The
Shanghai Maglev Train or
Shanghai Transrapid is the first commercial
high-speedThere are three types of trains in Britain that have been traditionally viewed as high speed trains:* Advanced Passenger Train - Tilting trains which never entered into regular revenue-earning service....
maglev line in the world. The system and trains were built to the
TransrapidTransrapid is a German high-speed monorail train using magnetic levitation. Based on a patent from 1934, planning of the Transrapid system started in 1969. The test facility for the system in Emsland, Germany was completed in 1987...
standard. Construction began in March 2001, and public service commenced on 1 January 2004.
During a test run on 12 November 2003, a maglev vehicle achieved a Chinese record speed of .
The train set and tracks were manufactured using
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
technology.
The line runs from Longyang Road station in Pudong, on the
Shanghai subway line 2Line 2 forms the west-east axis of the Shanghai metro network, intersecting with the north-south axis Line 1 at People's Square. Currently Line 2 runs from Songhong Road in the west to Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in the east, passing under the Huangpu river and the Lujiazui financial district in...
to Pudong International Airport.
The
Shanghai Maglev Train or
Shanghai Transrapid is the first commercial
high-speedThere are three types of trains in Britain that have been traditionally viewed as high speed trains:* Advanced Passenger Train - Tilting trains which never entered into regular revenue-earning service....
maglev line in the world. The system and trains were built to the
TransrapidTransrapid is a German high-speed monorail train using magnetic levitation. Based on a patent from 1934, planning of the Transrapid system started in 1969. The test facility for the system in Emsland, Germany was completed in 1987...
standard. Construction began in March 2001, and public service commenced on 1 January 2004.
During a test run on 12 November 2003, a maglev vehicle achieved a Chinese record speed of .
The train set and tracks were manufactured using
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
technology.
Background
The line runs from Longyang Road station in Pudong, on the
Shanghai subway line 2Line 2 forms the west-east axis of the Shanghai metro network, intersecting with the north-south axis Line 1 at People's Square. Currently Line 2 runs from Songhong Road in the west to Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in the east, passing under the Huangpu river and the Lujiazui financial district in...
to Pudong International Airport. The journey takes 7 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the distance of 30 km. A train can reach in 2 minutes, with the maximum normal operation speed of reached thereafter.
The line is operated by Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co., Ltd. , the line operates daily between 06:45–21:30, a one-way ticket cost
¥The renminbi is the currency of the People's Republic of China , whose principal unit is the yuan , subdivided into 10 jiao , each of 10 fen . The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC. The ISO 4217 abbreviation is CNY, although it is also commonly...
50 (US$7.27), or ¥40 ($5.81) for those passengers holding a receipt or proof of an airline ticket purchase. A round-trip return ticket cost ¥80 ($11.63) and
VIPVIP and V.I.P. is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:-In general:* Vacuum insulated panel* Vampires in Public, a live action role-playing game system based in the UK.* Variable Information Printing, a form of on-demand printing...
tickets cost double the standard fare.
The service operates once every 15 minutes. It can be easier and faster for those passengers with destinations in west (
PuxiPuxi is the most developed section of Shanghai, China, home to approximately 35% of Shanghai's residents in an area of 288km2. Puxi literally means "Huangpu West" or "West of the Huangpu." Puxi is separated from Pudong, to the east, by the Huangpu River...
) Shanghai to use a
taxiA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire, with a driver, for a single passenger, or small group of passengers, typically for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
directly from Pudong International Airport—although missing out the "thrill factor" of riding on the high-speed Maglev.
When discussing the practicality of other means of transport to the airport it is important to remember the name of the line 上海磁浮示范运营线 , partially translated as
Demonstration Operation Line. Hans-Dieter Bott, vice president of Siemens when they won the contract to build the rail link stated that
"Transrapid views the Shanghai line, where the ride will last just eight minutes, largely as a sales tool. This serves as a demonstration for China to show that this works and can be used for longer distances, such as Shanghai to Beijing". However, the decision was eventually made to implement the
Beijing-Shanghai Express RailwayThe Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway is a long high speed railway system that will connect two of the most important economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Sea Rim and the Yangtze River Delta...
with conventional high-speed technology.
Of all the world's
Airport rail linkAn airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport from an airport to a nearby city; by mainline- or commuter trains, rapid transit, people mover or light rail...
s, the
Demonstration Operation Line is by far the fastest. In comparison the
Heathrow ExpressHeathrow Express is an express train service from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in Central London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
link is a nonstop 26.5 km from central London to Heathrow airport. This distance is similar to the Shanghai link, but the Heathrow Express takes 15 minutes (average speed 66 mph and top speed 100 mph). The Shanghai train is more than twice as fast, but it takes a full 4 minutes to reach its top speed of 431 kmh, and then must immediately begin slowing down for the final 3 minutes and 20 seconds. Because the Shanghai maglev was built before the connection to the local mass transit subway, it is often described as of little benefit to many people trying to get to the airport.
In 13 June, 2007,
Asia Times reported that it "could hardly be called a commercial success", in part because "it virtually goes nowhere".
Operation
Following the opening, overall maglev train ridership levels were at 20% of capacity, The levels were attributed to limited operating hours, the short length of the line, high ticket prices and station at the upmarket financial hub of China in
PudongPudong , officially known as Pudong New Area , is a district of Shanghai, China that enjoys sub-provincial administrative status. It is named "Pudong" because of its location on the east side of the Huangpu river, on the opposite of Puxi, the west side...
at Longyang Road Terminus.
In normal operation, the speed and journey time vary depending upon the time of day. Considering the short length of the track, increasing the maximum speed from 300 kmh to 431 kmh only saves 10% of the travel time (or 50 seconds).
| Daytime hours |
06:45–08:45 |
09:00–10:45 |
11:00–12:45 |
13:00–16:45 |
17:00–21:40 |
| Journey time |
8:10 minutes |
7:20 minutes |
8:10 minutes |
7:20 minutes |
8:10 minutes |
| Maximum speed |
|
|
|
|
|
| Average speed |
|
|
|
|
|
| Interval |
15 minutes |
15 minutes |
15 minutes |
15 minutes |
20 minutes |
Construction
The Shanghai Transrapid project took ¥10 billion (US$1.33bn) and two and a half years to complete. The line is track and has a further separate track leading to a maintenance facility.
Extensions
In January 2006, the
Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev TrainShanghai-Hangzhou Maglev Train is a proposed maglev train line from Shanghai to Hangzhou, to be built by Germany's Transrapid consortium . Originally planned to be ready for Expo 2010, the controversial project has been repeatedly delayed, but final approval was granted on August 18, 2008...
extension project was proposed by the
Shanghai Urban Planning Administrative Bureau. The extension would continue the existing line towards Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, running via
Shanghai South Railway StationShanghai South Railway Station, also Shanghai South Station , is a railway station in the city of Shanghai. Located in the Xuhui District, its importance is second only to the Shanghai Railway Station...
and the
Expo 2010Expo 2010 will be held in Shanghai, China and is a scheduled World Expo in the grand tradition of international fairs and expositions. The theme of the exposition will be "Better City – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as a major economic and cultural center...
site, with a possibly continuation towards Hangzhou. If built, the extension would allow transferring between the two airports—located apart—in approximately 15 minutes.
The plan for the extension to Hangzhou was first approved by the central government in February 2006, with a planned date of completion in time for 2010. Work was suspended in 2008, owing to public protests over radiation fears. According to China Daily, as reported on People's Daily Online February 27, 2009, the Shanghai municipal government is considering building the maglev line underground to allay the public's fear of electromagnetic pollution, and the final decision on the maglev line has to be approved by the National Development and Reform commission.
Incidents
On 11 August 2006, a Maglev train compartment caught fire at 2:40 p.m., after having left Pudong International Airport in the direction of Pudong Longyang Road Station. There were no injuries aboard. Preliminary reports indicated that an electrical problem may have been the cause.
External links