In the morning, I saw the headline of today’s Oriental Morning Post on my desk is: Shanghai – Hangzhou Maglev will be Completed in 2008. The subtitle is:
- Total cost: 35 billion RMB
- Proposed East Hangzhou Station and Jiaxing Station
- Half an hour between Hangzhou and Shanghai.
It is good news. I hate to way until 2008, though.
Impact on Me
I am happy that where I live now is 3 km away from the Maglev station at Longyang Road. It is amazing to be able to get to Hangzhou within 30 minutes. If so, to get to West lake will be within one hour – 10 minutes to Maglev, 30 minutes to Hangzhou (if I arrange the time well), and 20 minutes to West Lake. This is almost the same time from my apartment to Xujiahui (45 minute)! I believe my life will be different if it does happen.
How about the Residential Area?
One question I have is, how the government will deal with the Wanbang City Garden – the newly built residential garden just at the extended direction of the Maglev. Will they be teared down? Will the Maglev use the other path?
I am also curious about the plan of the rail of Maglev. I may pass the place where I live, since the area is just in the middle between Long Yang Road and the World Expo 2010 site. Anyone know some insight about the plan?
Thanks for the man-in-the-street update. I have seen many press reports about the upcoming extension of the Transrapid line to Hangzhou in the past 10 days from my USA home office, but yours is the only first-person report. I will have more confidence in the international news reports now.
Regards,
Larry
Thanks Larry. After blogging for three years, sometimes I may forget about the most important role of a blogger – man-in-the-street. Everytime when I can update the blog in a personal way, I like it and people enjoy it. :-D
I heard on the news (U.S. NPR) that there is also a proposal to build a maglev train from Shanghai to Beijing. The 800 mile journey would take five hours.
JS, In the recent comments column, can you please re-activate the ‘last 40 comments function’ which makes checking so easy.
How about the cost for such trip?
I think 300 RMB of such trip.
shirley
3oo RMB is expensive for the public to take such trip. According to the news, single trip will cost 150RMB.
Coincidence! Yesterday I got a call from a real estate broker; he invited me to see an apartment in Wanbang City Garden, because I tried to buy one just opposites this recommended one before. Coincidently, I got a call from one of my friends; he was asking me about myself since there is long time not contacting him. I told him I prepared to move to Pudong since downtown made me feel much stressful, at meantime I told him I showed some interests in an apartment in Wanbang City Garden. He told me there was an announcement about Meglev to Hangzhou may possibly tear down some apartment in Wanbang City Garden, even yours would not be touched, and anyway, the noise is the big potential issue I should consider. Anyway, I will keep you informed if I got some new information.
It’s also a coincidence that I found your blog, so I left those words here. I have been trying to write something for a long time, however, after reviewing some blog of yours, this stimulated my passion to write thing.
World is made of a series of inevitability that comes from tons of coincidence. It’s those coincidence make world versatile and things different, which affects human history/society and people relationship.
Perhaps they will make the track from People’s Square, and not from Longyang.
If they intend to make it from Longyang, I hope they will make a station at People’s Square.
Are there any plans for extending the track from Pudong Airport to Lingang New City (far southeast Pudong) ?
Ronin, noise is not an issue in China, haven’t you noticed that ?
Hope there to be one more station here at Fengjing:) Otherwise, I need to shift to Jiaixng or Shanghai first instead of to Hangzhou directly.
Wang Jianshuo: are you positive about this?
Where is Jiaxing?
Are you sure it will go from Longyang Road Station?
If so, that’s great since I live 2km from Longyang Road station :)
Article about this:
http://shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/03/14/249805/State_OKs_high_speed_rail_links_to_Shanghai.htm
http://shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/03/15/250509/Inter_city_maglev_trip_to_cost_150_yuan.htm
As I always say in China: “Let’s see what happens” :)
I believe it’s going to stretch from the South Shanghai Railway Station which sits at southwest Shanghai downtown.
As to Jiaxing city, it’s the very neighbor municipal unit to Shanghai, it sits at the midpoint from Hangzhou to Shanghai.
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Dear Jian Shuo,
I am going to china for my wedding next Febuary. As many of my family members and friends will come from Europe, and many of them have a technical background (kind of crazy scientists, you know…), they would be interrested in a technical visit of the Transrapid train (very unique in the world). Do you know wheater this kind of thing is possible, or how I can contact the Transrapid company? (I could not find their website).
By the way your blog is a great source of information: Thanks.
Greg
Greg, there is no public tour for the Maglev. They do have a Maglev technology museum at the Long Yang Road Station of the Maglev. It is free of entrance with Maglev ticket. You may be interested in it. They don’t have a good website yet, and I doubt anyone in this (some kind of state-owned) company are interested in talking with you. This is just my guess.
Dear Jian Shuo,
I am planning to visit Hangzhou in mid 2009. Just wondering if construction has started yet on the Magvev extension? There are various conflicting reports on the internet regarding completion dates. Some say 2008 and others 2010. I am hoping it will be operational by mid 2009!
I cannot find any recent reports on progress.
Kind regards
Linda
I don’t see any sign of building work at Long Yang Road station maglev station
What is the latest status on this? Has it been canceled or put on hold?
From Railway Gazette International:
Tests to cease on Emsland guideway
“This is not the end of the Transrapid maglev technology!, arffirmed Transrapid International on April 2 last year after the proposed 37 km maglev line linking Munchen city centre with the airport was abandoned. The words returned to haunt the company on December 10 when Niedersachen Economics Minister Walter Hirche announced afeter a meeting with federal officials and industry representatives that testing on the Emsaland test track would cease on June 30 2009.
Ever since the world´s first passenger carrying maglev vehicle was unveiled to the press at Ottobrunn on May 6 1971, Germany´s maglev technology had been heavily promoted across the world by its suppliers and -more equivocally- by successive German goverments. After 37 years of tests and experiments, the 31 km Transrapid operation between Shanghai airport and Pudong remains the world´s only commercial high speed maglev. Over the same period, according to UIC figures, 9400 km of high speed railway with steel rails have been commissioned, with a further 8295 km under construction. Need we say more?”