Following one and a half months layoff for systems tuning and testing, the world's first magnetic levitation rail line will resume its sightseeing operation for the upcoming week-long Labor Day holiday from May 1.
But no date has yet been set for launch of its regular operation, according to Chen Yifan, an official with the Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co.
"However, the line will definitely open for regular transportation this year," he added.
With a 10-billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) total investment, the 30-kilometer maglev line, linking Longyang Station of RT No 2 to Pudong International Airport, is the world's first commercial maglev line.
The train, which uses German technology, takes only eight minutes to reach the airport from the station with a speed of 430 kilometers per hour. A taxi needs to take about 30-40 minutes to cover the same distance.
The cost of a round-trip sightseeing ticket was 150 yuan (US$18) for common seats and 300 yuan for VIP seats, when the service was launched on January 1 and ran through mid-March.
Those prices won't change during the Labor Day holiday, Chen said, adding that no decision has been taken on whether to extend the service beyond the holiday.
He didn't say how much the ticket will be priced when regular operations begin but did acknowledge that "price for a one-way ticket will probably be halved or a bit more than that."
For the Labor Day holiday, the train will have 12 departures every day, two more than previous, but the company hasn't decided whether it will use a three-bogey train or the newly-arrived five-car train, Chen said.
(eastday.com April 8, 2003)
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