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from the train's-future-is-"up-in-the-air" dept.
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.
(Score: 3, Informative) by richtopia on Wednesday October 12 2016, @11:38PM
If you are ever in Shanghai, ride the maglev from the airport or at least check out the museum. The museum is small but pretty cool. It goes into discussion on how the Germans really made the technology happen.
(Score: 1) by marknmel on Thursday October 13 2016, @05:01PM
I have been on the Shanghai mag-lev. It's pretty awesome. I rode during non-peak time of day , where the speed topped at ~300 Km/h. Apparently during busy times / rush hour it does about 450Km/h. It is pretty silent aside from wind noises passing over the cabin.
Does anybody know why the speed restriction is in place?
There is nothing that can't be solved with one more layer of indirection.