A super high-speed transport system with a non-adhesive drive system that is independent of wheel-and-rail frictional forces has been a long-standing dream of railway engineers. Maglev, a combination of superconducting magnets and linear motor technology, realizes super high-speed running, safety, reliability, low environmental impact and minimum maintenance.
Source: Overview of Maglev R&D
The Maglev (magnetic levitation) railway project started 700 days before and on
the Dec 31st, 2002, it was launched. This event is covered by lot of medias.
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/011203/bus_railway.shtml
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=32861388
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20021231_1306.html
http://asia.cnn.com/2002/BUSINESS/asia/12/31/china.maglev.biz/
I don't care about the news part. I just want to write down my observation about
the maglev from my personal perspective.
Hard start
The maglev project was started with a lot of doubts and uncertainty. I heard
both positive and negtive comments on newspaper about the maglev project two
years ago before the project actual started. As always, I am on the side to
support the project since it seems so cool!
Fast construction speed
I have to say, the speed is very fast to build the railway. It seems so to me
since I frequently take flights in Pudong airport in the last two years. I saw
the extension of the railways everyday and it is also very soon between the rail
is ready and the first trail train went online.
Price
One of the most frequently asked question is "how much does it take?". According
to major medias in Shanghai, the standard price is 50 RMB single trip. This is
reasonable since it takes about 80-100 RMB for the same distance by taxi. By
bus,
it is 18 RMB, but it takes much longer. It costs about 40 minutes to go by bus
but it only takes 8 minutes to take the maglev. After all, the speed of 430
KM/Hour on land is very attractive.
Currently, it opens for tour only. The price is 150 RMB for normal seats and 300
RMB for VIP seat. This is round trip. The train starts from Longyang Rd.
Station, speed up to 430 km/hour and arrives at Pudong Airport. After very short
break, the train returns without open the door.
Even when it is purely for tour, people still cannot easily get the tickets.
According to local newspaper, the tickets of 2 weeks later has been sold out.
Future
Maglev will open to public for business operation in October,2003. The
speed, the fastest speed available on land, will keep attractive for visitors
and tourist for a long time. I hope I can have a try later and report my feeling
of the high speed to you in my future blog. I did saw the maglev train from
outside. I was on the car heading Longyang Rd. Station and saw a maglev training
rushing for the opposite direction. It looks really fast. It seems it
disappeared from my eyes in 2 seconds.