The tracks under the world's first commercial magnetic-levitation train are sinking, possibly threatening the US$1.2 billion project, a newspaper reported yesterday.
Officials in Shanghai wouldn't comment on the report.
The Shanghai Daily gave no details of the sinking and it wasn't clear whether that would affect operations.
The 430kph "maglev" began operations this year, linking Shanghai's new international airport with its eastern financial district.
"We have been aware of the sinking of our maglev track," Xia Guozhong (夏國忠), a spokesman for the company running the pro-ject, was quoted as saying.
The tracks were sinking "very slightly," Xia said, although he declined to say whether it would affect operations.
Spokesmen and officials with the Shanghai Maglev Transport Development Co didn't respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for the Shanghai City Government said she had no information, but said her office was checking the newspaper report.
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.
While a certain amount of settling was normal, too much could harm the project, Shanghai Daily quoted Chinese experts as saying.
"If the track sinks beyond its safety level, managers will have to stop the line's operation," Yu Jiakang, a senior engineer with the Shanghai Tunnel Engineering and Rail Transit Design and Research Institute, was quoted as saying.
In comments to reporters, Yu said track settling could be arrested by reinforcing groundsoil.
"Slight sinking isn't a problem," Yu said, adding that it should be possible "to reinforce subsoil for the maglev if necessary."
Shanghai is built on swampy land and long has faced problems with land sinking.
Sinking tracks aren't the only problem facing the maglev, which uses a powerful magnetic field to suspend trains millimeters above their rails and propel them at jet plane speed.
The 440-seat trains carried an average of just 73 passengers per day last month, the Shanghai Daily said.
At 75 yuan (US$9) each way, tickets are considered too pricey for most residents. The train's station is inconveniently located kilometers from the heart of town.
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