Update: May 7
It was balloons that crippled the Maglev airport express on Wednesday morning, Shanghai's electric authority said yesterday.
Shanghai Electric Power Co Ltd, the city's power supplier, said a 220-kilovolt electric line in the Pudong New Area was tripped by the threads of some balloons, which were released by a commercial plaza during the opening ceremony.
The instant voltage fluctuation affected the power system of the nearby Maglev, and the operator of the express halted the very first train at 6:45am, which had just left the Longyang Road station.
No punishment for the commercial plaza has been reported, according to the power company.
"Such cases of outer forces breaking down the power supply always happen," said Wang Changxing, media officer of the company.
"People and company don't pay enough attention to power utility protection, which is a big hidden hazard."
He appealed to locals to pay more attention to the power utilities.
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All,
The Shanghai Maglev broke down this morning at 6:45a standing 269 passengers. (70) of those passengers were late connecting to flights at the airport.
The Maglev breakdown was caused by a "malfunction in the power-supply network, a very rare situation" a company official stated. However not all was loss as the 2nd track operated normally during repairs.
No mention if this was effected by the new train that was created or if it was even on the tracks at the time.
Heres the entire article.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=436142&type=Metro
ABOUT 70 commuters in Shanghai on the very first Maglev train to Pudong International Airport early yesterday missed their planes due to a breakdown.
The train was supposed to arrive at the airport in 7 minutes and 20 seconds but the 269 passengers, including the 70 who eventually missed their flights, ended up being stranded aboard for nearly an hour before repairs were completed.
The train broke down about a minute after it left the Longyang Road Maglev Station at 6:45am, the first Maglev to undertake the 30-kilometer airport trip.
Maglev traffic was not fully halted due to the breakdown as the second track operated normally during the repairs, a Maglev management company official said.
"The breakdown was caused by a malfunction in the power-supply network, a very rare situation," he said.
All affected commuters received refunds upon arrival at the airport and Maglev staff members helped people who had to book new flights.
"We stayed in touch with the airport throughout the emergency and asked officials to fast-track flight procedures for the affected passengers," he said.
However, for roughly 70 of them it was all too late.
The Maglev operator said it paid the renewal charges incurred by the affected passengers as part of an emergency compensation policy.
"Some passengers had a really tight schedule and missed their flights," the official said.
It was the first time that a Maglev service breakdown influenced such a big number of passengers, according to the operator.
The Shanghai Maglev line is the first commercial service of its kind in the world and was launched in 2004.
A short breakdown also occurred on another fast-speed transport link to Pudong's airport yesterday morning.
A train on Metro Line 2's newly launched eastern extension that takes in the airport broke down for about 10 minutes at 9:42.
The train in question suffered mechanical problems, the Metro operator said.
Keep Flying On the Ground!
CA ~ NV Maglev News.
