Beijing-Shanghai Transrapid Link Unlikely

The future of the German-built magnetic levitation train Transrapid in China may be in doubt. According to German ARD public television, the Chinese government no longer wants to use the Transrapid to link Shanghai with the capital Beijing. Instead, a modern high-speed railway is likely to be built on the route. The Transrapid consortium – which includes German industrial stalwarts ThyssenKrupp and Siemens – denied on Thursday the Chinese had already made a decision. The consortium is hoping for widespread success in China, since the expensive and technologically troubled system has all but been written off in Germany. It already connects the Shanghai airport to the city center via a 30 kilometer (18.6 mile) track.