印度高铁革命进展缓慢_风闻

【来源龙腾网】

正文原创翻译：

From Mumbai’s packed commuter trains to overnight express mail trains akin to a city on wheels, and the astonishing Darjeeling & Himalayan “Toy Train,” railways are one of India’s most recognizable features.

从孟买拥挤的通勤列车到类似车轮上的城市的夜间特快专列，以及令人惊叹的大吉岭和喜马拉雅“玩具火车”，铁路是印度最知名的特色之一。

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Without them, it’s unlikely the country would have developed into the economic superpower we see today.

没有他们，这个国家就不可能发展成为我们今天看到的经济超级大国。

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However, as the country evolves, its railways are under increasing pressure to move with the times, deliver faster journeys and more freight capacity to serve India’s expanding industries.

然而，随着印度的发展，其铁路面临着越来越大的压力，需要与时俱进，提供更快的速度和更大的货运能力，以服务于印度不断扩大的工业。

Traditional systems, some dating back to the days of the British Empire, might have served India well but they’re increasingly outdated, especially when viewed against the rapid progress being made by India’s neighbor and rival for regional supremacy -- China.

Serving every level of society and communities from the smallest rural village to some of the world’s most densely populated cities, the network faces an almost endless set of conflicting demands to keep the country moving.

传统方式，有些可以追溯到大英帝国时代，可能对印度很有帮助，但它们越来越过时，尤其是在印度的邻国和地区霸权竞争对手中国取得快速进步的情况下。

从最小的乡村到世界上一些人口最稠密的城市，这个网络服务于社会和社区的每一个层面，它面临着一系列几乎无穷无尽的相互矛盾的要求，以保持国家的运转。

You can live like a king aboard the Maharajas’ Express, a hotel-on-wheels that’s considered one of India’s most luxurious trains.

您可以在 Maharajas’ Express 上像国王一样生活，这是一家有轮子的酒店，被认为是印度最豪华的火车之一。

Made up of 126,510 kilometers (78,610 miles) of track in total, the Indian Railways (IR) network is the fourth largest in the world, operating 19,000 trains every day and serving almost 8,000 stations. More than 12,700 locomotives are available to haul 76,000 passenger coaches and almost three million freight wagons.

“Very few countries are defined by their railways, but India’s recent history is inseparable from the development of its enormous rail network,” says Christian Wolmar, railway historian and author of “Railways and The Raj.”

The first Indian railways were proposed as far back as 1832 -- just seven years after the opening of England’s Stockton & Darlington Railway, the world’s first public rail line.

印度铁路网总长度为126510公里（78610英里），是世界第四大铁路网，每天运营19000列列车，为近8000个车站提供服务。超过12700辆机车可以运送76000节客车和近300万节货车。

铁路历史学家、《Railways and The Raj》一书的作者Christian Wolmar说：“很少有国家是通过铁路来定义的，但印度最近的历史与庞大铁路网的发展密不可分。”

早在1832年，世界上第一条公共铁路线英格兰的斯托克顿与达林顿铁路开通仅仅7年后，印度就提出了第一条铁路。

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India’s modern, semi high-speed Tejas Express train began operations in 2017 in New Delhi.

印度现代半高速光辉特快列车于 2017 年在新德里开始运营。

However, it wasn’t until April 1853 that the first section of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway opened to passengers, connecting Bombay (now Mumbai) and Thane. India’s first high-speed passenger railway will lix the same two cities when it opens later this decade as part of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train line.

“Although India’s railways were largely developed by the British for military purposes, Indians took to them like almost nowhere else, creating almost insatiable demand and massive expansion in the second half of the 19th century,” says Wolmar.

然而，直到 1853 年 4 月，大印度半岛铁路的第一段才向乘客开放，连接孟买（现在的孟买）和塔那。作为孟买-艾哈迈达巴德子弹头列车线的一部分，印度首条高速客运铁路将于本世纪晚些时候开通，连接这两个城市。

Wolmar说：“虽然印度的铁路主要是由英国人出于军事目的开发的，但印度人几乎与其他任何地方一样，在19世纪下半叶对铁路产生了几乎无法满足的需求和大规模扩张。”。

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“Whether it was for business or family matters, pilgrimage or commuting, this demand made the railways profitable and they reached every corner of India much sooner than many other parts of the world.

“They may not have been built to benefit Indians but the railways delivered a fantastic side-effect that continues to power the country in the 21st century.”

“无论是商业还是家庭事务，朝圣还是通勤，这种需求都让铁路有利可图，而且它们比世界其他许多地方更快到达印度的每一个角落。

“它们可能不是为了让印度人受益而建造的，但铁路带来了奇妙的副作用，在 21 世纪继续为这个国家提供动力。”

Low speeds, high ambitions

In 2019-20, IR carried more than 8 billion passengers and hauled 1.2 billion tonnes of freight. It is the country’s largest employer and with 1.4 million staff is one of the largest non-military organizations in the world.

In railway terms it is only outdone by the two million workers of China Railway.

低速度，高抱负

2019年至2020年，IR运载了80多亿乘客，运输了12亿吨货物。它是该国最大的雇主，拥有140万工作人员，是世界上最大的非军事组织之一。

在铁路方面，仅次于中国铁路的200万工人。

A passenger looks out from the window of a long-distance train at a railway station in Mumbai on January 17, 2022.

2022年1月17日，孟买火车站，一名乘客从长途火车车窗向外张望。

But when compared to European railways or those of China, Japan or Korea, average speeds remain disappointingly low. A few special express trains can run at 160 kph (100 mph) or slightly more, but the national average for long-distance express is just 50 kph (31.4 mph), while ordinary passenger and commuter trains barely scrape over the 32 kph (20 mph) mark.

Freight trains average around 24 kph (15 mph) and generally have a maximum speed of just 55-75 kph. Congestion is expected to increase over the next 30 years unless more capacity is provided.

但与欧洲铁路或中国、日本或韩国的铁路相比，平均速度仍然低得令人失望。少数特快列车可以以 160 公里/小时（100 英里/小时）或稍高的速度运行，但全国长途快车平均时速仅为 50 公里/小时（31.4 英里/小时），而普通客运和通勤列车几乎不超过 32 公里/小时（20 mph) 标记。

货运列车的平均时速约为 24 公里（15 英里），通常最高时速仅为 55-75 公里。除非提供更多的运输能力，否则在今后30年里，预计交通拥堵将会增加。

Currently, seven trunk routes totaling 16% of the overall network carry 41% of all traffic. Around a quarter of IR’s network is operating at between 100% and 150% of nominal capacity, which can create huge knock-on effects across the country when disruption occurs.

India’s three-pronged solution? Create a new generation of high-speed passenger railways between major cities, construct thousands of miles of new high-capacity cargo railways known as dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) and electrify 100% of the existing network by 2024.

It’s a hugely ambitious strategy but the first DFCs are already in operation and electrification work is proceeding rapidly. Three more Dedicated Freight Corridors totaling 5,750 kilometers are planned to augment the initial pair of routes due for completion this year.

目前，七条主干线总共占整个网络的16%，承载着41%的总流量。IR大约四分之一的网络以100%到150%的标准流量运行，当发生中断时，会在全国范围内产生巨大的连锁效应。

印度的三管齐下解决方案，在主要城市之间建设新一代高速客运铁路，建设数千英里的新的高容量货运铁路，称为专用货运走廊（DFC），并在2024年前使现有网络100%电气化。

这是一项雄心勃勃的战略，但首批DFC已经投入运行，电气化工作正在迅速进行。另有计划在今年完工的最初两条线路的基础上再增加三条总长5750公里的专用货运走廊。

High speeds

But, like Japan and China before it, India views high-speed rail as the key to reducing journey times, increase capacity and accelerate economic activity.

An ambitious National Rail Plan, announced in 2021, envisages that all major cities in north, west and south India should be connected by high-speed rail. Cities between 300 kilometers and 700 kilometers apart with a population of at least one million are being prioritized.

India has enlisted the help of Japanese technology, engineers and finance to assist in the construction of its first line, a 508-kilometer lix between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in western India.

A further 12 routes could gain high-speed lixs over the coming decades if all proposals come to fruition.

高速

但是，与之前的日本和中国一样，印度将高铁视为减少出行时间、增加运力和加速经济活动的关键。

在2021宣布了一个雄心勃勃的国家铁路计划，设想所有的主要城市在北部，西部和南部印度应该通过高速铁路连接。相距300公里至700公里、人口至少100万的城市正在被优先考虑。

印度已争取到日本技术、工程师和资金的帮助，以帮助建设其第一条线路，这条连接孟买和印度西部艾哈迈达巴德的线路全长508公里。

如果所有提议都能实现，未来几十年内，还有12条线路可能会实现高速连接。