经济学人:风险管控 伦敦的穿城铁路(1)

 　　Finance and Economics 财经

　　Crossrail: The skeleton crew 穿城铁路：“骨干”成员

　　Lessons on risk management, from Europe's biggest infrastructure¹ project. 由欧洲最大的基础设施项目带来的风险管控经验。

　　The eastbound platform on the Elizabeth line at Farringdon Station in central London is 30 metres below ground. 在中伦敦地区地下30米，向东的地铁站台位于伊丽莎白线上的费灵顿站。

　　Its length is as striking as its depth. 这个站台的长度与它的深度同样令人震惊。

　　At more than 200 metres, it is almost twice as long as the typical platform on the Tube. 超过200米的长度使其几乎为通常地铁站台的两倍长。

　　When service begins in December 2018, it will increase rail capacity in central London by 10%, thanks to the longer trains. 在2018年十二月投入使用后，由于可搭载更长的列车，这个站台将提高中伦敦地区10%的轨道运力。

　　Travellers nearest to the terminal stations at Reading and Heathrow, to the west of the city,  旅客们不论是靠近雷丁与希思罗终点站前往城西，

　　and Shenfield and Abbey Wood, to the east, have a shot at the acme² of commuter³ luxury: a seat. 或靠近谢菲尔德与阿比森林前往城东，他们都能有机会得到通勤者最为奢侈的享受：一个座位。

　　Crossrail, as the ￡14.8bn ($19bn) infrastructure project is known, is on track to deliver other small miracles. 穿城铁路，因为该基础设施项目投入一百四十八亿英镑（约合一百九十亿美元）而为人熟知，而它将准备带来另一个奇迹。

　　With 85% of the work completed, the project is on-budget and on-time, in spite of its size and complexity⁴. 项目85%的工作已经完成，即使该工程规模巨大、运作复杂，但它仍然未超出预算或延期。

　　The programme required ten new stations, some with passenger tunnels linking them to existing Tube lines. 这项工程要求修建十处新车站，其中一些要与旅客通道与现有的地铁线相通。

　　The Elizabeth line itself will snake through 13 miles (21km) of twinned tunnels, including a section under the Thames. 伊丽莎白线本身的双向隧道就将蜿蜒穿行十三英里（二十一公里），包含位于泰晤士河一段。

　　Tunnelling is a risky⁵ business. 打隧道是一项高风险的工作。

　　You never can tell if you'll run into a hold-up. 你无法确定你是否会准时完成。

　　The Crossrail dig has yielded 10,000 items of interest to archaeologists. 穿城铁路挖出了考古学家感兴趣的一万多个物件。

　　At Farringdon the diggers found 25 skeletons, the remains⁶ of victims of the 14th-century Black Death. 在费灵顿，挖掘工人发现了二十五副骨架，它们是十四世纪黑死病罹难者的遗骸。

　　But there were no immovable objects. 但是这里没有出现不可移动的物体。

1 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

2 acme   

n.顶点，极点

参考例句：

• His work is considered the acme of cinematic art. 他的作品被认为是电影艺术的巅峰之作。
• Schubert reached the acme of his skill while quite young. 舒伯特的技巧在他十分年轻时即已达到了顶峰。

3 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

4 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

5 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。