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The Future's for Sale: Germany Auctions Maglev Train

posted by martyb on Wednesday October 12 2016, @06:29PM   Printer-friendly
from the train's-future-is-"up-in-the-air" dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Germany is auctioning off a maglev train that officials once hoped would speed up transport at home and become a major export success.

The Transrapid train is on show Tuesday and Wednesday to would-be buyers at a former test track in northwestern Germany, near the Dutch border. Bidding closes on Oct. 25.

The government hasn't set a minimum bid price for the train, a prototype built in 2007 for an abandoned high-speed maglev link project that would have linked Munich with its airport.

A Transrapid line went into operation between Shanghai and its airport, but various proposals for links in Germany flopped.

In 2006, 23 people were killed when a maglev train crashed with a maintenance vehicle on the German test track. The track hasn't been used since 2011.

Sad news for maglev fans.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 12 2016, @07:39PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 12 2016, @07:39PM (#413604)

    ...and I believe that it takes very little to cause a major wreck when the maglev car is at speed(??) No need to blow anything up, maybe just a cable with a rock on the end, tossed across the maglev guideway?