Chinese Maglev Train Line Debuts
from the but-is-it-worth-it? dept
The first ever commercially-viable maglev train got off to a showy start in Shanghai, taking Chinese Premier Zhu and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for a quick ride. The train won’t actually take paying passengers for another year or so, but this is certainly a first for maglev trains that levitate ever so slightly above the track so as to reduce friction and allow for faster speeds. Of course, there have been fast trains, like the Japanese bullet train, that work by more conventional means for many years now, so some are questioning the real value of a maglev.
Comments on “Chinese Maglev Train Line Debuts”
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The Chinese are desperate to prove their modernity, so it was cost be darned for them. It sounds like they’re set to launch a taikonaut (astronaut) soon too. They want Shanghai to be their showcase high-tech city, while letting Hong Kong go into slow decline.