In May. magnetic-levitation cars began carrying passengers between the airport at Birmingham, England, and that city's International Railway Station and the adjacent British National Exhibition Centre. The 625-meter-long route is the first of several urban maglev railways that will begin commercial service in the next few years. By next year, for example, maglev cars wil begin operation on a 1.6-kilometer guideway in West Berlin, which will link a subway station with a zoo and cultural center.