Maglev
new way to travel



No wheels,
no rails!
430 Kms/hour


Pas de roues,
pas de rails,
mais 430 kms/H










slow train
only 300 kms/H


Service escargot,
que 300 Kms/H









Maglev, short for magnetic levitation. This train has no wings, but no wheels or engine, either. Transrapid, the German firm that developed the system, describes the Maglev as "the first fundamental innovation in the field of railway technology since the invention of the railway."

Magnets are the attraction. First, powerful magnets lift the entire train about 10 millimeters above the special track, called a guideway, since it mainly directs the passage of the train.

Other magnets provide propulsion, and braking, and the speeds - up to 500 kph in test runs; a good 60 percent faster than the renowned Bullet Trains - are attained largely due to the reduction of friction.

IN Shanghai, the maglev runs 30 kilometers from the international airport to the subway in Pudong where one can catch the city metro Line 2.

The Maglev isn't about getting from point A to B in Pudong. Rather, it's the ride, a glorious glide, from the past to the future.

from Ron Gluckman, a writer in China.