Shanghai Maglev Train, Chinese: 上海磁悬浮列车, Pinyin: Shanghai Cixuanfu Lieche
Picture of Shanghai Maglev Train
The Shanghai Maglev Train or Shanghai Transrapid (Chinese: 上海磁浮示范运营线; pinyin: Shànghǎi Cífú Shìfàn Yùnyíng Xiàn; literally "Shanghai Magnetic Levitation Demonstration Operation Line") is the first commercial high-speed maglev line in the world. The system and trains were built to the Transrapid 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 501 km/h (311 mph).
Picture of Shanghai Maglev Train
The line runs from Longyang Road station in Pudong, on the Shanghai subway line 2 to Pudong International Airport. The journey takes 7 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the distance of 30 km. A train can reach 350 km/h (220 mph) in 2 minutes, with the maximum normal operation speed of 431 km/h (268 mph) reached thereafter.
The line is operated by Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co., Ltd. As of May 2008, the line operates daily between 06:45–21:30, a one-way ticket cost ¥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 VIP tickets cost double the standard fare.
Picture of Shanghai Maglev Train
The service operates once every 15 minutes. It can be easier and faster for those passengers with destinations in west (Puxi) Shanghai to use a taxi 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 Railway with conventional high-speed technology.
Picture of Shanghai Maglev Train
Of all the world's Airport rail links, the Demonstration Operation Line is by far the fastest. In comparison the Heathrow Express 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. Rail systems that serve an airport with no intermediate stops are usually meant to substitute slower systems with local stops. For example the Heathrow Express supplements the Picadilly line underground system and Heathrow Connect which are slower systems with multiple stops. 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".