国内英语新闻:Construction starts on China's first low-speed maglev line

BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Construction began on China's first low-speed maglev line Monday in Beijing, a project that will make China only the second country with a low-speed maglev line after Japan.

The project marked China's ability to industrialize low-speed maglev technologies, said Chang Wensen, father of China's maglev technology and professor at the National University of Defense Technology.

The 10-kilometer line runs from Shimenying Station in west Beijing's Mentougou District to Pingguoyuan Station in the Shijingshan District.

The line, a section of Line S1 on the Beijing subway network, is expected to be completed in 2013 with a designed speed of 100 to 120 km per hour.

China's research of maglev technologies was started in the 1980s by a team led by Chang Wensen. A 204-meter test line in central China's Hunan Province and a 1.5-km test line in north China's Hebei Province were built jointly by Beijing Maglev Technology Development Co., Ltd. and National University of Defense Technology.

The intensity of the magnetic field had been tested as safe, according to a test report of Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The cost of the low-speed maglev line was estimated at 300 million yuan (4.6 million U.S. dollars) per kilometer, slightly more than light rail, but cheaper than the subway, which cost more than 600 million yuan a kilometer, said Li Jie, director of technology research center of National University of Defense Technology.

The technology was also under consideration for Line 8 of the subway network in Shenzhen, in south China's Guangdong Province, said Liu Zhiming, board chairman of Beijing Maglev Technology Development Co., Ltd..

"If Shenzhen adopts the technology, Line 8 will be China's second low-speed maglev line," he said.

The world's first low-speed maglev line, at 8.9 km long, was completed in Japan in March 2005.

Maglev, short for magnetic levitation, technology uses a large number of magnets to lift and propel a vehicle, making it faster, quieter and smoother than conventional wheeled transport systems.

High-speed maglev vehicles can reach speeds of 450 km per hour and are usually used in long distance transportation, while low-speed maglev lines are usually used in short distance transportation.

Construction also began on another seven lines on the Beijing subway network Monday.

With an investment of 82 billion yuan (12 billion U.S. dollars), the eight lines will total 113.7 km in length and are expected to open from 2013 to 2015.

Beijing has 16 lines under construction.