http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5110236.stm
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Cambodians ride
'bamboo railway' |
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Travellers in Cambodia have to deal with one of the world's worst train networks
There is only one passenger service a week, and it often travels
at not much more than walking pace.
So people in the north west of the country, near Cambodia's second
city of Battambang, have taken matters into their own hands.
They have created their own rail service using little more than
pieces of bamboo. The locals call the vehicles "noris", or
"lorries", but overseas visitors know them as "bamboo
trains".
A tiny electric generator engine provides the power, and the
passenger accommodation is a bamboo platform that rests on top of two sets of
wheels. A dried-grass mat to sit on counts as a luxury.
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It would be a white-knuckle ride - if there were actually
anything to hold on to.
The bamboo trains reach about 40km/h (25mph), with the track just a
couple of inches below the passengers. Warped and broken rails make for a
bone-shaking journey.
But the drivers insist it is a safe form of transport.
"We're very careful," said 18-year-old Sok Kimhor, a
10-year veteran of the bamboo trains. "We look out for children and
animals running across the lines, and we have to slow down when other trains
come along."
Unofficial role
Low fares add to the appeal, but the service is not without its
quirks. There is only one track - so if two trains meet, the one with the
lightest load has to be taken off the rails so the other can pass.
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Driver Sok Kimhor says he takes care
of his passengers |
The bamboo trains have been an unofficial part of the
Cambodian transport network for years. The official railways survived decades
of civil war and sabotage by the Khmer Rouge, but all those years without
maintenance have taken their toll.
Recent cuts to the timetable mean the official service to Phnom
Penh now departs just once a week, and local people are left little alternative
but to use the bamboo trains.
"I use the bamboo trains to go to Battambang from my house in
Phnom Teppedey so I can buy medicine," said Sao Nao as she sits on the
rails with a small group of people, waiting for a nori to depart.
"They're very safe - a motorbike taxi is too fast, and if I
use one of those I sometimes get dizzy and fall off. On a bamboo train I can
sit down and go to sleep. You can't do that on a motorbike."
Motorbikes would also struggle to take the loads that bamboo
trains happily lug - indeed they often form part of the cargo, alongside
freshly-harvested lychees, machine parts and timber for building houses.
Deserted
While there is plenty of bustle around the bamboo trains at their
improvised stations outside Battambang, the city's main station lies deserted.
Cattle chomp on the grass growing over the rails and children play on the
tracks without any fear for their safety.
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Sokhom Pheakavanmony says a better
train service is on its way |
In Phnom Penh, the story is much the same. The station is
beautiful, but three battered carriages are all that is left of Cambodia's
passenger rolling stock.
The director of Cambodian Railways, Sokhom Pheakavanmony, admitted
that passenger services are currently woeful, but said that improvements were
on their way.
"In a plan under discussion with the Asian Development Bank
right now, by 2010 we will be able to complete the rehabilitation," he
said.
"I think that if the rail condition is good, the passenger
trains can run. I hope that in the future, people can use the trains to move
from one area to another area, and from one country to another."
The ultimate goal is for Cambodia to be a key part of a railway linking
all of South East Asia, but that seems a long way off to the people of
Battambang.
Despite official efforts to discourage the service, they will keep
the faith with the bamboo railway until they see concrete proof otherwise.
white-knuckle ride
【名-1】恐ろしい時や経験
【名-2】（ジェットコースター等の）遊園地のスピードある乗り物
hold on to
〜を手放さずに持っている、〜を懐に抱え込む、〜を離さない、〜をしっかりつかむ、〜につかまっている、〜に固守する
warped
【形】そった、ねじ曲がった、ひずんだ、ゆがんだ、カールのある、ひがんだ、常道を踏みはずした、薬に酔って
add to
加算する、追加する、〜に拍車をかける、〜に＾添える［付け合わせる］
quirk
【変化】《複》quirks、
【名-1】いやみ、しゃれ、警句
【名-2】気紛れ、巡り合わせ
【名-3】奇想、奇行、変わった癖、奇癖
【名-4】見習いパイロット
toll
【＠】トル、【変化】《動》tolls | tolling |
tolled、【大学入試】
【名-1】通行料金、通行税、運送料、運賃、使用料、場代、送信料、（長距離）電話料金◆入場料などはcharge、pay。駐車場・公衆トイレではpay。通信・道路などではtoll。
【名-3】代価、報酬
【名-4】損害、犠牲、死傷者数、被害規模
【他動】鐘を鳴らして知らせる、徴収する、晩鐘をつく、鳴らす
take a toll
死者を出す
dizzy
【＠】デイズィ、ディズィ、【変化】《形》dizzier |
dizziest 《動》dizzies |
dizzying | dizzied、【大学入試】
【形】目眩がする、目が回る、目もくらむような、幻惑的な、フラフラする、当惑した、面食らった
lug
【＠】ラグ、【変化】《動》lugs | lugging |
lugged、
【他動】強く引く、引きずる、苦労して運ぶ