Ceilidh

Michael Zey
futurist3000@aol.com

.c The Associated Press

SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Suffering from a lack of riders, operators of the world's only commercial magnetic-levitation train slashed ticket prices by 33 percent on Thursday.

One-way tickets on the train that links Shanghai's Pudong International Airport with its eastern financial district have dropped to 50 yuan from 75 yuan ($6 from $9), said Shi Jianqing, spokesman for the Shanghai Maglev Transport Development Co.

Passengers can get another 20 percent off if they show their plane ticket, bringing the one-way price to just 40 yuan ($5), Shi said.

The $1.2 billion maglev uses a powerful magnetic field to suspend trains a whisper above the rails. Built with German technology, the trains reach a top speed of 270 mph during the eight-minute trip.

Yet weeks after daily scheduled service began, the service has received little publicity and trains have been running largely empty.

High tickets prices have been blamed in part, although the inconvenient location of the train's station is also seen as reducing its appeal.

Newspapers reported the 440-seat trains carried an average of just 73 passengers per day last month.



04/15/04 12:08 EDT
   
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