Posted on 01/02/2003 5:08:45 PM PST by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- You'd barely know you were moving if it weren't for the blurred farm houses and electric poles hurtling past the window.
It's not until the digital speedometer of the world's first commercial magnetic-levitation train breaks 400 kph (240 mph) -- faster than an Indy 500 race car -- that any vibrations are noticeable.
It's just as the voice on the loudspeaker said to passengers as they boarded: "You will be flying without wings."
That's how it feels to ride the "maglev," unveiled to the Chinese public Wednesday as Shanghai's newest prestige project, a US$1.2 billion German-built high-speed airport shuttle that uses the world's most advanced rail technology.
While hefty construction and upkeep costs raise doubts whether the maglev shuttle will ever make money, that may not even matter -- either for its builders or for the city.
The German consortium of companies that supplied the trains, and invested decades and billions of dollars developing the technology, appears happy just to have a working version to show customers elsewhere. This includes the United States, where the technology is being considered in Los Angeles and the busy Boston-Philadelphia corridor.
Shanghai wants a showpiece project to bolster its ambitions to become a world-class financial and business center.
It also appears increasingly likely the 31-kilometer (19-mile) link between Shanghai's skyscraper-studded Pudong financial district and its 3-year-old international airport is just a test run for much larger maglev lines planned in China.
On Tuesday, after joining Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji for the shuttle's maiden voyage, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told reporters that China will extend the line hundreds of kilometers (miles) to the eastern cities of Hangzhou and Nanjing. There are also proposals for a maglev between Beijing and the nearby port of Tianjin.
"The airport shuttle is just a good start, but the maglev's future is in transportation between relatively close cities -- I mean, those too far for a quick trip by conventional trains but too close for flying," said Wei Qingchao, an engineering professor at Northern Jiaotong University in Beijing.
At Wednesday's public showing, local families jostled with government officials and reporters to pay 150 yuan (US$20) for a seat on the streamlined white vehicle, which looks like a stealth version of a regular subway train.
The city will be offering the public rides on holidays until the line opens for business as an airport link. Tickets are supposed to drop to 50 yuan (US$6) -- about half a taxi fare, which may not be enough of a savings for the added inconvenience of hauling luggage upstairs to the platform.
The maglev's brand new hollow, tube-shaped station resembles something out of science fiction, like a futuristic hanger waiting for a starship to drop out of the sky.
Instead, in glides a maglev train with barely a whisper.
Attendants usher passengers back from the track's edge, warning of "stray electricity," though they said there was no danger of shock. The train emits only a faint hum as it hovers millimeters (a fraction of an inch) above the track, sustained by powerful magnets.
This cushion of air allows the train to reach a top speed of 430 kph (260 mph), far faster than even Japan's famed "bullet trains."
The train zips out of the station and quickly gains speed on its single gray track raised several stories off the ground. Canals, farms and tile-roofed homes fly by as the speedometer in the passenger cabins climbs.
When the gauge hits the top speed, applause breaks out. "It's like being in an airplane. It's not like a train," squealed Wendy Mo, a 13-year-old student who came with her parents.
The train holds that speed for just a few seconds before beginning to slow down. The 7½-minute trip -- which would take a half hour by highway -- feels as it's over before it began.
"I don't know about a short trip like out to the airport, but if this vehicle goes to Hangzhou, I'd take it instead of a plane," said Peng Jianguo, a 36-year-old banker. "It's fast, and it feels much safer than real flying."
Briefly.
A highly unlikely event.
The dedicated guideway and linear induction track eliminate for potential collision with other vehicles, and any break in the track would be automaticly detected, bringing the train to a stop. Also, the design of the maglev vehicles is such that they "wraparound" the guideway, eliminating any potential for derailment.
Like any other mode of transportation (airlines, trains/subways, highway bridges, tunnels, etc. etc.) they'd be subject to possible catastrophic failure such as earthquake or sabotage by terrorists. But the risk is no more than anything else and, IMHO, certainly less than with airlines.
My statement was primarily directed at the labor constructing the structure. I mean, Chinese construction is not the most reliable in the world. (you get what you pay for, or dont in some cases) Dont know if you have spent much time in China but they certainly dont use the most efficient means for accomplishing many tasks and the "fruits of their labor" often times do not contain a high amount of quality.
Everything is good in theory but I think you are failing to include human oversight or lack there of. Quality and code standard are not even close to what they are in the US or other developed nations. At any rate, its quite a feat to have completed.
Yup--the above is the TRUE CRUX of all the rail/light rail BS. If you want mass transit, BUY BUSES--at least they use the same infrastructure that cars do, so we who pay the gas taxes to build that infrastructure will actually get some use out of our tax money--which isn't the case with rail.
Well, I sure went through some ammo.
LOL.
I've heard the horror stories of Chinese construction, and in a country so vast there's no doubt they're still inadequate in many areas. Nevertheless, I would think they'd put their best foot forward on a project of this visibility and are likely to be quite capable of achieving the specifications required for constructing the guideway. Besides, I'm under the impression that Shanghai's climate is relatively mild, avoiding both hot and cold extremes of summer/winter. While maglev itself is capable of operating in more extreme climates, Shanghai's conditions likely make it somewhat easier to construct properly.
You would think for $1.2 billion they could have gotten a few elevators.
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