中国高速鉄道 安全軽視が招いた大事故だ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jul. 26, 2011)
Deadly wreck exposes China's railway flaws
中国高速鉄道　安全軽視が招いた大事故だ（7月25日付・読売社説）

"Hexie" is the Chinese word for harmony. It's also the name of the Chinese high-speed train that crashed into another bullet train Saturday--a deadly incident that makes the name sound like an empty slogan.
The first four carriages of the moving bullet train fell from a viaduct to the ground after striking another train from behind and derailing in eastern China.
　中国が誇る高速鉄道の車両が高架橋から飛び出し、押し潰された車両の「和諧（調和）号」の文字がむなしく映る。

This tragedy makes real the long-held fear that China's fast-expanding rail network is vulnerable to major disasters. Even so, the terrible scene of Saturday's accident is enough to make anyone gasp in dismay.
　かねて指摘されていた安全性への不安が、早くも現実になった。無残な現場の光景は驚きにたえない。

The rear-end collision took place on a high-speed railway in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, on Saturday night, killing or injuring more than 200 people. The railway connects the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou with Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.
　中国東部、浙江省温州の高速鉄道・杭州―深セン線で２３日夜、列車同士の追突事故が発生、２００人を超える死傷者が出た。

The disaster began to unfold when the train that had left from Beijing stalled due to a lightning strike.
The train behind then slammed into it.
　落雷で停止していた列車に北京発の後続列車が追突した。

The accident must be attributed to a serious safety defect in China's train operating system.
安全運行の管理に重大な欠陥があった、と言わざるを得ない。

Specialists have said that China's automatic high-speed train control system may not have been properly functioning at the time of the accident.
　列車の衝突を防ぐ自動制御システムが、正常に作動していなかった可能性も指摘されている。

Alarmed by the severity of the disaster, the Chinese leadership sent to the scene a commission led by Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang to help out in the relief work and investigation.
　事態を重視した中国指導部は、現場に張徳江・副首相を団長とする事故処理・調査団を派遣した。

Thorough measures must be taken to determine the cause of the accident.
原因を徹底的に究明すべきだ。

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China's prestige damaged

The latest disaster is certain to deal a heavy blow to the administration of President Hu Jintao as it seeks to sell China's bullet train system overseas, including in the United States.
Over the years, China has strived to develop the system, which it hopes will boost national pride.
　中国が国家的威信をかけて開発し、米国など海外への売り込みを図っている高速鉄道だけに、胡錦濤政権の輸出戦略にとって手痛い打撃となろう。

Somewhat more than four years have passed since Chinese high-speed trains were put into service.
　運行を始めて４年余り。

The country's rapid railway network has greatly expanded in that time, with its active lines exceeding 8,000 kilometers today--several times more extensive than Japan's Shinkansen network.
中国の高速鉄道の営業距離は、日本の新幹線網の数倍になる８０００キロ・メートル超に伸びた。

China reportedly hopes to extend the network to 16,000 kilometers by the end of 2020.
２０２０年には、１万６０００キロ・メートルにまで延伸させる計画だという。

However, it should be noted that China's success in this respect is a result of crash construction work intended to add an extra touch of glory to such occasions as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2010 Shanghai Expo and the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party's foundation in early July.
　だが、建設は北京五輪や上海万博、今月初めの共産党創設９０年などに合わせて、短期集中の突貫工事で進められた。

There is no denying that the rushed work has been made possible by slighting the safety of the high-speed railway system.
安全性がないがしろにされた側面は否めない。

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Corroded by corruption

China's 10 trillion yen bullet train network project has been fraught with corruption.
　総額１０兆円規模になった工事では汚職もあった。

In February, Railways Minister Liu Zhijun was arrested on suspicion of accepting large bribes from corporations tied to the project over the years.
He was dismissed from the post.
鉄道相が今年２月、業者から長年にわたって多額の賄賂を受け取っていたとして逮捕され、解任された。

While in office, Liu issued a directive that bullet trains should run along the Beijing-Shanghai route at 350 kph, hoping to make his country's high-speed railway the world's fastest. His successor rescinded the policy and decided to set the maximum speed at 300 kph for safety's sake.
　この前鉄道相は世界一を目指し、北京―上海線で時速３５０キロ・メートルとするよう指示していたが、後任の鉄道相が安全性を考慮して３００キロ・メートルに抑えたという。

Passengers on China's high-speed railway network include foreign residents in that country, tourists and businesspeople from overseas.
　高速鉄道は中国在住の外国人や海外からの観光客やビジネスマンたちも利用する。

The seriousness of the latest accident must be taken to heart by the Chinese government.
Beijing must carry out thorough safety inspections on all aspects of its bullet train network, from its rolling stock to its operational routines.
今回の事故を機に、改めて各路線の車両や運行システムなどの安全点検を徹底して実施すべきだ。

China has said the trains operated on the Beijing-Shanghai route were modeled on the Tohoku Shinkansen's Hayate, a bullet train built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., but has also insisted they were developed into a new creation contrived through China's own technology.
Beijing has also filed application for a patent on its bullet train overseas.
　川崎重工が製造した東北新幹線「はやて」型車両に、独自の技術改良を加えたとする中国側は、新型車両を海外で特許申請している。

However, Saturday's accident is bound to adversely affect China's bullet train export drive.
しかし、今回の事故による影響は免れまい。

It has been 47 years since Japan's Shinkansen was put into service.
The history of this nation's bullet train network is marked by a glorious record--not one passenger has been killed in a Shinkansen accident.
　日本の新幹線は開業から４７年目を迎え、列車事故による乗客の死者がゼロという輝かしい記録を持っている。

We hope people associated with the Shinkansen network will not relax their efforts to maintain the safety of the system and continue to implement thoroughgoing measures to achieve the goal.
関係者は、今後も気を緩めることなく、万全の態勢を維持してもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 25, 2011)
（2011年7月25日01時11分  読売新聞）