Political Crossfire Forums

[foadi]

This should be interesting. I've been on the Maglev line to Pudong international airport before. I was one of the only passangers. I can see how extending the line to Shanghai's downtown train depot would help, but I don't think extending the line all the way to Hangzhou will increase passanger levels as much as they're hoping for. I guess I shouldn't complain, though. Having a quick and easy way of Shanghai would be nice.



Maglev railway to link Hangzhou, Shanghai
March 6, 2006



BEIJING, March 6 -- China is to start building its second high-speed magnetic levitation rail line at the end of this year, according to a press conference in Beijing.

This was revealed by Sheng Changli, vice-governor of East China's Zhejiang Province on the sideline of the ongoing 4th plenary session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.



China currently operates the world's only commercial maglev line, which connects Shanghai's international airport to near the city's financial centre in Pudong district, a run of 30 kilometres (19 miles).

The new line, linking the economic hub of Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, runs about 150 kilometers, said Sheng, also a NPC deputy.

The female leader is confident that the railway is sure to promote the development of Shanghai, Hangzhou and the Yangtze River Delta.



The contruction is expected to take four years at a total cost of 35 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion), Xinhua News Agency cited an anonymous Shanghai source close to the project as saying.

"It is expected to go into operation before the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai," the source said of the line, designed to ease traffic pressure between the two cities during the World Expo.

The planed railway allows maglev trains to run at a speed as high as 430 kilometers an hour, which means that it will take passengers only half an hour to travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou.



Experts predict 70 million visits to the Shanghai World Expo, producing a demand that existing accommodation facilities in Shanghai can not meet, the Xinhua story said.

"The Shanghai-Hangzhou railway will in part use German technology, but the main technology comes from Chinese engineers," the source added.

[aznninjahitman]

Woot!!! Yet more progress in the motherland!!! :D
Beautiful pictures, btw.

[foadi]

aznninjahitman wrote: Woot!!! Yet more progress in the motherland!!! :D
Do you think this is really progress, or just wasteful spending? There doesn't seem to be any demand for this sort of thing right now, though I could be wrong.

aznninjahitman wrote: Beautiful pictures, btw.
Thanks

[poweRob]

They are ground breaking so it doesn't look as much like progress. They still charge far too much for the average Chinese to use. Something like $10 I believe. What did you pay to ride it foadi?

I've been following the maglev for some time. I was super excited about the Pudong/Shanghai train when it was being built.

I think if they get enough track and interconnection between cities, it could very well help to keep the oil imports in down rather than while increasing commerce.

As I always say, if you mobilize a nation, you mobilize every wallet in that nation. It's the right move. We should be doing it but Washington would rather spend such funds on bridges to nowhere in Alaska.

We were supposed to have one started to get built from Baltimore to Washington D.C. with a stoppover at BWI airport in between. They won a government contract to do so in 1999. In comes and oil president and I've not heard a peep about it since.

Soon after the Shanghai train completion, Transrapid (the German maglev company that built the Shanghai train), was trying very hard to woo the Chinese government to run a train all the way from Bejing to Shanghai. I think it was well over 500 miles if I'm not mistaken. The price tag was too rich and got shot down unfortunately.

From what I understand, Transrapid gave tremendous breaks in price for the Shanghai train just to get one commercial one up and running. Kind of prime the pump somewhat for future sales.

[foadi]

poweRob wrote: They are ground breaking so it doesn't look as much like progress. They still charge far too much for the average Chinese to use. Something like $10 I believe. What did you pay to ride it foadi?

I remember paying ¥70 RMB but I have heard many people say it's only ¥50 RMB and a few others say ¥75 RMB. In any case, it's somewhere in between US$6.21-9.32. And yeah, I don't remember seeing any Chinese except for a few businessmen. Most of the passengers were Western and Japanese tourists.

poweRob wrote: I think if they get enough track and interconnection between cities, it could very well help to keep the oil imports in down rather than while increasing commerce.

As I always say, if you mobilize a nation, you mobilize every wallet in that nation. It's the right move. We should be doing it but Washington would rather spend such funds on bridges to nowhere in Alaska.

Yeah, that would be nice. That's one of the biggest problems I have with your country -- you need a car to get around. This is bad for me, since I don't like driving.
poweRob wrote: Soon after the Shanghai train completion, Transrapid (the German maglev company that built the Shanghai train), was trying very hard to woo the Chinese government to run a train all the way from Bejing to Shanghai. I think it was well over 500 miles if I'm not mistaken. The price tag was too rich and got shot down unfortunately.
I remember that. I don't think there's much of a market for that sort of thing. Most Chinese seem to prefer the overnight train (which takes about twelve hours). Even when domestic flights between Beijing and Shanghai are cheaper than train tickets, people chose the overnight train.

[anselfir]

watever, that government decided to build a pretty new railway, horray!

[TeaCHeRaKiS]

I wonder if they are doing this to impress the world. Ok Maglev is one of the worlds fastest and most cost efficient railways. BUT, its rather too expensive to build, as mentioned above. And I dont think that at the moment there are too many Chinese people that can afford a pretty high travelling ticket...

They could just turn to alternative equally friendly-to-the-environment means of transport but much much cheaper... since China is a developing superpower...

[poweRob]

I hope they build it like mad and then maybe we can start to see the prices drop as mass production kicks in.

[anselfir]

well duh it's for propaganda purposes.

[foadi]

Cewl. Chengdu is one of my favorite cities in mainland China. It's be to-tally awesome if this was extended all the way to Chongqing.

China Develops New Maglev Train



Chinese engineers have developed a medium- to low-speed magnetic levitation train. The new 18-ton maglev train travels at speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour and can hold 60 people.

The train, which measures 11.2 metres long, 2.6 metres wide and 3.3 metres high, successfully completed trial runs on April 30 in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.



The test results show the country has mastered medium- to low-speed maglev train technology, said Zhang Kunlun, a professor at Chengdu's Southwest Jiaotong University, one of China's top engineering schools. A research team at the university developed the new train.



China's home-made maglev trial line operation

China has successfully developed and built its first medium and low speed maglev line in Sichuan Province in the southwest.



That marks China's full command of the maglev rail technology and capability of applying it into practical use.

Located in Dujiangyan city, the trial line is 419.925 meters long and the maglev train in the pilot project runs at the speed of 80 to 160 kilometers per hour.

[poweRob]

Good for China! Setting such a transport grid system up like that will help them very much in reducing their ever-increasing demand for oil.

I wish I could be as excited for our Department of Transportation adventures.

[scholar]

I think maglev trains are excellent concepts and once they are produced the provide for efficient and productive for the citizens. I admire greatly the maglev trains throughout in Asia. My question is how much it would cost. I hear, and see from research, that these trains are pretty expensive. Do you think it is worth the cost?

[George W Bush]

ok, america needs maglev now.

china looks nice.
if only i could visit.

[Sid]

poweRob wrote: I wish I could be as excited for our Department of Transportation adventures.

I think the only way to get a Maglev line here would be to do it as a private venture. A transcontinental Maglev line would be awesome, but I don't think anyone would do it.

I wish I had the cash to do this. :(

[poweRob]

Sid wrote: poweRob wrote: I wish I could be as excited for our Department of Transportation adventures.

I think the only way to get a Maglev line here would be to do it as a private venture. A transcontinental Maglev line would be awesome, but I don't think anyone would do it.

I wish I had the cash to do this. :(

I think it should be a federally funded rail with privately owned trains. The private inudustry would put trains on it for sure. Set the track up federally using the land of the current interstate system. That would keep property purchasing expenses down in building the system. Track maintanence would then come from a track rental paid by the private industries who choose to put a train on the track or just make it $1 fee out of every ticket purchased to go towards the track maintenance costs. Kind of how they currently do the TSA fee now for flying.

[foadi]

Shanghai meglev catches fire, no casualties reported

SHANGHAI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The meglev in China's business hub of Shanghai caught fire about 3 p.m. Friday, according to local sources.

Smoke was found in the second carriage when the train was heading for the Pudong International airport from the Longyang Road Station.



Firefighters hurried to the spot and passengers were soon evacuated. Casualties are being counted.

The meglev went into operation on December 31, 2002, when former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji took the maiden ride. The meglev line runs around 30 kilometers. Enditem