A spokesman of the Shanghai municipal government denied reports that a German company would compensate for the technical breakdown of Shanghai's Maglev line.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, the spokesman also said the Maglev project remained in good condition. Debugging of the full length of the line was proceeding according to the original schedule.

According to an earlier news report, published by a German news organization, the German company Krupp Thyssen AG would have to spend 30 million euros to replace equipment damaged in a technical accident.

It also noted that the Chinese partner was annoyed at this problem and gave up purchasing plans for another three carriages.

The spokesman said the surface of certain cables has been damaged during the trial train run and the debugging of the Maglev line. Although the problem was not serious, for the sake of safety the German supplier of the project decided to replace the damaged part of the equipment for free. The replacement has been completed with the full support of the Chinese partner.

The spokesman said both the Chinese and German side had been positive and cooperative in coping with the problem. There would be no huge compensation from any German company.

According to Shanghai press reports, 12 carriages have been delivered to Shanghai's Maglev project. The three remaining carriages are expected to arrive by August.

In mid-July, a three-carriage train and a five-carriage train operating in opposite directions on two tracks attained the maximum speed of 430 km per hour on the Maglev line.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2003)