Airport Link

Very wobbly by all accounts

Chinese levitating train

January 02 2003
Shanghai – China’s futuristic magnetic-levitation, high-speed train has been opened to thrill-seekers willing to splash out about 150 yuan for seven minutes.

A day after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji enjoyed the maiden voyage of the world’s first commercial magnetic-levitation train, hundreds of Chinese lined up to board the first ride open to the public. The pilot run represented the first-ever application of new “maglev” technology, in which the train literally floats above the track as it is pushed along by magnets.

In order to satisfy curiosity, authorities in Shanghai have decided to open the train to the public at weekends for the next few weeks. Starting from the Longyang metro station near the Pudong financial district, the train whisked along 30km of magnetic track to the Pudong international airport in just over seven minutes.

Most of the people milling around the station were just waiting for a glimpse of the cutting-edge piece of German engineering, designed and built by industrial conglomerates Siemens and ThyssenKrupp.

“A-hundred-and-fifty yuan is much too expensive,” said one bystander. “I live around here and for about 30 yuan I could take a taxi to the airport.”

“As a whole it’s really good. It’s very fast,” said one young passenger as the train cruised the suspended monorail at speeds of more than 400km/h. Hurtling on its magnetic cushion instead of a traditional undercarriage, the train touched a top speed of 431km/h. It hummed loudly and rocked back and forth.

“It’s not very stable,” said a young woman whose company had made an excursion of the event, “but it’s very exciting.”

A maglev engineer aboard the train said many technical adjustments, for example to the control system and the propulsion, still needed to be carried out.

After the inaugural ride, Zhu announced the building of a second maglev line from Shanghai to the eastern city of Hangzhou. Although a contract has yet to be signed, that track would run about 180km, and likely be integrated with the Shanghai maglev airport link. Until then, German and Chinese engineers will continue to tweak the commercially untested technology. They will complete the second track that will allow a second train, and eventually a third, to operate by early 2004.

Everytime light rail links are discussed in Ireland, the only options ever mentioned are either burrowing underground or running on-street.
I’ve never once heard anybody mention the possibility of building an elevated train or of having a section like that. Paris has loads of its Metro system built on viaducts and there’s the famous L in Chicago.
Does anybody know anything about the technicalities of elevated trains – I supposed it’s probably expensive but I doubt it’s dearer than going underground.

…just to give a first hand account:

The elevated sections of the Paris metro (lines 2,5 and 6) aren’t that desirable. They are alot higher above the ground than the underground bits are deep (to safely clear the roads underneath),
and (presumably because of safety and noise) they don’t operate as fast as other bits.

Obviously a Maglev would overcome some of these problems, but I don’t think its an option for Dublin.

The Chinese are pretty good at prestige projects and this one was expensive.

My proposal for the airport link would be to connect it (as a through route) to the Belfast line. This idea is used in Amsterdam and Paris very well.

For example, in our case, air travellers from Belfast, Dundalk, Drogheda would have fast, convenient access to the airport without having to go into the city centre.

If the Heuston – Connolly underground interconnector is ever built, you could have through trains from the south to Belfast which also stop at the airport.

This would increase the airport’s catchment area considerably – which in turn would lead to a greater choice of routes from the airport.

A modest proposal from myself to the government at €0 cost in consultancy fees from myself

1) run line starting from former Carlton Cinema underground to Broadstone (see attachment MP2 in next response)

2) Use old Navan line out in a loop via Finglas to the Airport

3 Continue the line via Swords to Balbriggan where people coming from the Northern part of the country could get the airport link

See Modest proposal jpeg

City part of the scheme