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。

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。

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systems, some dating back to the days of the British Empire, might have served India well but they're increasingly outdated, especially when viewed against the rapid progress being made by India's neighbor and rival for regional supremacy -- China.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


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。”。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


"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。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处



The Vande Bharat Express, a semi high-speed train, leaves New Delhi Railway Station on February 15, 2019.

2019年2月15日，从新德里火车站出发的万德巴拉特特快列车。

The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL), set up to finance, construct and manage India's bullet train projects, has also gained approval for eight new lines lixing New Delhi and Varanasi (958 kilometers), Lucknow-Ayodhya (123 kilometers), Mumbai-Nagpur (736 kilometers), New Delhi-Ahmedabad (886 kilometers), New Delhi-Amritsar (480 kilometers), Mumbai-Hyderabad (711 kilometers), Varanasi-Howrah (760 kilometers) and Chennai-Mysore (435 kilometers).
Four more corridors were proposed in early-2022, taking the total to more than 8,000 kilometers. If approved, lines would also be built between Hyderabad and Bangalore (618 kilometers), Nagpur-Varanasi (855 kilometers), Patna-Guwahati (850 kilometers) and Amritsar-Pathankot-Jammu (190 kilometers), creating the second longest high-speed rail network in the world.

印度国家高速铁路公司(NHSRCL)负责资助、建设和管理印度的子弹头列车项目。该公司还获准建设8条新线路，连接新德里和瓦拉纳西(958公里)、勒克瑙-阿约提亚(123公里)、孟买-那格浦尔(736公里)、新德里-艾哈迈达巴德(886公里),新德里-阿姆利则(480公里) ，孟买-海德拉巴(711公里) ，瓦拉纳西-豪拉赫(760公里)和钦奈-迈索尔(435公里)。
2022年初，又提出了四条走廊，总长度超过8000公里。如果获得批准，还将在海得拉巴和班加罗尔（618公里）、纳格浦尔·瓦拉纳西（855公里）、巴特纳·古瓦哈蒂（850公里）和阿姆利则·帕坦科特-查谟（190公里）之间修建线路，创造世界第二长的高速铁路网。

When the Mumbai-Ahmedabad project was unveiled by Prime Minsters Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe in 2017 it was originally hoped that bullet trains would be running in time for the 75th anniversary of Indian independence on August 15 this year, but numerous challenges and delays have pushed completion back to at least 2028.
Arguments over the route and protests by farmers and regional politicians over the loss of agricultural land caused significant delays to land acquisition and route surveys in Maharashtra state. Echoing similar anti-high-speed rail sentiment in other countries, most notably the UK, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray questioned the benefit of the scheme and dismissed it as a "white elephant."
By September 2021, just 30% of the required land in Maharashtra had been acquired, compared to 97% in Gujarat and 100% elsewhere.

孟买-艾哈迈达巴德项目于 2017 年由总理纳伦德拉·莫迪和安倍晋三揭幕时，当时人们原本希望子弹头列车能在今年8月15日印度独立75周年纪念日前投入运行，但无数的挑战和延误已将完工时间推迟至至少2028年。
关于路线的争论以及农民和地区政客对农业用地丧失的抗议导致马哈拉施特拉邦的土地征用和路线调查严重延误。与其他国家，尤其是英国，类似的反高铁情绪相呼应，首席部长 Uddhav Thackeray 质疑该计划的好处并将其斥为“白象”。
到2021年9月，马哈拉施特拉邦 只有30% 的土地被征用，相比之下，古吉拉特邦和其他地方的征用率分别为97% 和100%


Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose in front of a high-speed train simulator in Gandhinagar, India, on September 14, 2017.

2017年9月14日，在印度甘地那加，日本前首相安倍晋三和印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪在高速列车模拟器前合影。

"The argument has been 'why can't we improve the existing infrastructure and run faster trains there?'" explains Rajendra B. Aklekar, author and Indian railways commentator.
"In fact, Indian Railways has already embarked on a project to raise speeds on existing corridors to 160 kph by upgrading track and signaling. A dedicated freight network is also being built nationally to take freight trains out of the system and decongest trunk routes."
CNN reached out to Indian Railways for comment on its National Rail Plan, put did not receive a response.

“争论的焦点是‘为什么我们不能改善现有的基础设施，让那里的火车运行得更快？’”作者兼印度铁路评论员 Rajendra B. Aklekar,解释道。
“事实上，印度铁路公司已经启动了一个项目，通过升级轨道和信号系统，将现有铁路线路的速度提高到160公里/小时。一个专门的货运网络也正在全国范围内建设，以将货运列车从系统中排除，并缓解干线线路的拥堵。”
CNN联系印度铁路公司就其国家铁路计划发表评论，但没有得到回应

Elevated viaducts
To minimize land take and potentially hazardous interfaces with existing roads or railways, more than 90% of the $15 billion Mumbai-Ahmedabad route will run on elevated viaducts, a decision which added $1.3 billion to the overall cost.
A 21-kilometer section north of Mumbai will be underground -- including a seven-kilometer undersea tunnel.
Eleven elevated stations on the line will serve Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati. Stations will provide easy interchange with existing IR services.

高架桥
为了最大限度地减少土地占用和与现有公路或铁路的潜在危险接口，价值 150 亿美元的孟买-艾哈迈达巴德路线中超过 90%将在高架桥上运行，这一决定使总成本增加了 13 亿美元。
孟买以北21公里的路段将在地下，包括一条7公里长的海底隧道。
线路上的11个高架车站将服务于塔恩、维拉尔、博伊萨尔、瓦皮、比利莫拉、苏拉特、巴鲁什、瓦多达拉、阿南德、艾哈迈达巴德和萨巴尔马蒂。车站将提供与现有IR服务的便捷交换。

However, unlike other high-speed trains such as the French TGV or Eurostar, India's bullet trains will not be able to run over existing tracks to reach their destination. From their inception, India's railways have used a broader than usual track gauge of 1,676 millimeters (5 feet 6 inch) whereas the Japanese-built line will employ the worldwide "standard gauge" of 1,435 millimeters.
"The trains on Indian Railways, with their social obligation, run a bouquet of services, catering to all classes from poorest of the poor to the affluent class but the high-speed railway is being built as an independent corridor with international standard gauge and a dedicated network, not mixing with national corridors," says Aklekar.

然而，与法国 TGV 或欧洲之星等其他高速列车不同，印度的子弹头列车将无法通过现有轨道到达目的地。从一开始，印度的铁路就使用比平常更宽的轨距 1,676 毫米（5 英尺 6 英寸），而日本建造的铁路将采用全球“标准轨距”1,435 毫米。
“印度铁路上的火车，承担着社会责任，提供一系列服务，服务于从最穷的穷人到富裕阶层的所有阶层，但高速铁路正在建设为一条独立的走廊，具有国际标准轨距和专用网络，不与国家走廊混合，”Aklekar 说。


Commuters wait on the platform during rush hour as a local train arrives in Mumbai, on February 1, 2022.

2022年2月1日，孟买当地的一列火车在高峰时间到达，上班族在站台上等待。

Captive 10-car trains derived from the Japanese E5 "bullet train" will operate at up 320 kph, slashing the end-to-end journey time from the current seven hours to just over two hours for the fastest services.
Each train will seat up to 1,300 passengers and include multi-purpose rooms for mothers plus compartments for heavy luggage. Fares will start at just 250 Indian rupees ($3.30), rising to around 3,000 Indian rupees ($40) for an end-to-end journey.
"This project is about technology," concludes Aklekar.
"India needs to make a start at some point and that time is now. It takes time to adapt and settle new technologies and lines. For example, Japan's Hokkaido Shinkansen took 42 years to become fully operational. If we do not start now, we will be left behind."

源自日本 E5“子弹头列车”的 10 节车厢专属列车将以每小时 320 公里的速度运行，将点到点的旅程时间从目前的 7 小时缩短到 2 小时多一点，以实现最快的服务。
每列火车最多可容纳 1,300 名乘客，并包括供母亲使用的多功能室以及用于存放重型行李的隔间。票价将从 250 印度卢比（3.30 美元）开始，点到点旅程的票价将升至 3,000 印度卢比（40 美元）左右。
“这个项目是关于技术的，”Aklekar 总结道。
“印度需要在某个时候开始行动，现在就是时候。适应和解决新技术和线路需要时间。例如，日本的北海道新干线用了 42 年才全面投入运营。如果我们现在不开始，我们会被抛在后面。“

However, IR's precarious financial position continues to cloud this optimistic picture. Over the last six years the company's costs have been increasing more than twice as fast as its revenues as productivity continues to decline.
A recent doubling of staff wages has exacerbated the issue while pension contributions account for an incredible 71% of operating expenses. Staff numbers have been declining but a recent recruitment drive aims to add another 140,000 employees by June.
In 2014, the-then Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda lamented that IR "is expected to earn like a commercial enterprise but serve like a welfare organization," citing losses from cheap fares in the passenger sector.

然而，IR 岌岌可危的财务状况继续笼罩着这一乐观前景。在过去的六年里，随着生产力的持续下降，公司的成本增长速度是其收入增长速度的两倍多。
最近员工工资翻倍加剧了这一问题，而养老金缴款占运营费用的 71%，令人难以置信。员工人数一直在下降，但最近的招聘活动旨在到 6 月再增加 140,000 名员工。
2014 年，时任的铁道部Sadananda Gowda感叹，IR“预计将像商业企业一样赚钱，但像福利组织一样服务”，理由是客运部门的廉价票价造成损失。

Highly publicized projects such as the Dedicated Freight Corridors, major station redevelopments, logistics parks and the introduction of new passenger trains have all languished, while IR has continued to lose market share in both freight and passenger sectors.
IR's problems with costs, congestion and the need to invest heavily in new and upgraded infrastructure are not unique, although their scale is somewhat greater than most.
The Indian government will be desperate to see its flagship rail projects complete and delivering the promised benefits soon, not only to stimulate economic recovery but also to show its rivals that it too can deliver world-class 21st century transportation.

广为宣传的项目，如货运专用走廊、主要车站改造、物流园区和新旅客列车的引入等备受瞩目的项目均已萎靡不振，而铁路在货运和客运领域的市场份额继续下降。
IR面临的成本问题、拥堵问题以及对新基础设施和升级基础设施进行大量投资的需求并非独一无二，尽管它们的规模大于大多数公司。
印度政府将不顾一切地希望看到其旗舰铁路项目尽快完工并实现承诺的效益，这不仅是为了刺激经济复苏，也是为了向竞争对手表明，它也能提供21世纪世界一流的交通。