正文翻譯

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.

從孟買(mǎi)擁擠的通勤列車到類似車輪上的城市的夜間特快專列，以及令人驚嘆的大吉嶺和喜馬拉雅“玩具火車”，鐵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.

沒(méi)有他們，這個(gè)國(guó)家就不可能發(fā)展成為我們今天看到的經(jīng)濟(jì)超級(jí)大國(guó)。
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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，隨著印度的發(fā)展，其鐵路面臨著越來(lái)越大的壓力，需要與時(shí)俱進(jìn)，提供更快的速度和更大的貨運(yùn)能力，以服務(wù)于印度不斷擴(kuò)大的工業(yè)。

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systems, some dating back to the days of the British Empire, might have served India well but they're increasingly outdated, especially when viewed against the rapid progress being made by India's neighbor and rival for regional supremacy -- China.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

傳統(tǒng)方式，有些可以追溯到大英帝國(guó)時(shí)代，可能對(duì)印度很有幫助，但它們?cè)絹?lái)越過(guò)時(shí)，尤其是在印度的鄰國(guó)和地區(qū)霸權(quán)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手中國(guó)取得快速進(jìn)步的情況下。
從最小的鄉(xiāng)村到世界上一些人口最稠密的城市，這個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)服務(wù)于社會(huì)和社區(qū)的每一個(gè)層面，它面臨著一系列幾乎無(wú)窮無(wú)盡的相互矛盾的要求，以保持國(guó)家的運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。

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 上像國(guó)王一樣生活，這是一家有輪子的酒店，被認(rèn)為是印度最豪華的火車之一。

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.

印度鐵路網(wǎng)總長(zhǎng)度為126510公里（78610英里），是世界第四大鐵路網(wǎng)，每天運(yùn)營(yíng)19000列列車，為近8000個(gè)車站提供服務(wù)。超過(guò)12700輛機(jī)車可以運(yùn)送76000節(jié)客車和近300萬(wàn)節(jié)貨車。
鐵路歷史學(xué)家、《Railways and The Raj》一書(shū)的作者Christian Wolmar說(shuō)：“很少有國(guó)家是通過(guò)鐵路來(lái)定義的，但印度最近的歷史與龐大鐵路網(wǎng)的發(fā)展密不可分。”
早在1832年，世界上第一條公共鐵路線英格蘭的斯托克頓與達(dá)林頓鐵路開(kāi)通僅僅7年后，印度就提出了第一條鐵路。
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India's modern, semi high-speed Tejas Express train began operations in 2017 in New Delhi.

印度現(xiàn)代半高速光輝特快列車于 2017 年在新德里開(kāi)始運(yùn)營(yíng)。

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，大印度半島鐵路的第一段才向乘客開(kāi)放，連接孟買(mǎi)（現(xiàn)在的孟買(mǎi)）和塔那。作為孟買(mǎi)-艾哈邁達(dá)巴德子彈頭列車線的一部分，印度首條高速客運(yùn)鐵路將于本世紀(jì)晚些時(shí)候開(kāi)通，連接這兩個(gè)城市。
Wolmar說(shuō)：“雖然印度的鐵路主要是由英國(guó)人出于軍事目的開(kāi)發(fā)的，但印度人幾乎與其他任何地方一樣，在19世紀(jì)下半葉對(duì)鐵路產(chǎn)生了幾乎無(wú)法滿足的需求和大規(guī)模擴(kuò)張。”。
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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."

“無(wú)論是商業(yè)還是家庭事務(wù)，朝圣還是通勤，這種需求都讓鐵路有利可圖，而且它們比世界其他許多地方更快到達(dá)印度的每一個(gè)角落。
“它們可能不是為了讓印度人受益而建造的，但鐵路帶來(lái)了奇妙的副作用，在 21 世紀(jì)繼續(xù)為這個(gè)國(guó)家提供動(dòng)力?！?/p>

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，高抱負(fù)
2019年至2020年，IR運(yùn)載了80多億乘客，運(yùn)輸了12億噸貨物。它是該國(guó)最大的雇主，擁有140萬(wàn)工作人員，是世界上最大的非軍事組織之一。
在鐵路方面，僅次于中國(guó)鐵路的200萬(wàn)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，孟買(mǎi)火車站，一名乘客從長(zhǎng)途火車車窗向外張望。

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.

但與歐洲鐵路或中國(guó)、日本或韓國(guó)的鐵路相比，平均速度仍然低得令人失望。少數(shù)特快列車可以以 160 公里/小時(shí)（100 英里/小時(shí)）或稍高的速度運(yùn)行，但全國(guó)長(zhǎng)途快車平均時(shí)速僅為 50 公里/小時(shí)（31.4 英里/小時(shí)），而普通客運(yùn)和通勤列車幾乎不超過(guò) 32 公里/小時(shí)（20 mph) 標(biāo)記。
貨運(yùn)列車的平均時(shí)速約為 24 公里（15 英里），通常最高時(shí)速僅為 55-75 公里。除非提供更多的運(yùn)輸能力，否則在今后30年里，預(yù)計(jì)交通擁堵將會(huì)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，七條主干線總共占整個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)的16%，承載著41%的總流量。IR大約四分之一的網(wǎng)絡(luò)以100%到150%的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)流量運(yùn)行，當(dāng)發(fā)生中斷時(shí)，會(huì)在全國(guó)范圍內(nèi)產(chǎn)生巨大的連鎖效應(yīng)。
印度的三管齊下解決方案，在主要城市之間建設(shè)新一代高速客運(yùn)鐵路，建設(shè)數(shù)千英里的新的高容量貨運(yùn)鐵路，稱為專用貨運(yùn)走廊（DFC），并在2024年前使現(xiàn)有網(wǎng)絡(luò)100%電氣化。
這是一項(xiàng)雄心勃勃的戰(zhàn)略，但首批DFC已經(jīng)投入運(yùn)行，電氣化工作正在迅速進(jìn)行。另有計(jì)劃在今年完工的最初兩條線路的基礎(chǔ)上再增加三條總長(zhǎng)5750公里的專用貨運(yùn)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，與之前的日本和中國(guó)一樣，印度將高鐵視為減少出行時(shí)間、增加運(yùn)力和加速經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)的關(guān)鍵。
在2021宣布了一個(gè)雄心勃勃的國(guó)家鐵路計(jì)劃，設(shè)想所有的主要城市在北部，西部和南部印度應(yīng)該通過(guò)高速鐵路連接。相距300公里至700公里、人口至少100萬(wàn)的城市正在被優(yōu)先考慮。
印度已爭(zhēng)取到日本技術(shù)、工程師和資金的幫助，以幫助建設(shè)其第一條線路，這條連接孟買(mǎi)和印度西部艾哈邁達(dá)巴德的線路全長(zhǎng)508公里。
如果所有提議都能實(shí)現(xiàn)，未來(lái)幾十年內(nèi)，還有12條線路可能會(huì)實(shí)現(xiàn)高速連接。