{"id":9933,"date":"2010-03-24T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2010-03-24T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=9933"},"modified":"2010-03-24T16:08:17","modified_gmt":"2010-03-24T20:08:17","slug":"the-shanghai-maglev-getting-there-is-all-the-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/03\/24\/the-shanghai-maglev-getting-there-is-all-the-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shanghai Maglev: Getting there is all the fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

On a recent trip to China I was lucky enough to take a ride on the world’s only commercially operating Maglev train. Carrying passengers from the city’s expansive new airport to an awkward location on the edge of the burgeoning new financial district, the train is amongst the fastest in the world. At a top operating speed of 431km\/h, the Maglev takes passengers a distance of 30km in about seven minutes. The train has recorded a maximum speed of just over 500km\/h and can regularly accelerate up to 355km\/h within two minutes. It is truly an amazing feat of engineering.<\/p>\n

While the technology involved in the system is breathtaking (Maglev trains utilize high powered magnets to literally float slightly above the track without any friction<\/a>), the fact that such a system was actually put into commercial operation is equally impressive. In terms of practicality, there is little reason to have chosen Maglev. Having cost over a billion dollars to construct, the line only travels a relatively short distance and drop passengers off at station where they must continue their journey either by subway or taxi into the busier parts of the city. Even after several years of operation the system still operates at only around 20% of capacity. Critics cite that a conventional rail line could have integrated with the subway system and tied directly into the city centre.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Additional lines, planned to connect Shanghai with Haungzou – a famously scenic city to the southwest – and potentially even Beijing remain mired in concerns about cost and feasibility<\/a> as well as citizen mistrust about noise and electromagnetic pollution. China has since pursued the rest of its expansive high-speed rail development using more conventional technology.<\/p>\n

What is really so amazing then about Shanghai’s Maglev train is what it says about the character of the city that built it. When the city hired a German consortium to build the trains back in 2001 the technology was largely unproven and could only be found on test tracks in Germany and Japan. Building Maglev as the primary link between the airport and the city was a gamble by authorities and is a testament to how far the city will go establish itself as a major world centre of the next century.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The end of the line at Longyang Road Station; conventional tracks are replaced with magnets and guide ways<\/em><\/p>\n

No expense was spared in the construction and design of the project as French designers were brought on board to create attractive and pleasant stations. Design and construction of the actual trackage was done domestically to help incubate the country’s rapidly growing rail industry. Without a conventional engine and with no friction on what is more of a guide way than a track, mechanical components have longer life spans.<\/p>\n

Like other famous projects in China before it, the Shanghai Maglev seems meant not only as a means of practical transportation but as a point of national pride and showcase of technological capabilities. It is a so called “Prestige Project.”<\/p>\n

While transportation technology on this side of the world remain staunchly rooted in the ways of the past, China is moving forward with bold steps to fundamentally alter its transportation patterns and manufacturing industry. In the process the Maglev has given the Shanghainese something to be proud about and attracted the attention of the world. Without saying that Toronto need spend billions on a 30km Maglev, we really could do with something close to being as bold and inspiring.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Max speed, as posted within each car of the train<\/em><\/p>\n

Photos by Marcus Bowman<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a recent trip to China I was lucky enough to take a ride on the world’s only commercially operating Maglev train. Carrying passengers from the city’s expansive new airport to an awkward location on the edge of the burgeoning new financial district, the train is amongst the fastest in the world. At a topContinue reading “The Shanghai Maglev: Getting there is all the fun”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4082,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2745,14599,1846,14602,483,1138,14598,14603,14004,21,1659,19,849,14600,14601,391],"class_list":["post-9933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-transit","tag-beijing","tag-building-maglev","tag-china","tag-conventional-technology","tag-germany","tag-japan","tag-longyang-road-station","tag-manufacturing-industry","tag-marcus-bowman","tag-other-cities","tag-shanghai","tag-toronto","tag-transportation","tag-transportation-patterns","tag-transportation-technology","tag-usd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Shanghai Maglev: Getting there is all the fun - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2010\/03\/24\/the-shanghai-maglev-getting-there-is-all-the-fun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Shanghai Maglev: Getting there is all the fun - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On a recent trip to China I was lucky enough to take a ride on the world’s only commercially operating Maglev train. 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