nora® rubber floorcoverings
in China's Transrapid stations
Inspired stops for the Transrapid maglev train:
The terminals in Shanghai
Shanghai is a
city of superlatives. Growth in every sphere of daily life
is the salient feature of China's largest metropolis, which
in 2010 will be the first Chinese city to host a world exhibition.
Its visitors come from every corner of the Earth, most of
them landing at one of the world's biggest airports, PuDong
International Airport. On the way from there to the booming
city itself, they make the acquaintance of a Sino-German project
currently in the headlines: the Transrapid maglev train. And
since every train journey has a beginning and an end, the
travelers pass through the arrival and departure terminals
at the airport and in the city center.
In Shanghai itself, the Transrapid's operating company has
built a new station, a fitting complement to the prestigious
project which is Transrapid. A silvery tube of glass and metal
surrounds the tracks of China's most modern train. State-of-the-art
rubber floorcoverings from Freudenberg Bausysteme KG round
off the visual impact of the futuristic terminal. By 2005,
10 million passengers will be arriving and departing here.
By 2010, the operator, Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development
Co. Ltd., was initially anticipating about 20 million travelers
- though following the city's successful application to host
the upcoming exhibition, a much higher figure can confidently
be predicted.
The terminal in the Long Yang Road is particularly important
in this context. People traveling with one of the most sophisticated
trains of our era will also expect something rather special
from the terminals involved, because the Transrapid is not
only a transportation system, but a tourist attraction in
itself.
Modern-day design for a modern-day station
The City Station is unpretentious, practical and constructed
in clear-cut lines. Matching the aerodynamic styling of the
Transrapid itself, the oval roof construction, built directly
on the floor slab, surrounds the guideways. Not pompous, but
practical, this tunnel of stainless steel and glass creates
a station which meets the need of our stressed-out era for
clear-cut lines. The floor makes a significant contribution
to creating the futuristic overall impression of this design.
With its classical gray color, the contemporary aesthetics
of the norament® 925 lago rubber floorcovering from the
world's market leader Freudenberg Bausysteme KG pick up
on the stainless steel component of the roof construction,
and varies it with its colorful scatter scheme. Platforms,
entrances, stairs and corridors are fitted with this discreet
yet stylish flooring, vitalized by the use of norament®
925 grano. Like norament® lago, the grano variant nonetheless
livens up the visual impact.
In the Transrapid's Airport Station, too, norament® grano
with two different base hues fits harmoniously into the station's
overall architectural concept. And at the same time it makes
sure that the passengers find themselves in familiar-looking
surroundings: because around 70,000 square meters of this
rubber floorcovering have been installed in substantial areas
of PuDong International Airport.
Safety and comfort for the passengers
To transport millions of people speedily to and from the airport
and city terminal junctions, you need more than just a sophisticated
routing concept. The large number of travelers poses immensely
challenging requirements for the engineering and material
involved. After traveling on the ultra-modern Transrapid,
20 million visitors rightfully expect safety and comfort at
the station as well. For example the rubber floorcoverings
supplied by Freudenberg Bausysteme KG ensure a high degree
of walking comfort, since they're permanently resilient and
anti-slip. They offer excellent footfall sound absorption,
are resistant to cigarette burns, and extremely wear-resistant
- for years on end. Their exceptionally long lifetime is one
of the reasons why nora® floorcoverings are repeatedly
chosen for buildings with lots of pedestrian traffic.
Eco-friendly stations for an eco-friendly train
The Transrapid significantly reduces environmental impact,
because (explain the manufacturers, a joint venture between
Siemens and ThyssenKrupp) the energy requirement of the maglev
system is lower in all speed ranges than that of every other
transportation system. Eco-compatible products are a matter
of course for Freudenberg Bausysteme KG as well: manufactured
from high-quality industrial and natural rubbers and mineral
fillers, plus environmentally compatible color pigments, nora®
floorcoverings are installed using eco-compatible adhesives.
All floorcoverings are regularly subjected to very stringent
quality checks by top-ranking institutes.
What's where?
City Station Long Yang Road:
- Almost 7,700 square meters of norament® lago
- Almost 1,700 square meters of norament® grano
Airport Terminal:
- Around 4,400 square meters of norament® grano
Pudong International Airport
- Around 70,000 square meters of norament® grano
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