Tracking The Gauges Part 5 - Central and East Asia
Michael Frewston, "Tracking The Gauges Part 5 - Central and East Asia"
English | 2012 | ASIN: B007MVNLE2 | 78 pages | EPUB | 4 MB
English | 2012 | ASIN: B007MVNLE2 | 78 pages | EPUB | 4 MB
Our odyssey around the world’s railways and their gauges continues. Part 5 heralds our arrival in central and east Asia. The Indian sub-continent – India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – is committed to broad gauge, at least for the most part, while Japan wrestles with the problem of whether to stick to its existing narrow gauge, or rebuild its railways to Standard gauge. China, on the other hand, is well committed to Standard gauge – and looks as if it is about to challenge Russia and the CIS, and its 1520 mm gauge railways, in pursuing the spread of Standard gauge throughout the whole of Asia, from Europe in the west to the Malaysian peninsula in the east. Who will gain the upper hand? Perhaps the answer to that question is still premature, but I have illustrated a number of schemes and strategies China is embarked upon that will help maintain China’s trade offensives for many years to come – and the Standard gauge railway is a fundamental component. Is China rewriting the railway gauge map? Part 5 may contain many of the answers, even as it raises new questions. Revised and updated for 2016.