What if passengers from the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway could change to the Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev the moment they got off? A feeder railway of some 20 kilometers has been included in the newly confirmed Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev optimization, making a link between the two railways possible.

A report on the environmental impact of the Maglev Project Network between Shanghai and Hangzhou was recently published and circulated for public appraisal. The report was carried out and issued jointly by Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co., Ltd, Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences and Environmental Science Research and Design Institute of Zhejiang Province.

The Maglev line would stretch a total of 199.351 kilometers, 95.798 of which would be in Shanghai, and the remaining 103.553 kilometers in Zhejiang province. The length of the line was previously only 175 kilometers. The additional 24 kilometers is a feeder railway from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

Under the new plan there are railways and expressways designed along the maglev line. The Shanghai section has been divided into four parts: Longyang Road �C Shanghai World Expo Garden, Shanghai Expo Garden - Shanghai South Railway Station, Shanghai South Railway Station �C Hongqiao Traffic Hub, Hongqiao Traffic Hub �C Shanghai, Zhejiang boundary line, and an additional Maglev triangle zone. From the Shanghai South Railway Station, the Maglev moves west along the south side of the Shanghai-Hangzhou railway, then turns northward when it reaches the eastern end of Shanghai Minhang Martyrs' Park, the planned site of the Hongqiao Traffic Hub. This is where the feeder railway to Hongqiao International Airport will be built.

Experts also plan to include the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway in the traffic hub. In this case, passengers from both this line and the Maglev could change trains conveniently at the hub. The Maglev will have two termini in Shanghai: Hongqiao Traffic Hub in the north and Pudong International Airport in the east.

The Maglev will be some 20 kilometers than was previously planned, increasing the cost by 5 billion Yuan. Experts believe that railway and highway transport can form an integrated system of communication. The maglev traffic project will not lower the performance price ratio, but it will bring many other benefits.

By People's Daily Online