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A ride on the world's fastest train, the maglev
(Santa Fe New Mexican, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 26--I wasn't going anywhere in particular on a recent day in Shanghai, so why not do so as fast as possible?
I'd wanted to ride the magneticlevitation train, the fastest train in the world, as it's billed, ever since reading about its maiden voyage Dec. 31, 2002. It was a symbol of China's bold, rapid modernization, even if the train was a product of old (pre-World War II) German technology.
The maglev, built by a German company called Trans Rapid, operates using powerful magnets to lift the train 10 millimeters above a special "track" called a guideway. Other magnets can propel the train at speeds of up to 310 mph.
The Shanghai maglev, which cost about $1.2 billion, runs between the Longyang Road subway station and Pudong airport, less than 25 miles away, in eight minutes. The train runs on a specially built elevated track.
The maglev connection with the subway can be used by tourists headed for hotels in other parts of Shanghai or on their way to the airport, but carrying luggage on the crowded subway cars is difficult.
The day I took the train, only a handful of riders was headed for the airport, most of them apparently business travelers. The sparse ridership seemed to confirm critics' charges that the train was a pricey boondoggle that would never gain popularity.
After a short wait, the doors slid shut, and the train slipped out of the station, already beginning to build speed. With the only sound that of air rushing by outside, the speed rose quickly, according to the light emitting diodes, or LED, mounted at the front and back of each car, climbing to about 185 mph in two minutes.
The train reached a top speed of 267 mph in three minutes and 25 seconds, according to my calculation. Wow! This was amazing, and, when we slammed into a curve in the line, a little scary. How do you stop this sucker, and how long does it take?
It didn't take long, and we arrived in good order -- with time for a short walk through the modernistic Pudong airport. The maglev and the airport seemed to complement each other.
Then it was time to return. After a short wait on the platform, a train going the other way slipped into the station. Awaiting it this time was a large and enthusiastic crowd of Chinese people who seemed delighted to catch such a train.
Their eagerness intensified as the maglev soared out of the station and gained speed. So different from China's typically crowded subways and buses! I could feel a sense of patriotic pride from my fellow travelers that the motherland was capable of providing such a service.
That same week, the Chinese government announced plans to build a maglev rail line between Shanghai and Hangzhou. But the new maglev will mainly use Chinese technology. It would cut the travel time between the two cities to 30 minutes from 2 1 /2 hours.
Let's just hope things slow down once passengers reach the beautiful lake-side city of Hangzhou.
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