Critics expressed concerns over the government's approval of a magnetic levitation railway (maglev) project connecting Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province.

Zheng Jian, chief planner of the Ministry of Railways, said on the sidelines of this year's NPC session in early March that detailed research on the project was underway.

The new maglev, with an estimated investment of 35 billion yuan ($5.12 billion), was approved by the Chinese Government in 2007, but was suspended due to concerns over radiation. The railway will link the two cities via a 38-minute commute.

The existing railway network between the two cities, however, already provides fast service. With the completion of a high-speed railway line later this year, it will only take 48 minutes to travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou and vice versa, making the maglev plan unnecessary.

The trial maglev operation in Shanghai—connecting the downtown area to Pudong Airport—has suffered tens of millions of yuan in losses each year since it began operating in 2003.

The proposed maglev line is to be built by Germany's Transrapid consortium, mainly ThyssenKrupp and Siemens.