Germany, China to Start Transrapid Talks

China wants to start talks with Germany on the possible construction of a second high-speed Transrapid magnetic levitation (maglev) rail link, German Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe said Friday. Stolpe said that he was "extremely pleased" that Beijing had decided to start talks with a view to building a second Transrapid link between Shanghai and Hanghzou. Transrapid is a high-speed maglev train designed and built by engineering giants Siemens and ThyssenKrupp. It is already in commercial operation on a 38-kilometer (24-mile) route between Shanghai and Pudong. The new route would be 160 kilometers long. Although it was developed in Germany, the high-tech Transrapid has encountered a number of big setbacks in its home country, with none of the original projects to use it on a commercial basis in Germany ever coming to fruition. Nevertheless, other countries, including Britain, appear to be interested in the technology. Even the United States Congress approved this week $90 million (74.7 million euros) to look into the construction of two possible maglev routes.