Germany has
finally abandoned plans to build the Transrapid Berlin-Hamburg Transrapid.
Passenger fares could never have repaid the cost of building it. The German
government said it would spend no more than 6.1 billion marks in taxpayers'
money to subsidize it, but the sum remained available if a maglev train were
to be built elsewhere. There are several suggestions for alternate
use of the money, ranging from airport maglevs to new highways. 
(February 9th)
The
German Transrapid maglev will almost certainly grind to a halt on Saturday
the 5th at last-ditch talks on the future of Germany's Transrapid magnetic
levitation system. The meeting between Reinhard Klimmt, the German transport
minister, Hartmut Mehdorn, the new head of German railways, Deutsche Bahn, and
senior representatives of the three companies building the Transrapid is not
expected to resolve problems surrounding the planned 292km high-speed route
between Berlin and Hamburg. Doubts surrounding the viability of the project
have grown recently, spurred by a statement from Mr Mehdorn, newly appointed
to run Deutsche Bahn, who said the state railway was unwilling to finance a
loss-maker, no matter how advanced its technology. The consortium will demand
over DM100m in compensation from the government for planning
costs, and let go of 200 workers if the project is not rescued. See also Die
Welt story and Yahoo
Full Coverage in German. (February 3rd)
Erik's
Rail News, February 2000