China is set to build a high-speed railway between Shanghai and Beijing using homemade technologies, China News Service reported today, citing Liu Zhijun, Minister of Railways.

He said the government is currently conducting feasibility studies on the railway, and is researching various types of technologies that can be used.

Since the early 1990s, many senior scientists and government officials have debated over which technology should be used to construct the 1,300-kilometer high-speed railway — the magnetic levitation system or wheel-track.

Maglev trains hover a few millimeters above the track on a magnetic field, allowing the train to reach very high speeds because there is no friction to slow it down. These trains can reach a top speed of 400 kilometers per hour, compared to the 200 to 300 km of more traditional trains.

Opponents of the technology, however, argued that it is too expensive and maglev lines can't interconnect with traditional rail lines around the country.

He added that the inter-city railways in the Yangtze River Delta will be open for foreign investments.

"Railways will help middle China areas to evolve, by bringing capital, information and talent from developed areas to the undeveloped areas," he said.  

(Shanghai Daily March 8, 2006)