praa
1st Oct 2007, 12:36
There are huge political arguments going on here in Bavaria concerning the proposed 300 km/h maglev line from Munich's central station to the airport. Currently there are two suburban rail lines that use stopping trains to connect the city centre to the airport in about 40 minutes. "Minister-President" Stoiber, who's always been pushing the "Transrapid" project, has suddenly found the public funds to get it built, the announcement coming just days before he left office.
The pros, according to those in favour, are:
Reduction in travel time from 40 minutes to ten minutes for the 37 km distance.
It's a showcase hi-tech project that will generate new sales for magnetic levitation rail lines worldwide.
Environmentally preferable due to less noise pollution than rail lines.The cons, according to those against, are:
The proposed budget of EUR 1.85 billion is massively optimistic and the taxpayer will have to foot the overspend.
Point-to-point line via central train station will mean little journey time reductions for many travellers.
It's a massive waste of public money for a failed technology that has always failed to assert itself in the marketplace.There already is one mag-lev showcase line that connects Shanghai airport with the city.
Question time:
Has anyone used the Shanghai mag-lev and what did you think?
How much value do you put on a fast public transport link to the airport?
Or do you always take the car anyway?
The pros, according to those in favour, are:
Reduction in travel time from 40 minutes to ten minutes for the 37 km distance.
It's a showcase hi-tech project that will generate new sales for magnetic levitation rail lines worldwide.
Environmentally preferable due to less noise pollution than rail lines.The cons, according to those against, are:
The proposed budget of EUR 1.85 billion is massively optimistic and the taxpayer will have to foot the overspend.
Point-to-point line via central train station will mean little journey time reductions for many travellers.
It's a massive waste of public money for a failed technology that has always failed to assert itself in the marketplace.There already is one mag-lev showcase line that connects Shanghai airport with the city.
Question time:
Has anyone used the Shanghai mag-lev and what did you think?
How much value do you put on a fast public transport link to the airport?
Or do you always take the car anyway?