Shanghai (China) – We’ve just landed at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and of course we just had to try the insanely fast Maglev train into town.  The ride was fairly short and it was a pain to lug our luggage through the station and onto the trains, but the insanely fast 187 MPH ride didn’t disappoint.

 

 

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Video of our ride on the Shanghai Maglev train

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Riding on magnets, the train “levitates” approximately 8 to 12 mm above the track.  This makes the train relatively quiet even while blazing towards town at 301 km/hour (187 MPH).  The train can reach a top speed of 268 MPH, but on our trip it stayed at 187 MPH.

 

It certainly is impressive to see the buildings and countryside streak past your window, but the "oh my god" moment came when we passed an oncoming train that was presumably also going 301 km/hour.  Thankfully our cameras were rolling to capture the moment.

While you would think taking the Maglev would save you oodles of time, it really doesn’t.  First you have to lug your luggage through the airport to the train station.  You won’t be able to bring the trolley through the gates and you’ll also have to spend time putting your bags through an x-ray machine.  Then you have to wait for the passengers to board and the train to leave.

And it doesn’t end there because the train actually doesn’t take you all the way into the heart of the city.  Instead it drops you off at Longyang Metro station and you’ll have to catch a taxi from there.  In the end, total trip time with the Maglev may be a few minutes shorter than a taxi ride, but it’s something you have to try once.

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