BERLIN — According to the Associated Press, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will travel to China to inaugurate the world’s first commercial levitation train just before New Year’s Day, a spokesman said Friday.
The futuristic German-made Transrapid train recently began trial runs on its 31-kilometer (19-mile) track in Shanghai, topping 400 kilometers an hour (250 mph). The US$1 billion train links the 3-year-old Pudong International Airport and the new Pudong financial district.
Schroeder will visit China on Dec. 29-31 and take part in the train’s official debut, expected Dec. 31, with Chinese premier Zhu Rongji. Schroeder also plans to give a speech at a Shanghai university and meet Chinese officials in Beijing, German government spokesman Thomas Steg said.
The Transrapid is to start regular service at 10-minute intervals in 2004. The train reaches speeds far faster than any passenger train because it floats in the air, held just above its rails by powerful magnets.
By contrast, bullet trains such as France’s TGV, Germany’s ICE and Japan’s Shinkansen top speeds of about 260 kph (160 mph).