Official: Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev project unlikely to continue

A senior Zhejiang province offical told state media that the proposed high-speed maglev train line linking Shanghai to Hangzhou is unlikely to be given the green light, the South China Morning Post reported. The official said that the US$3.5 billion project, approved by the State Council six years ago, has a "low possibility" of going ahead following the results of a feasibility study concluded recently by the Zhejiang Provincial Development Planning and Research Institute. The proposed project would extend the existing maglev line linking Shanghai’s Pudong Airport to a nearby subway station, but Shanghai is already linked to Hangzhou by a second high-speed line which completes the trip in 45 minutes. The new proposed line would shave seven minutes off of that time, and there have been public protests that the investment is unnecessary.