Editing Transrapid (section)

====Track construction cost====
The fully elevated [[Shanghai Maglev]] was built at a cost 
of US$1.33&nbsp;billion over a length of {{convert|30.5|km}} including trains and stations. Thus the cost per km for dual track was US$43.6&nbsp;million, including trains and stations. This was the first commercial use of the technology. Since then conventional fast rail track has been mass-produced in China for between US$4.6 and US$30.8&nbsp;million per kilometer, mostly in rural areas. (See [[High-speed rail in China]]).

In 2008 Transrapid Australia quoted the [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] State Government [[Australian dollar|A$]]34 million per kilometer for dual track.<ref Name="Transrapid quote to Victorian Government">[http://210.15.220.118/ewlna_submissions/EastWestResponse_100708_ThyssenKruppTransrapidAustralia.pdf Transrapid quote to Victorian Government]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This assumed 50% of the track was at grade and 50% was elevated. In comparison, the {{convert|47|km}} [[Regional Rail Link]] built in Victoria cost around A$5 billion, or A$105 million per kilometer, including two stations.

From the above it is not possible to say whether Transrapid or conventional fast rail track would be cheaper for a particular application.

The higher operating speed of the maglev system will result in more passengers being delivered over the same distance in a set time. The ability of the Transrapid system to handle tighter turns and steeper gradients could heavily influence a cost comparison for a particular project.