Chinese Minister of Railways Fu Zhihuan said here Friday at a press conference that either traditional tracks or magnetic levitation methods can be chosen for a planned Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. The result of the Shanghai project will be very important for the decision.

The Shanghai maglev railway, which will run at a speed of more than 400 km per hour, will greatly shorten the traveling time from downtown Shanghai to one of its airports.

A Sino-German project, the railway will begin trial operation by the end of this month.

China plans to construct more high-speed railways in the future to meet economic challenges. A 2,000-km railway from Beijing to Shanghai, and another one connecting Guangzhou and Hong Kong, are undergoing preliminary research. In both cases, construction methods have not been decided yet, according to Fu.

China is proficient in traditional track construction, but has limited knowledge about magnetic levitation technology, which is still under experimentation, Fu said.

Fu said the railway ministry and experts from Hong Kong have set up a joint team to research and blueprint the Guangzhou-Hong Kong railway.

(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2002)