China preparing to unveil world's fastest train
Chinese and German engineers are rushing to prepare the world’s first ‘floating’ train for a debut run around New Year’s Day.
The futuristic German-made maglev train has begun trial runs on its 19 mile long track in Shanghai, said Shi Qiong, spokeswoman for the Shanghai Maglev Transportation Corporation.
The £600m (€940m) train connects the three-year-old Pudong International Airport with the city’s new financial district.
Other potential customers have been put off by maglev’s high price and daunting technical challenges, but China’s largest, richest city seems to hope that having the first will add to its image as a high-tech hub.
Critics say the project will never pay for itself, in part because customers will balk at its reported one-way ticket price of £4 (€6.30).
Shi and other officials refused to disclose details of the trial runs. But the government-run Xinhua News Agency said the train had reached a speed of 250 mph in a test run last week, nearing its design speed of 260 mph.
Maglev can attain those speeds – far faster than any passenger train – because it floats in the air, held above its rails by powerful magnets.
By contrast, bullet trains such as France’s TGV, Germany’s ICE and Japan’s Shinkansen top speeds of about 160 mph.
The maglev train can cover the distance to the airport in seven minutes. Taxis take at least 30 minutes.
China’s Premier Zhu Rongji and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder may attend the first official run, scheduled for December 31 or January 1, Chinese state media reported.
The trial runs are being made with three trains delivered from Germany, where the technology was developed.
State planners will also be watching the train in considering whether to use the new technology in larger projects, such as a planned high-speed rail link between Shanghai and Beijing.
