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The Future's For Sale: Country Auctions Maglev Train

The prototype was built in 2007 for an abandoned high-speed maglev project.

In this Friday, Aug. 1, 2008 file photo, people watch the then new Transrapid train TR09 on the tracks of the magnetic highspeed train test course in Lathen, northern Germany. Germany is auctioning off a maglev train that officials once hoped would speed up transport at home and become a major export success. The train is on show Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 11-12, 2016, to would-be buyers at a former test track in northwestern Germany, near the Dutch border.
In this Friday, Aug. 1, 2008 file photo, people watch the then new Transrapid train TR09 on the tracks of the magnetic highspeed train test course in Lathen, northern Germany. Germany is auctioning off a maglev train that officials once hoped would speed up transport at home and become a major export success. The train is on show Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 11-12, 2016, to would-be buyers at a former test track in northwestern Germany, near the Dutch border.
AP Photo/Joerg Sarbach, File

BERLIN (AP) — Germany is auctioning off a maglev train that officials once hoped would speed up transport at home and become a major export success.

The Transrapid train is on show Tuesday and Wednesday to would-be buyers at a former test track in northwestern Germany, near the Dutch border. Bidding closes on Oct. 25.

The government hasn't set a minimum bid price for the train, a prototype built in 2007 for an abandoned high-speed maglev link project that would have linked Munich with its airport.

A Transrapid line went into operation between Shanghai and its airport, but various proposals for links in Germany flopped.

In 2006, 23 people were killed when a maglev train crashed with a maintenance vehicle on the German test track. The track hasn't been used since 2011.

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