Maglev = Magnetic Levitation
The Baltimore Sun ran an article the other day about the maglev in Shanghai. I also received, on the same day, a newsletter from the Maryland Transit Administration on the Baltimore-Washington Maglev project. There was brief mention of the Shanghai project, saying that it would start full service in early 2004.
The newspaper article was useful, in that the reporter gave their impressions of riding the magnet powered and elevated train. What it didn't give were enough comparative dollar figures between maglev and wheeled hi-speed train projects. It did mention the fares for Baltimore-Washington runs -- MARC is $7; maglev would be about $26.
The newsletter explained that the MARC fare is subsidized by the state (gov't), whereas the suggested maglev fare is not. (The newsletter said that it would take an act of the General Assembly to authorize state support for the maglev project.)
It may be true that maglev might be cost effective over the long run, compared to a wheeled alternative. The problem is the tremendous up-front cost. That's probably why it has been rejected for several proposed lines (e.g., Australia, Korea, Germany) in recent years.
I think maglev is an exciting idea, but could it be the land transportation equivalent of the Concorde supersonic airliner? (Which just went out of business, last week.)
[Note: I've visited maglev public relations exhibits in the German cities of Essen and Munich. I'd hoped to ride it at the Transrapid test track in northern Germany, but it was out of operation for maintenance or replacement at the time I was planning to travel nearby. (It's been a very popular tourist attraction.) I guess if I want to give it a try, I'd have to fly to Shanghai. (Which I expect to do, eventually.)]
Posted by raacluse at October 29, 2003 10:15 AM