Tracks Of China's High-tech Maglev Train Sinking - Report
The tracks under the world's first commercial magnetic-levitation train are sinking, possibly threatening the US$1.2 billion project, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
Officials in Shanghai wouldn't comment on the report.
The Shanghai Daily gave no details of the sinking and it wasn't clear whether that would affect operations. The 430 kph "maglev" began regular operation this year, linking Shanghai's new international airport with its eastern financial district.
"We have been aware of the sinking of our maglev track," Xia Guozhong, a spokesman for the company running the project, was quoted as saying.
The tracks were sinking "very slightly," said Xia. The newspaper said he wouldn't say whether it would affect operations.
Spokesmen and officials with the Shanghai Maglev Transport Development Co. didn't respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for the Shanghai city government said she had no information, but said her office was checking the newspaper report.
Calls to the city government's Department of Major Projects rang unanswered.
German companies spent decades and billions of dollars developing maglev technology, but had searched in vain for a customer until Shanghai leaders picked the system as a way to highlight the city's high-tech ambitions.
While a certain amount of settling was normal, too much could harm the project, Shanghai Daily quoted Chinese experts as saying.
"If the track sinks beyond its safety level, managers will have to stop the line's operation," Yu Jiakang, a senior engineer with the Shanghai Tunnel Engineering and Rail Transit Design and Research Institute, was quoted as saying.
In comments to The Associated Press, Yu said track settling could be arrested by reinforcing ground soil.
"Slight sinking isn't a problem," Yu said. "It should be possible to reinforce subsoil for the maglev if necessary."
Shanghai is built on swampy land and long has faced problems with land sinking.
Officials called for stricter building codes after the collapse last year of an eight-story building blamed on the excavation of a nearby pedestrian tunnel. No one was injured in that incident.
Sinking tracks aren't the only problem facing the maglev, which uses a powerful magnetic field to suspend trains millimeters above their rails and propel them at jet plane speed.
The 440-seat trains carried an average of just 73 passengers per day last month, the Shanghai Daily said. At 75 yuan ($1=CNY8.28) each way, tickets are considered too pricey for most residents.
The train's station is inconveniently located kilometers from the heart of town.
Backers hoped maglev would be used on other long-distance lines in China. But the government has ruled it out for a planned high-speed line linking Beijing and Shanghai.
No decision has been announced on a proposal to use maglev for a line from Shanghai to the nearby city of Hangzhou.
上海的磁悬浮轨道正在沉降
《上海日报》(Shanghai Daily)周二报导，世界上第一条商业运营的磁悬浮轨道正在沉降，可能威胁到这项造价高达12亿美元的工程。
上海市政府官员不愿对此发表评论。
《上海日报》没有就轨道沉降进行详细报导，也不清楚这是否会影响到磁悬浮列车的运营。时速高达每小时430公里的这条磁悬浮线路今年投入正常运营，连接上海国际机场和浦东金融区。
该报援引上海磁悬浮交通发展有限公司(Shanghai Maglev Transport Development Co.)发言人夏国忠的话报导，公司已经注意到磁悬浮轨道沉降的问题。
夏国忠表示，轨道出现了"非常轻微"的沉降。据该报报导，他不愿透露轨道沉降是否会影响到磁悬浮列车的正常运营。
上海磁悬浮交通发展有限公司的发言人和管理人士均没有对记者就此发表评论的要求作出回覆。上海市政府的一位发言人表示她还未获悉此事，但她的办公室正在核实这篇新闻报道。
记者拨打了上海市重大工程建设办公室的电话，但无人接听。
德国公司曾花费数十年的时间和数十亿美元的资金开发磁悬浮技术，但一直未能找到客户，直到上海市领导人选择了这项技术，以突出该市发展高科技的雄心壮志。
《上海日报》援引中国专家的话报导，出现一定程度的沉降是正常的，但沉降幅度过大将危及这项工程。
该报援引上海隧道工程轨道交通设计研究院(Shanghai Tunnel Engineering and Rail Transit Design and Research Institute)高级工程师俞加康的话报导，如果磁悬浮轨道的沉降超过安全水平，运营单位必须停止磁悬浮列车的运营。
俞加康在向美联社(The Associated Press)发表评论时表示，轨道沉降可通过加固地基加以阻止。
他说，轻微的沉降不成问题，如果有必要，可加固轨道地基。
上海由于土地潮湿，长期以来一直面临土地沉降问题。
自去年一幢8层楼建筑因附近人行地道的挖掘施工而倒塌后，政府官员一直呼吁实施更为严格的建筑规定。在该次事故中无一伤亡。 轨道沉降不是这项磁悬浮工程面临的唯一问题。
据《上海日报》报导，共有440个座位的磁悬浮列车上个月平均每天载客仅为73人次。单程人民币75元（1美元=人民币8.28元）的票价对大多数居民来说过于昂贵。
磁悬浮列车站距离市中心数公里，乘坐也不方便。
支持者希望磁悬浮列车可在中国其他远距离线路上推行。但政府已排除了原定建设连接北京和上海的磁悬浮高速铁路的计划。
政府还没有就建设连接上海和临近城市杭州的磁悬浮铁路的提议作出决定。
