by circuit length at time of installation, delivers two separate LSM launches through an intricately themed rocky landscape. Red Force at Ferrari Land in Spain reaches 180 km/h in five seconds via hydraulic launch. LSM technology has become the dominant standard for new-build launched coasters in Europe.