The Shanghai Maglev Train or Shanghai Transrapid (Chinese: 上海磁浮示范运营线) is a magnetic levitation train, or maglev line that operates in Shanghai, China. The line is the first commercially operated high-speed magnetic levitation line in the world.
Construction of the line began in March 1, 2001,[1] and public commercial service commenced on 1 January 2004. The top operational commercial speed of this train is 431 km/h (268 mph), making it the world's fastest train in regular commercial service since its opening in April 2004. During a non-commercial test run on 12 November 2003, a maglev train achieved a Chinese record speed of 501 km/h (311 mph).[2] The Shanghai Maglev has a length of 153 metres (502 ft), a width of 3.7 metres (12 ft), a height of 4.2 metres (14 ft) and a three-class, 574-passenger configuration.[3]
Despite decades of research and development, only two commercial maglev transport systems are in operation, with two others under construction.[note 1] In April 2004, Shanghai's Transrapid system began commercial operations. In March 2005, Japan began operation of its relatively low-speed HSST "Linimo" line in time for the 2005 World Expo. In its first three months, the Linimo line carried over 10 million passengers. South Korea became the world's fourth country to succeed in commercializing maglev technology with the Incheon Airport Maglev beginning commercial operation in February 3, 2016.[5]