The Maglev train

Our city tour of Shanghai included a return trip on the Maglev train.   It's certainly fast.  It reached 431 kmh for a short time, but it takes a bit of time to wind up to this speed and then to slow down again as it passes the other train before arriving at the airport.   It gets to from the airport to its city terminal in the Pudong area (which is some distance from the downtown Shanghai area) in less than 8 minutes. 

 
Contrary to some reports,  our trip was well patronised, although it must be said that were nearly as many tourists as there were airline passengers!

Pudong terminal

It all seems a bit "over-the-top" for such a short line, and obviously an airport to city connection isn't the optimal use of the technology.   I understand that there's a bit of history to it, and that the line is regarded as a "demonstration" line:    see Wikipedia.