Fergie's Tech Blog

China Suspends High-Speed MagLev Train Project

A Reuters newswire article, via The New York Times, reports that:

China has suspended a planned magnetic levitation rail route linking Shanghai and Hangzhou, partly because of residents’ concerns that the trains would emit radiation, state media reported Saturday.

Shanghai’s talks with German suppliers, including Siemens, to extend the high-speed line to neighboring Hangzhou were already complicated by recent accidents involving maglev trains and by cost concerns.

The Xinhua news agency said thousands of residents living on the proposed route had been petitioning for a suspension of the $4.5 billion project, fearing the high-speed trains would produce radiation.

posted by Fergie @ 5/27/2007 12:30:00 PM