Originally Posted by
SmilingBoy
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 7290: BlackBerry8700/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/120)
It will cost a lot more than 1.85b. This is just the price used to get approval. My guess is that the total will come to 4-5b. I really don't understand why they build the Transrapid on such a short route. In order to get to its top speed of 450 km/h it has to accelerate for quite some time, then cruise at the top speed for 1 minute just to start slowing down again. Probably a bit like my STR-ZRH flights...
I bet that if a track were to be built for a normal high-speed train, it would only be 2 or 3 minutes slower.
SmilingBoy.
The Shanghai maglev on a 6 minute trip runs at full speed (435m/hr) for 2 minutes. So if this was a 10 minute trip, at least it could run at full speed for 6 minutes. Still, the point of having an express train to the central area is extremely well taken except right now I don't think there are passing lanes on the S-bahn, does anyone know? Further there is the additional problem of scheduling the trains in the central district where pretty much all the lines come together. Still, these problems could be rectified for a lot less than the cost of a maglev.