Shanghai Hangzhou Maglev Construction

A magnetic-levitation train arrives at the Longyang Road Station in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. China's State Council has approved the country's second maglev line, which will link Shanghai with Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province. Construction of the 175-kilometer highspeed route will start this year and wrap up before Shanghai hosts the 2010 World Expo.
The Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev project is about to commence feasibility study. The approved maglev line will be 175 kilometers long with an overall budget of 35 billion yuan. The designed normal speed is 450 kilometers per hour in suburban areas and 200 kilometers per hour at most in central areas.
This project is scheduled to be finished in 2008 and put into operation before the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Some insiders indicated that this maglev line that connects Shanghai, Jiaxing and Hangzhou will enable a Shanghai-Hangzhou round trip within one hour and obviously improve transport efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta.