Extra 3b yuan may be put in new maglev (Shanghai Daily) Updated: 2006-06-05 16:20 An extra 3 billion yuan
(US$374 million) will be invested into the high-speed maglev train line between
Shanghai and Hangzhou to a total cost of 40 billion yuan, Oriental Morning Post
reported today, citing Liu Ting, the vice director of Zhejiang Development and
Reform Commission.
Liu said although the project introduced German technologies, private
companies still have many business opportunities, including the construction and
production of electro-mechanical equipments.
"Private companies can bid on the production of long stators, which provide
magnetic and driving forces for the trains," Liu was quoted as saying. The long
stator project will cost 8.5 billion yuan.
The 175 kilometer line will stop at the 2010 World Expo site, the Shanghai
South Railway Station and Jiaxing, a small city in Zhejiang Province, before
reaching Hangzhou.
With speeds as high as 450 kilometers per hour, the trip will take a half
hour, compared with about two hours on a normal train.
The central government expects that the new maglev line will improve
transport within the Yangtze River Delta region.
The line will be up and running by 2010 when Shanghai hosts the World Expo.
According to maglev experts, a single-trip ticket on the Shanghai-Hangzhou
line will cost between 130 yuan to 150 yuan.
The project is now under a feasibility study and construction is expected to
start later this year.
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