2019年经济学人 英国铁路(4)

 

Where Britain does badly is in the crucial area of reliability¹. Although its long-distance trains are pretty punctual by European standards, its short-haul ones run late. Britain comes 19th out of 26 European countries for punctuality on local routes— and these are the ones that cause most anguish², as commuters rely on them to get to work on time.

英国在可靠性这一关键领域表现糟糕。尽管按照欧洲标准，中国的长途列车非常准时，但短途列车却晚点了。在26个欧洲国家中，英国在当地航线上的守时率排在第19位，而这些都是最让人头疼的，因为通勤者需要准时上班。

The franchising³ business has also sometimes proved chaotic⁴. The East Coast mainline franchise⁵ has gone bust⁶ three times—in 2007, 2009 and 2018—as operators overpromised how much they could pay in track-access charges. Even Eamonn Butler of the Adam Smith Institute, a libertarian think-tank which pioneered the idea of separating the management of track and trains, admits that franchises⁷ “didn’t work out as we intended”.

特许经营业务有时也被证明是混乱的。东海岸干线的特许经营已经三次破产——分别在2007年、2009年和2018年——由于运营商在轨道接入费用上承诺过高。甚至亚当?斯密研究所的埃蒙?巴特勒也承认，特许经营“并没有像我们预想的那样成功”。

Faced with these problems, the government is thinking about new approaches. On some long-distance routes it is running an “open-access” system, under which different companies are allowed to run services along the same route in competition with each other. The idea is to offer passengers a choice, driving down prices and encouraging innovation—something that is discouraged by franchising, in which rail companies are tied to contracts so detailed⁸ that some even specify⁹ how often train carpets should be shampooed.

面对这些问题，政府正在思考新的方法。在一些长途线路上，政府正在运行一个“开放-接入”系统，在这个系统下，不同的公司可以在同一条线路上运行服务，相互竞争。这个想法是为了给乘客提供选择，降低价格，鼓励创新——特许经营是不鼓励这种做法的，在特许经营中，铁路公司与非常详细的合同捆绑在一起，有些公司甚至规定火车地毯应该多久洗一次。

The results are encouraging. On the East Coast mainline, open-access operators such as Hull¹⁰ trains and Grand Central now compete for passengers. Average fares are lower than on the West Coast mainline, where the West Midlands trains franchise for stopping services and the Virgin¹¹ trains franchise for express ones hold near-monopolies. Three of the four train companies with the highest passenger-satisfaction ratings last year were open-access operators, not franchisees¹².

结果鼓舞人心。在东海岸干线上，Hull train和Grand Central等开放入口的运营商现在正在争夺乘客。平均票价低于西海岸干线，而西海岸干线West Midlands的停车服务专列和Virgin的特快专列几乎处于垄断地位。去年乘客满意度最高的四家列车公司中，有三家是开放接入运营商，而不是特许经销商。

1 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

2 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

3 franchising   

v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Franchising has costs as well as benefits for the economy. 对整个经济来说特许经销有利也有弊。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Franchising, a practice adaptable to small business, has increased greatly in recent years. 近年来适用于小企业的特许经销发展得很快。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

5 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

6 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

7 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

8 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

9 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

10 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

11 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

12 franchisees   

n.特许经营人( franchisee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Works on these franchisees' facilities were moving ahead rapidly. 这些专营设施的工程正迅速推展。 来自互联网
• Another good source of information about a franchise is other franchisees. 另一个了解特许经营的可靠信息源是其他经营者。 来自互联网