"When the time came to 1996, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail debate reached its climax. At the national 'Two Sessions', Qin Siyuan, a representative of the 'delay faction', and Liang Congwen, a representative of the 'construction faction', submitted proposals to the conference respectively. This was direct The confrontation was decided by the National People's Congress deputies and CPPCC members. In the end, the 'delay construction' faction won, and the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway was officially shelved."
"But the 'constructionists' did not give up. On the one hand, they wanted to save the country in a roundabout way. They took small steps and built the section from Shanghai to Nanjing first, but they were rejected. In the next few years, they have been thinking of ways to improve the plan and want to Efforts to restart high-speed rail are still ongoing!"
"Actually, the composition of the 'delay construction faction' is more complicated. On the one hand, they include retired experts from the Ministry of Railways such as Gu Chengye and Liang Chengwen just mentioned, as well as a group of people from the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Administration of China." Lin Laodao.
"Why do these people come out to cause trouble?" Liang Jiangtao said with a frown.
He has also heard about the attitudes of the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and he always feels that they are holding us back.
"It can't be said to be causing trouble. You still have to eat from separate pots. There are more monks and less porridge. The more you give, the less you give to others. Your butt determines your head. It's just a different stance. It's all for work. Generally speaking, it's a good thing. Good Solutions always come out of quarrels.”
"Of course, they have no irreconcilable conflict with the 'Constructionists', and their role is limited. They are just waving flags and shouting." Lin Laodao.
Liang Jiangtao nodded, this involves what transportation modes China will prioritize developing in the future.
Is it railway, civil aviation or highway.
The total pool of funds is limited. Once high-speed rail is built, fiscal funds for highways and civil aviation will decrease accordingly. One will wax and wane! This was something they did not want to see, so they became the "slow-construction faction" in a broad sense.
"At this time, although the debate is huge, it is not complicated, because delaying construction does not mean not building it. With the development of the country's economy, the accumulation of fiscal funds, and the rejection of the tilting train plan, it is only a matter of time to build the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. ." Old Lin said.
"After several years of debate, many people have also seen that the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway will be built sooner or later. It is better to build it early than to build it late. The Ministry of Finance also attaches great importance to this. The Budget Department and the Economic Construction Department have made relevant budgets. If this If you tighten your belt at this time, you can spend money to build the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway! In fact, we have prepared to hold a meeting with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Railways to study it a few years ago." Lin Xingjian said.
"Yes, our department was also saying at that time that the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail project was about to be launched. Our department listed this work as the most important task in the next few years, but somehow it was stopped." Lin Wencheng said .
"What really changed things again and made things more complicated was the rise of another faction!" Old Lin said.
"Another faction?" Liang Jiangtao's interest was piqued. He could not imagine that besides the construction faction and the slow-construction faction, there could be other factions.
"This sect is called the 'Magnetic Levitation Sect'!" Old Lin said.
"Magnetic levitation?" Liang Jiangtao's eyes lit up, and he remembered that maglev trains were very popular for a while and were considered the direction of the future, but then they died down and there was no significant development until 2023.
"Yes, the 'maglev faction' is led by the Ministry of Science and Technology! For the Ministry of Railways, the 'construction faction' and the 'delay construction faction' are internal conflicts, not a dispute over the route, but a dispute over the timing of construction. But the 'maglev' faction "Pai' is different. It completely subverts the previous technical route. Once it is approved, it means that the Ministry of Railways will be subordinate to the Ministry of Science and Technology in future construction!" Lin Laodao.
Liang Jiangtao shook his head. Just listening to it, he knew it was very complicated.
There are not only the "construction faction" and the "delay construction faction" of the Ministry of Railways, but also the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Administration, plus the Ministry of Science and Technology. It is a complete mess. If you want to figure out who is who, it is difficult to It takes a lot of effort.
No wonder people say this is a tough nut to crack, and it’s true.
Even if you forcefully chew it, it will be difficult to digest.
I don’t know how many powerful ministries and commissions I have to “offend”.
If this situation continues, the construction time of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway will of course be delayed again and again until 2008.
In fact, from the macro perspective of later generations, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway was indeed built late!
If it could be built a few years earlier, economic development would definitely be on the high-speed train. A multiplier effect would appear, and it would be possible to increase the GDP growth rate by a few points.
It is even possible to survive the economic crisis in a few years smoothly without introducing strong stimulus policies. In that case, the health of China's economy will definitely be much better.
Of course, this is an afterthought. Standing at the current time point, it is impossible to see so clearly, and it is difficult to convince everyone.
"Although the 'Magnetic Levitation School' emerged the latest, their energy is not small at all. Under the banner of high-tech, they say that high-speed railway will become a sunset industry in the future and will be eliminated sooner or later. Instead of investing huge amounts of money, Construction is not as good as building maglev trains. This is the direction of the future! Since it is a high-speed railway, it must be extremely fast! The maximum speed of the traditional wheel-track high-speed train is more than 300 kilometers per hour, but the maglev can exceed 500 kilometers! The speed difference It’s obvious, and many senior leaders are attracted by this. This is also the limitation of China’s system. If you want the biggest, fastest, and best in everything, you often lose touch with reality!”
"Of course, the maglev train technology is not yet mature and has not been successfully commercialized in the world, but the 'levitation faction' successfully persuaded the top management to wait. After all, the current level of technological development is changing with each passing day. This is something that everyone has experienced personally. Today No, who can guarantee that it won't work tomorrow? If a huge amount of money is invested in building a traditional wheel-rail high-speed rail, and the subsequent maglev technology matures, won't it be taken advantage of?" Lin Laodao said.
"I heard from the Ministry of Railways that the 'Magnetic Levitation Faction' made full use of the contradiction between the 'Delay Construction Faction' and the 'Construction Faction'. Sometimes they joined forces with one, sometimes they joined forces with the other. It was very lively, but in the end this The project is leaning more and more towards the 'Magnetic Levitation School'! It seems that the Ministry of Science and Technology will take the lead in this matter!" Lin Wencheng said.
Liang Jiangtao frowned!
He knows that magnetic levitation has no future!
At least 20 years later, no substantial progress has been made!
The development of science and technology is like this. It is not a homogeneous development, but an explosive advance.
It may take more than ten years, decades, or even hundreds of years of accumulation before it breaks out and achieves leap-forward development!
But this kind of outbreak comes without warning and is highly accidental and random.
Therefore, no matter how beautiful a road is in the future and how easy it is to realize, as long as it is not actually realized, we cannot say with certainty that it will come in a short time.
"Looking at the mountain and running to death", it's so close to the end of the world!
Judging from the experience of Liang Jiangtao, a "veteran", magnetic levitation technology is simply a beautiful imagination.
If we are currently obsessed with maglev technology and make overly optimistic estimates and stop the construction of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail, we will only waste the opportunity!
