Henan mulls maglev for Shaolin

China's largest train manufacturer is talking with officials about the possibility of building a magnetic levitation railway for tourists to Shaolin Temple in central China's Henan province, according to a local newspaper.

China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation Ltd, a listed State-owned enterprise, believes the project is a fit for Shaolin Temple, China's most famous Buddhist temple, said Zhao Xiaogang, chairman of the board of the train manufacturer, in an interview with Dahe Daily.

"The low-speed magnetic levitation railway could run at a speed of 80 to 100 kilometers per hour, with low noise, which is very suitable for the tourism resort," Zhao was quoted as saying. "We noticed that it is about 3 km from the bus station to the temple, and we are going to test the local environment to see whether we can build the project as soon as possible."

The low-speed magnetic levitation, or maglev, railway costs much less than its high-speed counterpart, Zhao said.

Zhao promoted the idea of a low-speed maglev railway in talks with Guo Gengmao, governor of Henan province, on May 18.

There are currently no maglev railways in business in China, and the Shaolin Temple would be the first tourism resort to introduce such a project if the negotiation goes smoothly, Dahe Daily reported.

The newspaper did not say whether the provincial governor has given it the green light or not. China Daily could not obtain confirmation of the project's status from the provincial government before press time.

Sun Chunxia, an employee from the publicity department of the CTS Star, which runs tourism operations at the Shaolin Temple, told China Daily on May 21 that the project is still being considered, and no final decision has been reached at the moment.