Testing starts on Beijing's first maglev rail line

Beijing's first rail line using magnetic levitation technology is scheduled to start running next year, with engineers now testing the new trains, city officials announced on Sunday.

The overhead maglev line, named S1, will run in the west, from Shijingshan district's Pingguoyuan to Shimenying in the mountainous Mentougou district. It will stretch about 10 kilometers and have eight stations.

The travel time between the two locations, currently connected only by bus, will be cut by two-thirds to just 20 minutes, according to an anonymous official from the Beijing Major Projects Construction Office quoted by Beijing Daily.