揭开亚太地区铁路旅行的五个成败因素（英文版）-2017.3-20页.pdfVIP

Changing tracks: Five make-or-break factors to unlock rail travel in Asia Pacific 1 Changing tracks Five make-or-break factors to unlock rail travel in Asia Pacific Changing tracks: Five make-or-break factors to unlock rail travel in Asia Pacific 2 Changing tracks: Five make-or-break factors to unlock rail travel in Asia Pacific 3 Foreword Recently, I was lucky enough to ride on China’s brand new high-speed rail link from Shanghai to Kunming. I landed at Pudong International Airport and took the world’s fastest train, the Transrapid Maglev, into the city. From there, I made my way to the vast Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, and was soon on the world’s longest high-speed line – accelerating through a picture-perfect landscape of snow-capped mountains, deep canyons, tropical forests and ethnic villages. It was as though I was glimpsing the future of rail. And I had a real yearning to extend my journey – maybe continue through Laos to Thailand, from where I could head south through Malaysia, return east towards Vietnam, or west into the Indian sub-continent. Right now, that would be a very long and fractured journey. But, in a few short years, it could be entirely different. Across Southeast Asia, the long-discussed plans for a pan-regional rail network are edging closer to reality. Rail operators are drawing inspiration from peers in countries like Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, which benefit from well-established networks, with a deserved reputation for customer-centricity and a service so reliable that punctuality is sometimes measured in seconds. Meanwhile, in India and its neighbouring countries, rail has been the dominant mode of transport for almost two centuries. And, despite the challenge of managing ageing infrastructure, we are seeing some interesting developments – like the emergence of online booking services, the r