MAGLEV Watch

[jpatokal]

Looks like the Shanghai maglev isn't completely dead after all:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/03/09/shanghai.train.ap/index.html
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040310/tc_afp/china_germany_rail_040310031252

This idea of a 200 km extension to Hangzhou has been floated before, but it was thought forgotten when last year news leaked out that maglev had been rejected as an option for the Beijing-Shanghai railway. But even that hasn't been officially announced yet -- Chinese bureaucracy makes Thailand seem transparent!

[jpatokal]

No, wait, it is (almost) dead after all!

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-03/11/content_1358915.htm

But at least they're still thinking about extending the Shanghai maglev to downtown, which would probably make sense even commercially.

[jpatokal]

Oh no! The maglev is sinking!

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/15/content_1421485.htm

Worse yet, nobody is riding it! But lowering the ticket prices and adding signage is always good...

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/15/content_1421763.htm

And there's more: they're thinking about a new maglev from Hong Kong to Guangzhou!

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/15/content_1420584.htm

This would actually be a Good Idea since they're two major cities at a nice distance for a high-speed train, but let's see what happens.

[jpatokal]

w00t! I've been waiting for this for the longest time:

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/24/237632/Maglev_extension_to_link_airports.htm

The existing maglev line, which currently connects Pudong International Airport with the Longyang Road Metro Station, will be extended over the next few year across the Huangpu River to the Hongqiao Airport.

The connection will allow travelers to commute between the two airports in about 15 minutes, according to Xu Zheng, president of Shanghai Construction Group.

The two airports are about 40 kilometers apart, and it takes more than an hour to travel between them by car. Many people fly into the Hongqiao Airport from other parts of the country, and then have to catch international flights out of Pudong.
...
According to the preliminary plan, the maglev will extend from the Longyang Road Metro Station to the Hongqiao Airport with stops at the World Expo site and the Shanghai South Railway Station.
...
The city is also looking at plans to extend the Maglev line to Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province in the future.

If they actually follow the plan above and link up Pudong, Shanghai South Stn, Hongqiao and (especially) Hangzhou then it's absolutely certain that this thing will become a success -- even if ticket prices stay as high as currently. :cool:

The only catch is that the central government must still approve this... however, as they're targeting 2010 (Shanghai's World Expo) to get this open, they can't really afford to dilly-dally any more.

[Wisarut]

If Shanghai Maglev has been extended to connect 2 Shanghai airports,
it would be a BIG Welcome .... so big the welcome that I would have to try riding by myself ONCE .... :p

[jpatokal]

It's finally approved! :)

http://www.shanghaiist.com/archives/2006/02/26/shanghai_to_han.php
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news.aspx?id=2554

No, wait, it's not! :(

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2006/02/24/afx2550472.html

What is actually going on? Your guess is as good as mine... :confused:

[jpatokal]

Hmm-m, now the rumor's made it onto propaganda mouthpieces Xinhua and China Daily:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/04/content_4257933.htm
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-03/05/content_526671.htm

Not sure if a "deputy to the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) ... who declined to be identified" is the most reliable source though. Some snippets of interest:

"The Shanghai-Hangzhou railway will in part use German technology, but the main technology comes from Chinese engineers," said the deputy, who is in Beijing to attend the annual NPC session. ... The planed (sic) railway, less than 200 kilometers long, allows maglev trains to run at a speed as high as 430 kilometers an hour. It will take passengers only half an hour to travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou. Six stations are planned on the route, including one near the shanghai Hongqiao airport.

[jpatokal]

Don't think it'll get much more official than this (http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2006/03/13/afx2589429.html):

China's State Council has approved a high-speed magnetic levitation (maglev) rail line between Shanghai and Hangzhou, the capital city of the adjacent Zhejiang Province, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The NDRC, the country's top planning agency, said in a statement on its official website that a feasibility study for the line had already begun.

200 km of maglev! :cool: :cool: :cool:

Another site said that the line would extend from the current terminus through Shanghai South Stn, with one branch terminating at Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport and another going all the way to Hangzhou. But can they really pull this off before 2010? :confused:

[Yappofloyd]

Wow 200km of Maglev!!! since the proposal for a Beijing to Shnghai Maglev line got canned for obvious costs reasons I have been wondering what next. The proposal to link the airports seems to make sense and be achievable but a 200km line in total to link with Hangzhou...seems to not be so feasible and especially to complete by 2010. But as with most things in China if it has the backing of the Central Committee and is seen as being of national importance then probably can be finished?

Also noticed that China has decided to develop its own high speed rail sets rather than buy German, french or Japanese sets for the planned HSR lines.

[jpatokal]

Also noticed that China has decided to develop its own high speed rail sets rather than buy German, french or Japanese sets for the planned HSR lines.
That's what the Railways Minister said, but the planning commission promptly issued a press release saying this was incorrect. I'd guess Mr. Minister is just using hardball negotiating tactics to get the price down...

[jpatokal]

From Xinhua (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/31/content_4367380.htm):

BEIJING, March 31 -- Construction will start this year on the high-speed, magnetic-levitation train line between Shanghai and Hangzhou, a top official in the Shanghai Municipal Office for Domestic Cooperation said yesterday.

He said that if the Shanghai-Hangzhou project proves successful, other maglev lines might be built within the delta region.

The Shanghai-Hangzhou line will cover 175 kilometers and will stop at the site of the 2010 World Expo, Shanghai South Railway Station and Jiaxing, a small city in Zhejiang Province, according to the project plan.

With speeds as high as 450 kilometers an hour, the trip will take a half hour, compared with about two hours now.

[jpatokal]

And the Commies are playing hardball again...

From OhMyNews (http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=297911&rel_no=1):
Now, three months after China gave the green light, the whole project seems to be in jeopardy. After much negotiation between China and Germany's Transrapid International Consortium (which includes ThyssenKrupp AG and Siemens AG), both sides are still arguing not only about the cost of the project, but also about how much of Germany's valuable knowledge and technology will be transferred to China.

Germany wants to sell China a one-time usage right to their technology. China insists instead on establishing a joint venture enterprise with Germany, which would allow 90 percent of the equipment and parts to be produced within China's boundaries. ... China is even threatening to abandon the entire project if Germany doesn't comply with their demands.

[jpatokal]

The project seems to be plodding forward, and here (http://english.people.com.cn/200607/17/eng20060717_283831.html)'s the final(?) route courtesy of the People's Daily:
The Maglev line would stretch a total of 199.351 kilometers, 95.798 of which would be in Shanghai, and the remaining 103.553 kilometers in Zhejiang province. The length of the line was previously only 175 kilometers. The additional 24 kilometers is a feeder railway from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

Under the new plan there are railways and expressways designed along the maglev line. The Shanghai section has been divided into four parts: Longyang Road - Shanghai World Expo Garden, Shanghai Expo Garden - Shanghai South Railway Station, Shanghai South Railway Station - Hongqiao Traffic Hub, Hongqiao Traffic Hub - Shanghai/Zhejiang boundary line, and an additional Maglev triangle zone. From the Shanghai South Railway Station, the Maglev moves west along the south side of the Shanghai-Hangzhou railway, then turns northward when it reaches the eastern end of Shanghai Minhang Martyrs' Park, the planned site of the Hongqiao Traffic Hub. This is where the feeder railway to Hongqiao International Airport will be built.

Experts also plan to include the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway in the traffic hub. In this case, passengers from both this line and the Maglev could change trains conveniently at the hub. The Maglev will have two termini in Shanghai: Hongqiao Traffic Hub in the north and Pudong International Airport in the east.
Seems like a fairly intelligent design, especially if they run direct trains between Pudong and Hongqiao (which seems to be implied).

[ncr]

Just came across this item on German Yahoo News (http://de.news.yahoo.com/11082006/3/transrapid-schanghai-faengt-feuer.html). Could not find any other report yet.......

Transrapid in Schanghai fängt Feuer
Freitag 11. August 2006, 13:12 Uhr

Schanghai (dpa) - Die deutsche Magnetschnellbahn Transrapid in Schanghai hat Feuer gefangen. Wie die amtliche Nachrichtenagentur Xinhua berichtete, sei das Unglück passiert, als der Transrapid gerade die Station Longyang am Stadtrand in Richtung Flughafen verlassen habe. Rauch habe sich im zweiten Waggon entwickelt. Die Feuerwehr habe die Passagiere in Sicherheit gebracht. Über weitere Einzelheiten wurde zunächst nichts bekannt.

which translates to:

Transrapid in Shanghai Catches Fire
Friday 11 August 2006, 13:12

Shanghai (dpa) - The German Maglev Transrapid in Shanghai has caught fire. As official news agency Xinhua reported, the accident happened when the Transrapid was leaving the suburban Longyang Station on its way to the airport. Smoke had been developing in the second car. Passengers were brought to safety by firemen. No other details have been announced so far.

[ncr]

YouTube has quite a collection of Shanghai Maglev films:

1 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=f9XHELWdLN0&mode=related&search=shanghai)
2 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=XKS3GWTQovA&mode=related&search=shanghai)
3 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZWxc0s5skXQ&mode=related&search=shanghai)
4 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=eN4EVt_X--U&mode=related&search=shanghai)
5 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q8-SkT_no_8&mode=related&search=shanghai)
6 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=tgcM7g_vAoQ&mode=related&search=shanghai)
presentation (http://youtube.com/watch?v=IT-mVT-ORww&mode=related&search=shanghai)
(note how the exemplary one-child family goes on a holiday trip to..... Phuket!)

And one from Japan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDmH7dfpl0Y&NR).

[Wisarut]

More photo on Shanghai maglev on fire is here:

http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=383553

[jpatokal]

Rather incredibly, the maglev is running again, albeit only on one track:

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/08/15/289156/Maglev_trains_run_one_way_for_fired_train.htm

Still no word on what actually caused the fire? :confused:

[jpatokal]

Here it is, and boy is it reassuring (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-08/18/content_667644.htm): :eek:

SHANGHAI: The investigation into the fire on Shanghai's maglev train last Friday is likely to show that electrical problems were the cause, China Daily has learned. ...
Chen told China Daily that the high-speed train caught fire below deck, in the bottom of the carriage where electrical equipment is stored. The fire did not spread above deck to the place where passengers sit, although lots of smoke was generated.

Although this is the first time the train has caught fire, "similar minor technical problems have occurred several times before," a source who is close to the the investigation but asked not to be named told China Daily.

According to the source, since the train began testing in 2002 several minor problems have already occurred due to short circuits. Also, one carriage was seriously damaged when thieves stole wires from the track but left some exposed.

"There is a strong electrical current in the equipment below deck. Once the insulators get destroyed, for example by being jolted, it may lead to a short circuit or fire," said Luo Yanyun, a railway expert at Tongji University. ...

However, Luo said, it's impossible for the maglev train to have no accidents at all. "Even planes crash, not to mention the maglev train. It really happens sometimes."

[ncr]

:eek: :( :confused:

This part is also more than interesting:

...when thieves stole wires from the track...

[jpatokal]

This part is also more than interesting:
Those thieves have either balls the size of durian or brains the size of peanuts. (Or both.)

[ncr]

I already thought 2B had missed this news. High-tech train crash kills 23 (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/09/23/1158431933032.html) from The Age, 23 September 2006

Here's a gallery/slide show (http://www1.ndr.de/ndrde_slideshow/0,2964,OID3132196_SIX0,00.html) from the website of the Northern German regional TV channel. Image no. 11 shows a file photo of the maglev and the maintenance vehicle.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Tr_noerdliche_kurve02.jpg

Some additional remarks:

1. It could have been even worse: As the article stated, the test track is made up of two loops (where the speed is somewhat restricted) connected by a long straight. The train crashed in the northern curve. Had this happened on the straight, it might have been as fast as 300 or 400 kph, and then no one would have survived.

Track layout: 1 (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Transrapid.png) - 2 (http://www.tagesschau.de/aktuell/meldungen/0,1185,OID5938672_REF1_NAV_BAB,00.html) - 3 (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Tr_lageplan.png)

2. The crash could hardly have come at a more unfavourable time for the German transport minister. He was on a visit to China and reportedly talking to the Chinese railway minister when the news reached him. He immediately ended his visit and flew back.
Just imagine - probably he was just reassuring his counterpart, "Sorry about the fire in Shanghai, but you can rest assured that our technology is safe......"

3. But let's stress again that the accident was in no way related to the maglev technology; though how it could happen is beyond me. Somehow they neglected to make sure that the maintenance vehicle had left the track. The operating procedures do of course prescribe that the controller must check the maintenance car is back before the maglev train may be sent out on the circuit. (No need to rely on technology for that: its parking spot can even be seen from the windows of the control center.) A very tragical gaffe.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transrapid#September_22.2C_2006_accident) further states that the maintenance vehicle can not be detected by the computerized control system - a flaw in the safety system.

[ncr]

Here's the control center / visitor center on Wikimapia (http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=52870998&x=7349371&z=17&l=0&m=a).

[jpatokal]

It's alive after all! Official puff from Shanghai Daily (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200703/20070322/article_309961.htm):
CHINA'S top planning body has approved the construction of a maglev stretch from Longyang Road to Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai, as part of the Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev project, 21st Century Business Herald reported today. ...

The stretch will start from Longyang Road Station, the terminal of the current maglev line that links Longyang Road and Pudong International Airport, across the World Expo site, Shanghai South Railway Station to Hongqiao Airport.

Construction on the stretches from downtown Shanghai to Jiaxing, and from Jiaxing to Hangzhou, may begin after 2010, the report said.

A fascinating map from Wangjianshuo:

http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20070321_future_shanghai_metro_and_maglev_map.htm

And rambling commentary from Shanghaiist, with this eye-popping summary:

http://www.shanghaiist.com/archives/2007/03/22/rmb561_billion.php

The article reveals that the current 30km long section of the Pudong Airport-Longyang Road Maglev line will be extended to eventually form a giant T network. The first stage of the extension is planned to be finished in 2009. Firstly, a 37 kilometre extension will connect the Pudong International Airport to Hongqiao Domestic airport and pass via the World Expo 2010 site. The Maglev will also meet up with the Shanghai South Railway station, and the planned Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway station at the Hongqiao Airport. The second, and biggest Maglev extension (104 kilometres) will connect Hangzhou to Shanghai. In total, the whole Maglev network will be approximately 200 kilometres long.

This seems to be fully in sync with the earlier People's Daily story, so hopefully this is the final plan. No word on when construction will start, but they'll need to get cracking to get it done by 2009...

[jpatokal]

China Daily (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-03/28/content_838155.htm):
At the same time, the extension line through the downtown area would only be allowed to run at about 100 kilometers an hour far slower than its designed speed of 430 kilometers per hour and making it no different from the slower subway lines.

With another 6 billion yuan to be injected into the extension line, no one has so far talked about how to recoup the total 16-billion-yuan investment or even how to strike a balance between the maglev line's high maintenance costs and its operating costs.

It seems most likely that investing in the extension line would enlarge the current deficit, rather than diminish it.
If they really do limit the speed to 100 km/h (why!?!), then this is indeed mind-bogglingly stupid... :mad: but at least the extension will make it genuinely useful, since the current line is not.

[jpatokal]

Int'l Herald Tribute (http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/26/asia/AS-GEN-China-Maglev-Train.php) (and Xinhua) are reporting that the maglev line to Hangzhou has been officially suspended:
Most work on the 35 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion; €3.4 billion) project was suspended over the past month after thousands of people living nearby filed complaints, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

"A major reason for the suspension was the radiation concerns from residents living along the proposed route," the report said, citing an unidentified Shanghai city government spokesman.

It gave no indication when construction might resume. [...]

A pregnant 28-year-old woman was quoted as saying, "I was worried because the radiation could harm my baby." [...]

The project was due to be completed before the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. But Xinhua cited an official who said that with the delay, it would be impossible to meet that target.

Plans for the train call for it to be separated from homes by a 150-meter-wide (500-foot-wide) belt of greenery, but in some areas the belt is only 22.5 meters (75 feet) wide, Xinhua said.

It said German specifications require a 300-meter (1,000-foot) separation from nearby buildings.

The maglev radiation fearmongering is almost certainly just spin -- since when does the Chinese govn't give a flying flip about health concerns or people's protests? So it probably just costs too much and indeed, now that high-speed trains will be barreling down to Hangzhou on a different line (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=2395), it doesn't make all that much sense.

The report is unclear whether the extension to Hongqiao and the Expo 2010 site will still happen, but it's not looking terribly good. The Minhang district cited, though, is SW of the city and not (AFAIK) in the path of the Hongqiao/Expo bit.

[jpatokal]

No, wait! It's not suspended after all (http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/afx/2007/05/29/afx3764363.html)!
Shanghai officials have backtracked on state-media reports that plans to build a high-speed magnetic levitation train linking Shanghai and the eastern city of Hangzhou have been suspended due to health concerns.

Zhang Qing, a spokeswoman of the Shanghai government, said there has been no notice of any suspension of the project.

Separately, an official of the Shanghai Maglev Company, which operates the current maglev line in city, said he was also unaware of any project suspension. ...

The plan may also not have central government support.

'Maglev is inappropriate anywhere in China due to inflexibility,' said Li Hong, a high-ranking official with Institute of Transport and Communication under the National Development and Reform Commission, the state planning agency.

Li said that the super-high-speed maglev train will consume much more energy than conventional railways, and will result in 'magnetic pollution.'

[ncr]

...and we thought only Thai politicians were that fickle when it comes to mass transit projects! ;)

[jpatokal]

Interesting article in the Asia Times (http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/IF13Cb02.html):
With the fall of Shanghai Communist Party secretary Chen Liangyu last September, two such "image projects" in Shanghai have been scrapped or suspended, which further symbolizes how quickly the influence of the so-called Shanghai clique is diminishing. ...

The second is the even more controversial plan to build a 35 billion yuan (US$4.58 billion), 175-kilometer high-speed magnetic-levitation (maglev) train route linking Shanghai to Hangzhou, the scenic capital city of neighboring Zhejiang province. ...

"As to whether [the project] has been stopped or not, from what we have learned from the relevant departments, no city government departments have received such a notice." Jiao also said Shanghai was listening to the opinions of experts and residents.

But this is a weak denial. It may be true that the suspension has yet to be formally announced. Local media reported earlier that all the relocation work was to be done before the end of this year to make way for the maglev route. But most of the relocation work has been halted recently and suspended property development projects in the relocation areas resumed. ...

And Jiao's apparent denial does not necessarily contradict the Xinhua report. Xinhua also quoted sources close to the Shanghai municipal government as saying officials were still weighing the pros and cons of the project. ...

Beijing-based China Business weekly said that in a recent internal meeting of Shanghai officials to review infrastructure projects for the 2010 World Expo, a Shanghai leader, supposedly the city's new party secretary Xi Jinping, set three new principles for the construction of such projects. One is that construction of qualified projects must be completed before the expo. The second is that all projects must be pursued only with available resources, and the third is that projects that could increase social disharmony must be suspended.

So it's not looking very good to say the least :mad:

[admin]

Don writes: Some photos of the maglev train that runs from the edge of Shanghai (at Longyang Road Station) to Pudong Airport, a distance of about 35 kilometers in 7 minutes flat.

Photos 3588-91 show the tracks at the maglev station and train coming into it at Longyang Road subway station. The rest are at the airport. When those red lights change to normal "headlights," it's about to leave. Then you can see it leaving.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train

http://www.2bangkok.com/07/IMG_3588.jpg

http://www.2bangkok.com/07/IMG_3600.jpg

http://www.2bangkok.com/07/IMG_3599.jpg

http://www.2bangkok.com/07/IMG_3595.jpg

http://www.2bangkok.com/07/IMG_3594.jpg

http://www.2bangkok.com/07/IMG_3593.jpg

http://www.2bangkok.com/07/IMG_3589.jpg

[jpatokal]

People's Daily (http://english.people.com.cn/200706/20/eng20070620_385831.html):
The Shanghai-Hangzhou magnetic levitation rail project, which has residents along the route worried about magnetic radiation pollution, is still in the "initial discussion phase," a government spokeswoman said Tuesday. ...

But the project impacts the direct interests of people living along the route, and some residents, scholars and organizations have been questioning its environmental impact, SEPA deputy head Zhang Lijun said during an online interview last Wednesday by China's central government website.

He said SEPA has received an environmental assessment report of the project from the contractors and will invite experts to assess the project's environmental impact.

The official said the SEPA will make its decision based on a scientific evaluation, after thoroughly studying the opinions of experts and the public.

:(

[Yappofloyd]

Dream of high-speed rail may prove Shanghai politician's final nightmare
By Howard W. French Wednesday, August 8, 2007 IHT
SHANGHAI: "I have a dream," Chen Liangyu, Shanghai's Communist Party secretary - since disgraced and removed from office - was fond of intoning before his aides, consciously echoing the words of Martin Luther King Jr. And as the leader of China's richest city, Chen had the power to make most of those dreams come true.

The "hai" in the word Shanghai means ocean, but the city had no beach, he would lament. So city officials built a 6-mile, or 10-kilometer, beach in the suburbs, using 128,000 tons of sand shipped in from southern China. Chen liked tennis, too, so a world-class tennis complex was built at a reported cost of $290 million, even though few Shanghai people play the game. In a city where relatively few can afford to own personal cars, Chen's government built a $300 million racetrack that critics say is the fanciest on the Formula One circuit.

Most fatefully, perhaps, he proposed a $5 billion expansion of a magnetic levitation, or maglev, rail line to the neighboring city of Hangzhou, a widely criticized project that raised something relatively new for China: a storm of public protest. Along the way, Chen openly defied calls by the central government to rein in growth in this city and, in keeping with President Hu Jintao's emphasis on a "harmonious society," to pay more attention to the widening gap between China's rich and poor. The drive for wealth, he said, was more important. The government came down on Chen last September, arresting him for involvement in a huge municipal fraud scandal.

Last month, he was expelled from the Communist Party and simultaneously removed from his position as a delegate to the National People's Congress, stripping him of immunity in preparation for what is expected to be a swift, secret trial. But for many here, the symbolic end came this May, with the suspension of the maglev project, his greatest, and certainly his most expensive, dream.

For many, the apparent demise of the project in the face of widespread public opposition marked the end of an era of glitz-driven development, with attendant opportunities for high-level corruption, and the beginning of a new one in which the voice of China's growing middle class can no longer be ignored. "The public is concerned with the electromagnetism of the train and the government is studying this, and that is one of the reasons the project has been stopped," a People's Congress official was quoted as having said in the China Business Daily newspaper, one of many news reports that suggested that residents' complaints had played a major role in the suspension.

Under Chen's rule, as the Shanghai government raced to complete a basket of gigantic projects remaking the central city ahead of the World Expo 2010 scheduled for here, public discontent steadily mounted. Tens of thousands of residents of the central city were evicted, relocated in most cases in remote, unfinished suburbs and offered compensation well below market value for their properties. In recent years, as rumors of high-level corruption spread, Chen's government could not convene without massive security deployments worthy of a visit by a foreign head of state, because of the persistent turnout of demonstrators.

Unlike the crowds of poor and elderly who often braved repeated arrest to protest the evictions, the opponents of the maglev line have mostly been members of the city's new and fast-growing middle class who live along the proposed train route, in the city's Minhang district. Residents of the area, which is already heavily laced with train tracks and highways, had petitioned the government against the project, complaining about the supposed dangers of magnetic radiation, noise and the effect of yet another transportation line on property prices.

When their petitions had no effect, they stepped up their protests, blocking roads in the area, demonstrating outside their district's government headquarters and hoisting banners on their residential high-rises that were visible from miles away. Eventually, some also began raising questions about how state revenues were being spent, a subject that had scarcely ever entered public discussion here. In this case, that meant questioning the start of a costly new high-tech train project to Hangzhou the very year that another expensive, high-speed line - similar to Japan's famed bullet trains - entered service, linking Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Many of them also pointed out that the existing maglev route has been a commercial failure. It attains a peak speed of 414 kilometers an hour, covering 30 kilometers in 7 minutes, from the city's international airport to a spot on the opposite side of the Huangpu River from central Shanghai. But ticket prices are high and passengers have been few. "This maglev is not a necessity at all," said Chen Qi, an account executive with an online trading company who lives along the line and has worked with neighbors to oppose the project. "It is not clear who is going to benefit from it. If it is for the World Expo, what happens after the Expo, and who would go straight to the Expo from the airport? People go to their hotels from the airport."

Others have denounced the planned railway as just the kind of prestige project that the city needs to get away from. Why would someone spend around $25 for the maglev when they could spend just $2.65 to get to Hangzhou comfortably in two hours, asked Zhao Huiyu, an environmental law professor who lives along the line. "If this isn't something for the people, then what is it?" Zhao said. "Is this a monument for a leader? It has brought us nothing but trouble."

Although the government's long-term intentions toward the train route remain unclear, many here are hopeful that the suspension of the maglev project represents a turning point in the way this city operates. "If Chen Liangyu were still in power, he would have paid whatever it takes to do whatever he wants," said an academic who has advised the city on planning matters. "The clearance between the proposed route and the nearby buildings is too narrow - widen it. Decide how much money is needed, get the big companies to shoulder the cost, and give them other payoffs in exchange."

[jpatokal]

Tales of two newspapers sometimes happen outside Thailand too. Here's Forbes and Businessweek reporting on precisely the same event:

Forbes: Munich Transrapid deal seen signed in September as more financing made available (http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/08/21/afx4039935.html)

BusinessWeek: Munich Mag-Lev Stalled on Money Woes: It doesn't look like plans for Munich's pricey high-speed airport train will move forward with any speed (http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/aug2007/gb20070821_130419.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+ page_top+stories)

Take your pick :confused:

[jpatokal]

I'd already almost given up on this, but something's happening again (http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-20082484.htm):

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China and Germany will jointly construct the Shanghai maglev railway's extension line, which links the city's Pudong airport with the financial district, the official People's Daily reported.

Citing unnamed sources with ThyssenKrupp AG, the newspaper said companies from China and Germany have reached consensus on building the extension line together.

No further information was provided.

...and that's it. I presume this refers only to the inner-city extension to Shanghai South Stn, the Expo 2010 site and (maybe) the airport. They'd better start putting piles in the ground real soon now if they want to see this happen before 2010 though...

[GWR]

Does this change of heart in Shanghai have anything to do with the decision to go ahead with the Munich Airport Transrapid last week?:

http://www.magnetbahn-bayern.de/ENGLISH/english.html

OK! This article has since materialized:

Transrapid train makes progress in China

Efforts to expand the track for the German Transrapid high-speed magnetic-levitation train in Shanghai are making "big progress," the Chinese communist party paper People's Daily reported on Monday, quoting sources at German technology group ThyssenKrupp.

The German companies involved in the project and the Chinese train operator had "reached agreement" on the joint construction of the new track.

Insider circles on Monday were also cautiously optimistic, that a positive decision would be made after the end of the crucial Communist Party Conference in Beijing, which begins on October 15.

The first commercial Transrapid track from Pudong airport to the outskirts of Shanghai is to be extended by 34 kilometres across the site of the 2010 world exhibition to the Hongqiao airport.

Chinese experts pointed out that the recent German decision for the construction of a Transrapid line in Munich had been "helpful."

Until then, critics of the project had always been able to use the argument that not even the Germans themselves were building the Transrapid, questioning its reliability and technology.

The project had also been delayed by the corruption scandal in Shanghai and the downfall of party leader Chen Liangyu, the experts added.

After the leadership had passed to Xi Jinping, who might even move from Shanghai to the closest leadership circles in Beijing, the Transrapid project could now move on, it was said.

Many papers reprinted the news on the agreement from the title page of the People's Daily, which signals the general approval by the country's leadership.

Beijing's Environment Ministry is still compiling a survey on the project because residents living near the planned track are worried about the electromagnetic field and the noise the train might produce.

The State Council too has yet to give its final approval.

So far, the magnetic-levitation train has been incurring losses on the short distance from the airport to the suburbs, where visitors still have to change into an underground train or a taxi.

An extension of the track would be the only way to make the Chinese Transrapid profitable.

After the completion of the planned route to Hongqiao airport, the German consortium is hoping to extend the track further by 175 kilometres to neighbouring city Hangzhou.

Construction cost for this project is estimated at 35 billion yuan (4.67 billion dollars). (dpa)
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=122446

[jpatokal]

Does this change of heart in Shanghai have anything to do with the decision to go ahead with the Munich Airport Transrapid last week?
It can't hurt, but personally (and I'm generally a total maglev slut) I think the Munich Airport is a waste of money and won't convince anybody of anything. The world needs an intercity maglev, not a dinky airport connector that will never make its money back.

While the Shanghai extension makes a lot of sense on every level, I'm not sure the Shanghai-Hangzhou link is particularly useful, as those cities are already served by conventional high-speed-or-almost trains. Maglevs should be built for city pairs entirely lacking in decent transit: Los Angeles-Las Vegas, Dubai-Abu Dhabi, etc.

[Yappofloyd]

I really fail to see the point of Maglev given how costly it is to build. The touted Maglev speed and stability advantage has been really reduced given that the TGV Est line set a new world record which is only about 50kms per hr less than the Maglev record. Given that HSR is approaching normal running speeds of 320-350kms over the coming yrs (in Japan and france) there really seems to be little advantage in building an expensive Maglev line.

The Munich Airport link is obviously a bit of pricey window dressing.

[jpatokal]

I really fail to see the point of Maglev given how costly it is to build. The touted Maglev speed and stability advantage has been really reduced given that the TGV Est line set a new world record which is only about 50kms per hr less than the Maglev record. Given that HSR is approaching normal running speeds of 320-350kms over the coming yrs (in Japan and france) there really seems to be little advantage in building an expensive Maglev line.
Actually, the new TGV record of 576 km/h is only 5 km/h less than the current Maglev record of 581 km/h. But records are records, and translating them into commercial service won't be easy. Despite decades of experience, the Japanese are having a hard time pushing 360 km/h into commercial service, while the first ever commercial high-speed maglev does 430 km/h breezily and undoubtedly has plenty of scope for speed-up.

Also, if you need to built new dedicated tracks anyway, there isn't a huge difference in the construction costs for maglev and conventional. Maglev's main disadvantage is that (like monorails) it's not compatible with any existing infrastructure, but if there is no existing infrastructure (like the Dubai/Abu Dhabi case I mentioned), this isn't a problem.

[Yappofloyd]

Actually, the new TGV record of 576 km/h is only 5 km/h less than the current Maglev record of 581 km/h. But records are records, and translating them into commercial service won't be easy. Despite decades of experience, the Japanese are having a hard time pushing 360 km/h into commercial service, while the first ever commercial high-speed maglev does 430 km/h breezily and undoubtedly has plenty of scope for speed-up.

Also, if you need to built new dedicated tracks anyway, there isn't a huge difference in the construction costs for maglev and conventional. Maglev's main disadvantage is that (like monorails) it's not compatible with any existing infrastructure, but if there is no existing infrastructure (like the Dubai/Abu Dhabi case I mentioned), this isn't a problem.

Thanks Khun jpatokal for the specific record info, I didn't realise that it was as high as 576 km/h for the TGV.

So where would we stand with a cost benefit analysis of speeds (assuming say operational speeds of 320-33km/h for HSR & 450km/h for Maglev) versus cost per km of line construction. Do you have any info on the cost difference as I thought that Maglev costs about 2-2.5 times more per km but your saying it is about the same.

[jpatokal]

Thanks Khun jpatokal for the specific record info, I didn't realise that it was as high as 576 km/h for the TGV.

So where would we stand with a cost benefit analysis of speeds (assuming say operational speeds of 320-33km/h for HSR & 450km/h for Maglev) versus cost per km of line construction. Do you have any info on the cost difference as I thought that Maglev costs about 2-2.5 times more per km but your saying it is about the same.

There's so little data available for maglev that's really hard to tell, and even for traditional high-speed lines the costs are all over the place. The current 30.5-km Shanghai track took $1.3 billion to build, which comes out to a whopping $42m/km, but the projected cost of the 170km Hangzhou extension is $4 billion, which comes out to "only" $23.5m/km. Not that I'd trust either of those figures very much...

For comparison, the 126.8-km Kyushu Shinkansen cost ¥640 billion ($5.8 billion), or $45m/km, while the 406-km LGV Est cost €4 billion, which comes out to $14m/km. I'd presume at least a part of the Shinkansen's way higher cost can be explained by Japan's highly mountaineous terrain though, while most maglev proposals (and LGV Est) run on more or less flat ground.

At the end of the day, though, for both maglev and really high speed conventional you have to build fully grade separated track to exacting standards, and that's just not going to be cheap. Doing this the conventional way means using lots of concrete to build viaducts, while maglev monorail track saves on sheer volume but instead uses funky (=expensive) magnetized material. Total cost comparisons get even more complex: while I'd wager that maglev track is, ceteris paribus, more expensive to build, maglev proponents claim that both energy usage and maintenance costs will be far lower than with wheel-on-steel. But again, there isn't really enough (hell, any) public data that I know of for this.

As for cost effectiveness, 300 km/h conventional rail is generally reckoned to beat the pants off any competition in the <300 km range (1h) and put up a good fight until <600 km or so (2h). Bump that up to 450 km/h, and suddenly you've got effective radii of <450 km and <900 km respectively.

[jpatokal]

Still alive, but now with a new route. (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200801/20080103/article_343772.htm) AFAIK it appears to be functionally equivalent to the previous versions (the same stations are still there), they've just shaved off 3 km, but there's still no word on when construction is to start.

THE planned Maglev line from Longyang Road Metro Station to Hongqiao International Airport has a new route, planners announced yesterday. ...

The new extension part - or as called in the plan a "branch of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev Line" - will run 31.8 kilometers, three kilometers shorter than an earlier plan. The name indicates that planning for a Maglev line to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is under way though no details are as yet forthcoming.

The map on the Website shows that the new Maglev line will run from the Longyang Road Metro Station, through the Bailianjing Area in Pudong, the entrance for 2010 World Expo site, and travel under the Huangpu River to reach Puxi.

In Puxi, it will link with the Shanghai South Railway Station and the Lianhua Road Metro Station before reaching the Hongqiao station interchange.

In Minhang District in Puxi, the line will run along the Dianpu River, a tributary of the Huangpu River. In an earlier plan, the line covered a longer distance.

The Website plan does not talk about the budget for the line or when work on it will begin. The project headquarters had no comment.

[jpatokal]

Same story, slightly different angle (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/03/content_7360687.htm
) -- not looking quite so rosy:

Controversy over the construction of the Shanghai-Hangzhou magnetic levitation train line looks likely to continue following the release of an environmental assessment report on Wednesday, which says the rail link will have minimal impact on the local environment. ...

The new report, published on the municipal government's Shanghai Environment Online website, says the greenbelt buffer zone will remain 22.5 meters wide even though a blueprint designed by the local government shows a protection belt 150 meters wide on either side. German specifications require a 300-meter leeway on both sides of the track.

However, the maximum speed along the Shanghai section of the route will be limited to 200 km per hour, less than half of the 450 km per hour planned for the remainder of the railway to Hangzhou. ...

"From an environmental protection perspective, the constructionof the line is feasible," it concludes.

It also claims the project can be completed in time for the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010 despite Wang Qingyun, a transport official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), saying last May, "It's still hard to say whether the maglev will be built, but if it is it won't be possible to complete it before 2010."

The Shanghai authorities say the report is now open for citizens to comment on until January 15 before it is passed to SEPA and the NDRC.

[jpatokal]

Here's an excellent post on Skyscrapercity (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=17453581&postcount=5) with really detailed maps and diagrams (all Chinese, alas) of the new route. This also reveals why the cost has nearly doubled: much of the new route is underground, and they also have to demolish and rebuild the existing Longyang Rd terminal so they can shift it by a few hundred meters. :(

[jpatokal]

Not a story you'll find on Xinhua! Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSPEK32757920080112):

Shanghai police detain anti-maglev rail protesters

SHANGHAI, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Police in China's financial hub of Shanghai detained scores of people on Saturday after hundreds showed up to protest a planned extension of the city's magnetic levitation train, or "maglev", worried it would emit radiation.

Police bundled demonstrators who had gathered in front of the city government into cars and buses, while an estimated 500 protesters shouted, "We don't want the maglev".

"We are afraid how the radiation will affect us. Why does the government not listen to our concerns?" said a protester surnamed Guan, adding the extension would pass within 100 metres (328 ft) of her house.

Some people managed to shout out of the windows of police vehicles before being driven away: "We have done nothing wrong. Why are we being detained?"

The police also attempted to stop reporters photographing the protests, the largest the city has seen since.

This radiation hoopla is pretty ridiculous, but then, I do understand locals not trusting the assurances of the Chinese government... :(

[GWR]

Shanghai residents warn against train line protest

Sunday, March 2, 2008
AP

SHANGHAI -- Residents warned potential demonstrators Saturday against mounting an illegal march to protest a proposed extension of a high-speed train line through their Shanghai neighborhood.

Residents in armbands used a megaphone to warn people not to "linger here too long," to avoid problems with the police, who had rejected their petition to hold a protest march against the magnetic levitation, or maglev, train.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/2008/03/02/145294/Shanghai%2Dresidents.htm

[GWR]

Thursday, April 10, 2008
China indicates interest in maglev technology
dpa

BEIJING -- China on Wednesday signalled its interest in acquiring the technology for a German-developed magnetic-levitation train.

"We would greet the sale of the magnetic train technology from the German developers to Chinese firms," said the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency.

It added that it hoped China could win the technology at an "attractive price."

However, the German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp, which developed the Transrapid system with Siemens, rebutted speculation that it might sell the propulsion technology or a license to China after high costs last month killed a maglev track that had been planned between downtown Munich and its airport.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/_business/2008/04/10/151297/China%2Dindicates.htm

[Yappofloyd]

Not sure about the ambitious construction timetable....start 2007 finish 2008 but in China anything seems possible these days.
Maglev project to begin construction in 2010 - Chinadaily 18/08/08
Government authorities in Zhejiang province on east China's seaboard have finally announced that the construction of its section of a much-discussed magnetic levitation train route linking the eastern cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou will go ahead in 2010. This timing is three years later than the original construction schedule.

Construction of this high-speed maglev project, however, has been postponed time and again amid radiation concerns. It is not clear why the scheme has now got the go-ahead. In accordance with an action plan of the provincial government regarding construction of key projects for 2008-2012 period, this affluent Chinese province is determined to complete the Zhejiang part of the maglev project in five years starting 2010 at a cost of 22 billion yuan ($3.14 billion).

Preparatory work, including establishment of a special office for affairs related to the maglev project construction, assessment of land acquisition, site selection, as well as study of environmental impact should be done by the end of this year. The action plan says that the Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev project will now be 199.43 km long, nearly 25 km longer than previously reported. Of the total, 103.55 km will be inside Zhejiang.

Approved by the central government in March 2006, the 35-billion-yuan maglev project using German technology is originally designed to run at a maximum speed of 450 km per hour, of which 105 km will be in Zhejiang. Traveling speed of maglev trains is limited to be no more than 200 km per hour in downtown areas of cities.

In accordance with an early construction schedule, the maglev project would begin construction in 2007, get completion in 2008 and start trial operation in 2009 before a formal operation by 2010, when Shanghai plays host to the World Expo.

The action plan, which was distributed to government departments at lower levels inside Zhejiang over the weekend, also set a timetable for construction of another high-speed railway line, reserved for passenger transport only, between Shanghai and Hangzhou.

[jpatokal]

Government authorities in Zhejiang province on east China's seaboard have finally announced that the construction of its section of a much-discussed magnetic levitation train route linking the eastern cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou will go ahead in 2010. This timing is three years later than the original construction schedule. ...

The action plan, which was distributed to government departments at lower levels inside Zhejiang over the weekend, also set a timetable for construction of another high-speed railway line, reserved for passenger transport only, between Shanghai and Hangzhou.
Uhh, what? Are they implying that the maglev will be used to carry cargo? :confused::confused:

[jpatokal]

...and it turns out that this official approval isn't the last step either. Shanghai Daily (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=370871&type=National):

"The plan was what the government is trying to achieve," an unnamed official of the Zhejiang commission said in today's Shanghai Oriental Morning Post. The official added that the timing for the line was just "an aim."

The Central Government has already given the green light to the construction of the Maglev line from the Zhejiang provincial capital to Shanghai but it still needs approval on a construction feasibility report and preliminary design of the project, the official told the newspaper.

[jpatokal]

One step forward, two steps back (http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSSHA12230120080902)...

SHANGHAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - A multibillion-dollar extension of Shanghai's maglev train line to the tourist city of Hangzhou may be delayed due in part to a separate high-speed rail link already planned for the two cities, Hangzhou's mayor said on Tuesday.

Last month, the government of Zhejiang province, which includes Hangzhou, said on its website that the Zhejiang section of the 200 km (124 mile) extension would be built between 2010 and 2014, at a cost of 22 billion yuan ($3.22 billion).

But Hangzhou Mayor Cai Qi said there was no timetable for the extension and, while it was sure to go ahead, it would not proceed as quickly as the Zhejiang government indicated because construction of another fast rail line from Shanghai to Hangzhou was due to begin next year.