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Shanghai Maglev starts operating

A passenger walks near the world's first magnetic levitation, or Maglev, train yesterday in Shanghai. The Maglev started its regular service runs between Longyang Road Station and Pudong International Airport yesterday at a speed of 430km an hour for about 7 minutes and 20 seconds. PHOTO: AP

Sleek, silvery and ready to fly, Shanghai's 430kph magnetic-levitation train began its daily commercial operation yesterdayday, shooting out of its station amid high hopes for better -- and much more expensive -- commuting.

The opening came a year and a day after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder visited Shanghai for the maiden voyage of the German-built project.

The first train yesterday pulled out at 8:32am from Longyang Station with 10 passengers aboard for the 7-minute, 20-second whoosh of a journey -- 30 kilometers to Pudong International Airport.

The price of an economy seat is 75 yuan (about US$9), and VIP seats cost 150 yuan (about US$18). Trains will run every 20 minutes daily.

Security guards stood by at the entrance. Passengers were required to go through airport-style security to board. Digital signs monitored the speed for passengers.

Based on German technology, the US$1.2-billion train connects Shanghai to its 3-year-old airport, the city's second.

The system underwent nearly a year of testing since it made an inaugural experimental run on Dec. 31, 2002, carrying Schroeder and former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji. More than 200,000 people have ridden the train in weekend test runs since then.

German companies spent decades and billions of dollars developing maglev technology, but had searched in vain for a customer until Shanghai leaders picked the system as a way to highlight the city's high-tech ambitions.

Some have criticized it as an expensive prestige project with limited usefulness.
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