Suburbs to get Maglev railway

• Source: Global Times
• [03:26 January 08 2010]
• Comments

By Li Yang

A model of a medium-and-low-speed magnetic levitation train on display. Photo: CFP

The second magnetically levitated, Maglev, railway to come into commercial operation in China will be built in Beijing. The suburban railway line 1 (S1 Line) will be built using the medium- and-low-speed magnetic levitation technique, according to the Mentougou District People's Congress Wednesday.

The S1 Line will be around 27 kilometers long, and run from Wulu near the Fourth West Ring Road to Shimenying, Mentougou district.

Yang Xiuren, the general engineer of the Beijing Urban Engineering Design and Research Institute, said the S1 Line would open in 2015 and would reach a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour.

The first commercial magnetic levitation railway in the world was built in Shanghai in 2003 and can reach 430 kilometers per hour.

Compared to light railway, medium-and-low-speed magnetic levitation railways are quieter, save more energy and can climb steep inclines better, which is more suitable for mountainous areas, Wang Mengru told the Beijing Sci- Tech Report. "But costs are much higher so the ticket price may be the same as the Airport Express that charges 25 yuan ($3.7)."

Residents who live around the proposed line are worried about electromagnetic pollution. In January 2008, hundreds of Shanghai residents marched to protest a new levitated railway project planned to be built near their homes.

"I hope the government can do something to alleviate people's concerns about pollution even though there aren't that many people living along the line," said a web user who lives in Mentougou.

"The radiation from lowspeed levitated railways is very small, similar to light rail and electric locomotives," said Wang Lide, a professor at the Beijing Jiaotong University.

Besides the S1 Line, Beijing plans to build five more suburban railway lines totaling 360 kilometers to connect the suburbs, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning.