Transrapid Routes Worldwide
From the exhibition line in Hamburg through the test facility in the Emsland region to Shanghai: here you will find every line on which the Transrapid has run or runs today.
All routes at a glance
- Shanghai, China
- 29.9 km · since 2003 · commercial regular service
- Test Facility Emsland, Lathen
- 31.5 km · 1984 to 2011 · not operational, preserved
- Tongji University, Shanghai
- 1.5 km · since approx. 2005 · active
- CRRC Qingdao, China
- 0.66 km · since 2020 · active
- Hamburg, IVA 1979
- 0.9 km · 1979 · completely dismantled
- Kassel
- Length unknown · 1980 to 1983 · mostly dismantled
Shanghai: the first commercial Transrapid line
In Shanghai, the Transrapid has been proving for over 20 years that it works in everyday service.
Since the end of 2003, the Transrapid has been in commercial regular service in Shanghai, on a 29.9 km line. The contract was signed in January 2001, and construction began at the end of February 2001. The guideway design came from Germany, but it was built in China.
The vehicles of the Shanghai Maglev Train (SMT) are based on the TR08 and were built in 2002 and 2003. In 2003, an SMT reached 501.5 km/h. By 2024, the vehicles had covered around 28 million kilometers. In 2010, a vehicle manufactured in China was added, also based on the TR08.
- Operation: since late 2003
- Length: 29.9 km
- Vehicles: SMT (based on TR08), PV04
- Status: in operation
Transrapid Test Facility Emsland
The Transrapid Test Facility Emsland (TVE) was built from 1980 to 1987 and was the full-scale (1:1) test track. This is where the Transrapid reached 450 km/h.
- Operation: 1984 to 2011
- Length: 31.5 km
- Vehicles: TR06, TR07, TR08, TR09
- Status: not operational, but fully preserved
You can find everything about the route, switches and guideway on the page about the Test Facility Emsland.
Tongji University test track
Tongji University operates a 1.5 km test track for Transrapid vehicles. It was built around 2005 from guideway girders left over from the construction of the Shanghai line, and is used for research. All Chinese Transrapid replicas used to be tested here. Since 2013, the university has hosted a joint research center with ThyssenKrupp.
- Operation: since approx. 2005
- Length: 1.5 km
- Vehicles: CMT-01, CF-08, CF600 Sifang, CF200 Zhuzhou, CF600 Changchun
- Status: active, currently with CF200 (Zhuzhou), CF600 (Sifang) and CF600 (Changchun)
CRRC test track in Qingdao
At a research center in Qingdao, CRRC Sifang is developing the CF600. The associated test track is only 660 m long and allows low speeds, which are sufficient to demonstrate the technology. Its bendable steel switch can be passed at 600 km/h (high-speed switch).
- Operation: since 2020
- Length: 0.66 km
- Vehicles: CF600 Sifang, currently with four sections
- Status: active
Hamburg and Kassel: the first Transrapid lines
Hamburg (1979): For the 1979 International Transport Exhibition (IVA), the TR05 carried visitors from the Heiligengeistfeld to the exhibition grounds. The 0.9 km line was only 2.20 m wide; today's Transrapid guideway measures 2.80 m. It was dismantled after a few months and has since vanished completely.
Kassel (1980 to 1983): A section of the Hamburg line was rebuilt in Kassel. While the Test Facility Emsland was under construction, it was used for test runs, demonstrations and trials with the TR05. When operations started in the Emsland region in 1983, it was no longer used. Around 2011 most of it was dismantled, and the TR05 went to the Technik Museum Kassel. A small section with a station and control center has been preserved.
Hamburg and Kassel in pictures
