PVG: One Million Passengers for MagLev

Carrying 7,000 passengers per day is hardly impressive, since it averages to 95 passengers per trip on a train with 440 seats.

On the other hand, if it has moved 1,000,000 passengers in 188 days from Jan 1 to yesterday (was it really yesterday?), the daily everage over six months would figure to 5,319 a day. (This happens to translate to 72 passengers per trip, so damn near the old "mistaken" number of 73 it makes me wonder if the original 73 figure had any credibility at all.) Did the Maglev ever stop operation during the six months? If it did stop for 45 days, then a million people in 143 days would give an average of 7,000 a day.

The average of passenger heads is less interesting than how the passenger volume has curved up and what's the daily volume nowadays. If the number per trip was low in the early month but has come close to 200 now, that would indicate quite a successful system, keeping in mind that a daily 200 passenger per trip average would mean some trips being close to full capacity . Another meaningful evaluation would be the percentage of PVG visitors taking the Maglev. It is so difficult to obtain statistics in China.

It's quite surprising how the MagLev is so little advertised in the Airport. For those who arrive and are waiting in the baggage claim area, there's nothing(?) indicating the existence of the MagLev. Is there?

For sure more passengers would take it if it would be clearly advertised in the baggage claim area - together with the shedule (how many minutes for the next train) and how much it costs.

If you "travel light" to PVG, it's easy to go downstairs at Longyang Station and hop in the subway line #2 to downtown. AND MUCH SAFER than to go out and get a taxi !

I agree that the Maglev is very badly signed in PVG.

By the way, do anyone know when the Zhangyanglu tunnel opens ?

It's simply a mess in the Yananlu tunnel...

Hi, Does anyone know if the maglev operates late at night? I will be arriving in Shanghai around 22:00 and want to know if the maglev is an option.

Thanks.

It should end operation around 19:00. So you cannot take it as late as 22:00

It is very sad that there is no signage/info at PVG and even worse nothing on the web! This is great technology being wasted!

Question: what time is the first run on a Thursday morning from Long Yang out to Pudong Airport?

Thanks

David

Vancouver, Canada.

It's absolutely ridiculous how much money the Chinese government spent on the construction of the MagLev but spend almost nothing on the marketing thereafter of the MagLev. It just makes no sense to me whatsoever why there isn't a very detailed website marketing the MagLev in English.

Is there like a Shanghai Taxi Association Union which is blocking the success of MagLev? Is this Taxi Association afraid of some competition from the MagLev/Subway link to Puxi?

There is no Shanghai Taxi Association Union. :-D It is illegal organization. After certain date, it is not easy to register any new organizations.

The train is an experimental train, you don't advertise experimental stuff regulary.

Actually, this is not an experimental train, although it is the first commerical operating Maglev.

There will probably be another maglev line before the end of 2009 linking Shanghai and Hangzhou. Hangzhou seems pretty keen to get the line running. If the Shanghai Airport Maglev is indeed as what some people here call a big and expensive toy, both Shanghai and Hangzhou should think carefully as to how to make the proposed line commercial in the true sense of the word.

Jianshuo, I hope you allow me to post this information on your behalf :

In Germany there is a maglev TEST guideway ("track").

In Shanghai there are a COMMERCIAL double guideway magnetic levitation line, connecting Longyang Lu Station to Pudong Airport PVG, or SIA - Shanghai International Airport, the new name.

The "Shanghai Maglev Transrapid" runs in schedule from 8:20 (Longyang end) and from 8:30 (PVG end). The trains stops scheduled trips at 17:30 at both ends.

The train leaves every 20 min's at both ends.

The trip is WORTH it if you haven't tried, and saves you money for a taxi ride (but not if you're less than 2 persons).

Other opportunities outside shceduled hours of the SMT are the buses just left of the exit, when you go directly out from the arrival hall. Signs for each line are in english too, and a typical ride to People's Square (Renmin Guangchang) is 16 RMB.

And of course - the taxis, if you prefer Shanghai taxis...

OK - for the SMT, fee is 50 RMB for single trip, 100RMB for VIP trip (but who will pay double for a trip less than 8 min's duration ?!).

If you have a valid flight ticket for the actual day, you can have a one way trip for 40 RMB.

If you want just to ride the train both ways same day, you pay 80 RMB for double trip.

These informations are valid 2004-09-22.

I hope this clarifies some of the questions asked by so many.

I personally do not think that this type of maglev track will be build again.

Only superconducting materials can provide the low energy costs for this type of train.

As the speed concerned, the french TGV with wheels has been running faster than the maglev, but I'm sure that the maglev are able to do more !

See more in an article by Ron Gluckman : http://www.gluckman.com/Maglev.html

I hope he allows me to post the link :-)

Hi Lance

There are NO unions in China, therefore all salaries are up to the employer and the market's demands to determine !

The low salaries are the reason for all other countries to buy the chinese stuff.

Wonder how long that will go on...

At CNN they recently had weeklong talks of how many jobs goes outside of their own country, only because it should be a LITTLE cheaper to buy the next mobile phone made abroad.

This is exactly what makes Chinese economy going !

And the rich chinese gets even more rich, because they do not have to pay the high salaries and taxes as western employers do.

The top sports car brands Ferrari and Porsche have their biggest sales outside Europe in - China !

If the consumers in western countries didn't want to buy the "a little cheaper" things from China (or any other low salary country for that matter), chinese factories could turn the key and all could go home.

In Europe we had the peasant revolution in Denmark in 1788, "stavnsbåndets ophævelse".

That was, the peasants didn't want the government to tie the people to their location forever. This is the way in China now ! Your ID-card is only valid for your birth town, and is damned hard to change. An example : when you need a passport or a new ID-card, you HAVE to go to the local police in your hometown, even it's 3000 km away and you don't have money and time for the trip.

The right for people to vote the government came in 1849 (with some restrictions).

And then came the industrial revolutions and the worker's revolts in Germany and England (as the most known). The industrial revolution and the workers rights made Karl Marx up to be a quite popular guy - he is well known from chinese schools, where all students have to learn about his theories. This resulted in the formation of unions, even in the Sovjet Union.

But in China - still NO unions, and therefore NO rights for the workers, and NO rights for the taxi drivers to oppose against the maglev train (and frankly - what will it help to go up against a 10.000.000RMB project financed by the Party ?).

I hope this makes something clear. If not, please comment.

Carsten,

The history of China is written in blood, and same will happen in the future.

Stephen

True, Stephen, and I've even heard quite a few high educated friends in China speaking of a new "age" here... Tssss, tssss !

Thanks for your commet, Stephen. But would it be more correct to say that part of the history of most what we call civilized nations is also in blood. We don't even to have a long memory to recall all the stories so recent and so bloody.... I tend to believe that the world is changing, and it is often changing in a way beyond our imagination, and any stereoyped perspective wouldn't help us understand this world better.

charles wang

Chairman Mao once said, "evolution through revolution".

Stephen

charles

I concur with your view for the past, people in China tend to forget the misery caused by the past mishaps, e.g. the great leap forward and the culture revolution and try to turn a fresh page, how come they cannot use the same attitude to deal with the Sino-Japanese relation, would you consider this is the double standard?

N.B. I am not pro-Japanese.

Stephen

Let me answer your question Stephen. We cannot forgive Japanese, only because they are trying to deny the history. Unlike Germany, Japan has never really admitted their mistake. What we cannot tolerate is that they are teaching their kids a twisted history instead of telling them the truth. Nobody wants to see the same history happens to us again, that's why we can never be relieved and forgive the sin and debt the Japanese left on this land. If you are a Chinese, if you really studied our history, if you read the news, you will have the same feeling.

Spring Liu,

If Japan insists her present course on the recognition of history, do you think another war can resolve the difference?

Should China look into the future rather inherit the past?

Stephen

Stephen, war is the only solution to a problem. Don't have a war does not mean we have to ignore the existance of a problem

No wonder Japan and few western countries treated China as a potential threat to their safety.

Do you think the present situation in China towards Japan has similarity during the pre-war years of Nazi Germany when Polland annex the East Pussia from Germany in WW1?

Stephen

I talked about the anti-Japan movement in this post http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20040804_nice_meetup_with_hailey_and_roddy.htm and I agree that without control, the hate will become a serious problem and may lead to a war. I am against this. However, China is NOT the only country to say "no" to Japan's existing attitude toward the history. It is clearly wrong. Do you have comments on this? Do you agree that people in China should say nothing about it? My point is, discrimination and hate are dangerous. People need to calm down on this, but what Japan government is doing is also wrong, which is part of the root of the whole sitution.

If you see a war is inevitable to resolve the difference, so let it be war!

There is several wars you can choose, such as culture war, commercial war, athletic war. Germany was defeated in WW2, but today, she is the most powerful economic power in Europe, which is exactly what she wish to see should Germany won the war.

Japanese culture invasion has also made her mark in South East Asia, In Hong Kong, Japanese dining has become stylish way of living.

When will China introduce non lethal aggression against her foe?

Stephen

Can you please tell me which part of the Japanese invasion history has been distorted by the Japanese governemnt according to your knowledge.

I understand you read the history from your textbook and I have my own, just curious to see your version of the invasion.

Stephen

Jian Shuo, I am reasonably sure you missed a word or a "?" as everyone can see from the context.

Stephen, don't be an ass. Having fun with this? Japan just cannot be honest about the war history and you can't seem to recognize that it cannot. Absent of this recognition, all of your arguments become weak, unless of course when you run on someone's typo.

bigbro

can you read my last message? which I wish to see your version of allegation. May be I never realize the truth of the history you wish to put forward.

Please refrain yourself from using foul language which reflects the uncivil side of your wording.

Stephen

Stephen,

I wanted to describe your act of taking others out of context to advance the war craze with a kinder word but I couldn’t find it.

Yes, I see your last message now. What a wonderful idea: compare the textbooks and argue over the numerical differences. If I quote my textbook you might say it’s subjective and brainwashing. If you quote from your textbook I could say it’s subjective and revisionized. The argument can go on forever. Maybe that is exactly the diversion that the Japanese want to create.

However, textbooks are not the only source of historical information on that war. We hear history in first person from our parents and grandparents. All we had to do is ask grandpa what happened to his siblings and his first wife and his first child with whom she was pregnant, and we get our lesson in history. We look at our genealogical tree and saw that family branches were chopped off suddenly in certain years, and we get an idea of when the war took place. We go back to look for grandpa’s original Shandong-province village that no longer exists barring a few broken walls and shell craters, and we get a sense of why our ancestors fled their home of centuries and migrated here half a China away, on foot. We found out from dozens of neighborhood playmates or classmates with thick Northeastern accent that their family all migrated from Liaoning, Jilin, or Heilongjiang a few years before our grandpa, and we get an unexpected dose of harsh confirmation of when and where it all started. In Northeastern China, they are still unearthing Japanese chemical ammunition dumps. This is on China's land not on Japan’s soil. Many Japanese young men died too during that war but they died invaders, looters, rapists, murderers, and on China's land not on Japan's soil. The abandoned “war orphans,” their own children mind you, were left on China's land by Japanese soldiers bidding a hasty retreat and they were brought up by Chinese peasants, with bitter love and swallowed tears. When those kids grew up they were returned to Japan. A bigger half of the land of China is a huge page on which history was written permanently in Chinese people’s blood, decorated by Japanese bullets. That, is the textbook from which I read my history. We are a peace-loving race and are willing to shake hands with Japan for the sake of future peace and progress. Has the civil Japan nodded and extended her hand?

Stephen and bigbro, come on now.

Korea have a long dispute of the recent published japanese history book for the pupils in japanese schools. Just of the same subject.

Anyhow, how do chinese schoolbooks deal with the "delicate topics" of chinese history after 1949 ??!!

I have seen, and they treat Taiwan as a province (it was sold to Japan before, so how can they claim it as belonging to the mainland ? More than half the Taiwanese even don't want to join under the present ruling in the mainland).

And Tibet (before a proud and independant nation) is just crushed down to be an "autonomous region". 2.000.000 tibetans died under Mr. Mao's invasion. Many, many don't forget !

The german people has been watched VERY closely for the last 60 years, and many europeans still mistrust them very much. Many germans feel very bad about this.

China still supports Kim Jong Il, the cruel dictator in North Korea who killed more of his own people than even Saddam Hussein (but only had 1/3 population), just about same amount as Mr Mao.

Chinese people : Wake up and clean up your own house, please. Beijing won't.

bigbro,

Thank you for taking time to write the above for me.

The reason I brought up the subject of "Japan bashing in China" is because I have deep curiosity about this subject. It is my intention to probe into an average Chinese to see why the resentment can carry over sixty odd years and still growing strong in the third generation, or it is just a political measure by the government.

Now I can see plainly the hatred is generated by blood from the slaughter of your ancestor and it is still vivid in the mind of many Chinese and not according to others who described as "brain washed".

Few months ago, we have discussed this subject to no avail, today I can see the situation with a better view from your side if your article represents the majority. I cannot help to suggest how China to resolve the Sino-Japanese conflict.

At any rate, I am resting my exploration on this subject and apologize to bring up the sour past of your memory. Again I thank you for shedding light on this subject.

For Mr. Wang, much regret our dialogue ended in near shouting match.

Stephen

Stephen,

I take the name calling back. I apologize. I see your academic motivation.

Indeed, this feeling among Chinese people is more in people's heart than in the government's propaganda. If anything people like myself feel that the government is too soft and quiet. I for one hope China takes a firmer stand against Japan's efforts to be a permanent member of the United Nations' Security Council but that's just me.

However, I do not see a significant "Sino-Japanese conflict" at the present day. We have unfortunate memories, true and deep, but not great animosity. I know Chinese people do not want war, not in the past, not in the present, and not in the future; not over a football game, or over textbooks.

I appreciate your frankness and your views. Let us be friends. Let's continue discussing many and any great issues on this website.

IS this thread about MAGLEV trains or NOT ????

Is a maglev harmfull to its rider

The Maglev now runs from 07:00 to 21:00

Is the timetable publisdhed anywhere?