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From Boxun.com (you need a proxy) we discovered that there was a maglev-related protest on January 6th. It first started around 11am, around the Xinzhuang/Minhang area, and was dispersed, only to form again sometime around 3pm, this time in the busy Xujiahui CBD. It managed to, in some form, last until 11pm. Protesters carried signs saying "out for a walk" (散步), while other chanted slogans about protecting their homes. The proposed maglev was to link the city's two airports as well as Shanghai to Hangzhou. However, recent protests brought public attention to the health effects of the maglev, leading, according to some, to the recent government decision to reroute the maglev so as to minimize the noise, radiation, and collateral damage. These proposed changes are part of the reason why the price estimates of the maglev have increased from 200 million per km to about 500 million per kilometer.
If anyone managed to get some pictures or video of these protests (there was only one picture on the boxun.com article), we'd love to know.
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I really don't understand all the fuss. My office is less than 100m from the Maglev line and I haven't grown any flippers from the supposed magnetic radiation as yet.
I've walked underneath the track plenty of times as the train goes over my head and it's a lot quieter than, say, a truck on the freeway.
I've heard people say it's as loud as a jet plane- and yet the thing doesn't even touch the track.
Luddites.
Luddites,
The fact you haven't grown any flippers from the magnetic radiation yet doesn't mean you would not have that in future or your children or children' children would not have that. It's a long term issue.
Also walking by is different to live besides it, day and night. Hope we could have empathy on these people.
See my space: http://cid-27fa1db5fef273be.spaces.live.com/.
Video url: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=TSYQ8BkD_58
FYI
I don't think his name is ACTUALLY Luddites.
I've been caught before by surprise walking underneath the Pudong Maglev Line, it put me in a crouch position after mistaking it for a loud gunshot explosion overhead. So yeah, I would sure protest if i was living in residential quarters situated near it due soley to the unharmonius noise (who cares about the radiation factor because, my eardrum today > than potentially deformed child in the future). Of course, if you located where the Beast slows down to the Longyang Metro Station then the noise will not be as ear-piercing.
Yup, the noise from that thing kinda reminds me of waking up at random times during the night to mortar and firecracker celebrations in Pudong (and i live on the twelfth floor).
This kind of thing intially freaks me out because i think the city is being attacked and bombed by enemy firefighters.
Speaking from experience, yet not a luddite
Peijin,
Next time would you please add an 'alleged' before "health effects of the maglev"?
The effects of a magnetic field are not alleged. Try sticking a metal object into the ground directly below high tension wires. Or if your hair is long enough, stand by yourself under said high tension wires and then run your hands through your hair.
And as an added bonus to loud noises and magnetic fields, when a maglev does jump the tracks it is a high speed, several hundred ton missile.
I don't think anyone is actually doubting the existence of magnetism- but is there any evidence it is bad for your health? I've never seen any.
Would love to see some data about decibel levels for the Maglev, because I just absolutely cannot understand how something that is gliding along a magnetic track can make a noise that is anywhere near comparable as a gunshot.
Isn't it just plain common sense that it's going to be quieter than a normal train?
And nanhe- applying that jumping the tracks logic would mean we'd be living in a world without aeroplanes, space rockets, or overland trains.
when you are a maglev passenger you don't really hear anything because of the sound insulation, however, it is still loud when it passes overhead at FULL speed.
forget about researching decibel levels, go get first hand experience by standing underneath its path at full speed. aside from wasting a bit of time, it's worth an experiment. i reckon it can be a bit misleading to think of it as floating on air but i stand by my analogy.
"Would love to see some data about decibel levels for the Maglev, because I just absolutely cannot understand how something that is gliding along a magnetic track can make a noise that is anywhere near comparable as a gunshot."
The Shanghai maglev is not well maintained, that banging sound is the train striking the track. Alot of the late night maintenance you see on the line is replacing and re-aligning track magnets.
I would like to say 2 things to contribute to this discussion:
1) solid objects hitting each other is not the only way to produce sound
2) A Magnetic field is not the same as radioactivity. You shouldnt expact people to grow flippers. I am not saying it has no health effects, but its mechanics will be different from the effects of a nuclear plant
Doesnt this site have an edit function? I cant find it! Now I cannot change my typo's!
The Shame!!!
hey now, there's an idea. and if that "edit" button could also carry a delete feature i'd be trigger happy on some of these comments.
I don't think it's a big deal either. Magnetic levitation doesn't produce radiation. It does create a magnetic field, but then so does every electric current, and there are millions of electric wires around our homes, which are not killing anyone. If anyone is really afraid of magnetic fields, maybe they should get rid of their TV first. As for the noise, thousands of people live near the elevated tracks of subway line 3, and those trains has got to be a lot louder than a contactless maglev, and the service on line 3 is a lot more frequent too. Furthermore, those residents are not living directly under the tracks! They're a fair distance away. So why don't those residents protest about the cancer-causing air pollution in the city first, and leave the maglev alone. It's definitely one of the coolest things Shanghai has.