“泰”厲害了！東南亞最大火車站就要來了

如果你住在曼谷，當你在詩叻高速上駕駛時，你一定會注意到氣派的挽賜中央站。在曼谷，堵車是一件司空見慣的事情，在堵車的漫長等待中，你不妨靜下心來仔細研究一下這個未來的交通樞紐。

挽賜中央站的外觀與紐約大車站有幾分相似。站在遠處就能發現，車站的設計以華南蓬車站的設計風格為靈感，融合現代元素，特色十分鮮明。未來，這里將成為曼谷的新地標。挽賜中央站作為泰國下一個大型基礎設施項目，不僅有助于緩解曼谷長期以來存在的交通擁堵問題，也將支持泰國將自身打造成為東南亞的交通樞紐，意義深遠。同時，挽賜中央站致力于加強泰國的鐵路系統及其與區域運輸網絡的聯接，從而促進經濟增長。

如果要用一個詞來說明設立這個大型項目背后的意義，那就是“流動性”。泰國雄心勃勃，希望利用鐵路網更有效、更經濟地運輸旅客和貨物，特別是降低物流成本。2018年，泰國的物流成本約占GDP的13.6%。自1893年泰國鐵路系統啟動以來，這可能是第一個大規模升級鐵路系統的大膽舉措。

雖然挽賜中央站只是整個泰國鐵路網的一部分，但卻是關鍵的一部分，它將取代曼谷貴婦購物中心站或華南蓬車站，成為首都的鐵路樞紐。挽賜中央站將承載更大的容量，并完美匹配泰國將自身打造成為東南亞交通樞紐的雄心。除了城際列車，挽賜中央站建成后，將實現廊曼機場、素萬那普機場和烏塔堡機場3大國際機場間的互聯互通，從廊曼機場到烏塔堡機場全程220公里僅需1個多小時就能到達。如果你住在曼谷，只要你想，隨時都可以到羅勇海灘欣賞美景、放松身心。

目前，車站外部建設已全部完工，待內部控制系統的設置以及車廂購置全部完成后，2021年即可向民眾開放運行。挽賜中央站占地1280英畝，是百年老站華南蓬車站的10倍，是東南亞規模最大的火車站。車站設有4個樓層，12個月臺，24條軌道，可同時容納26～40列列車，日客流量高達60萬人次，增加的車次自然也為旅客節省了大量的時間。

挽賜中央站采用環保設計，綠化率高達30%。泰國國家鐵路局前代理局長沃拉武表示，挽賜中央站提供的是電力列車服務，所以不會對環境造成負面影響。

最初，在《2015～2022年交通基礎設施戰略規劃》中，挽賜中央站只是作為泰國鐵路系統（紅線）的延伸。后來，政府擴大了計劃，改造了主要終點站，以滿足各類鐵路服務需求。與日本的東京站和中國臺灣的臺北總站的功能相似，建成后的挽賜中央站將作為新的交通樞紐中心，為未來的科技創新提供先進的基礎設施支撐。

通往烏塔堡的高鐵一旦建成，曼谷和東部經濟走廊（EEC）之間的交通將變得十分便利。東部經濟走廊是“泰國4.0戰略”下的旗艦項目，旨在吸引主要投資者投資高科技產業，以創造更大的價值。同時，這個高鐵項目還將利于泰國旅游業發展，早日實現城市化和城市去中心化，擴大城市之外的經濟機會。

屆時，居住在曼谷周邊地區的百姓將可以直接搭乘曼谷近郊的紅線鐵路系統，避開交通堵塞。曼谷近郊鐵路有兩條路線：一條是從大城府到叻丕府的南北向的暗紅線，全長114.3公里;另一條則是連接那坤巴統府和北柳府的東西向的淺紅線，全長127.5公里。

從挽賜中央站發出的首趟高鐵就要開通了，人們對此滿懷期待。未來幾十年，這個車站將為曼谷不斷延伸的高鐵項目提供“大后方”。

即將實現的首個高鐵項目便是曼谷至廊開府的線路，這是連接泰國、老撾和中國的中泰合作項目。從曼谷到呵叻府的一期工程正在建設中，全長250.77公里，連接呵叻府和廊開府的線路全長356.1公里。一旦高鐵完工，從曼谷到廊開府將由通常的11小時火車車程或8小時汽車車程縮短至3小時。

在這樣的布局下，挽賜中央站和泰國鐵路網將加強東盟區域內的互聯互通，在可預見的未來，它將與中國的“一帶一路”倡議或其他潛在的雙邊或區域物流項目聯系起來，發揮更大的作用。

當然，挽賜中央站的規劃不僅限于火車和高鐵。受日本城市鐵路網的啟發，泰國想以挽賜中央站作為一個“催化劑”，推動開發車站周邊新的中央商務區，可謂一舉數得。泰國國家鐵路局計劃在周邊地區采用運輸導向型發展（TOD）模式，吸引更多的商業綜合體和住宅單元投資。

泰國政府增強基礎設施建設無疑能帶動當地的就業和經濟發展，與此同時，利用更高效的通勤網絡，曼谷交通現狀將有望得到緩解。值得注意的是，由于交通的改善，城市居民的數量將會逐漸減少，因為他們現在更愿意分散到近郊地區居住。當前，新冠肺炎疫情仍在全球蔓延，泰國也面臨著抗疫和發展的艱巨任務，這個大型項目就像是“及時雨”，給泰國和東南亞地區創造了大量的就業和創業機會，為經濟復蘇注入了更多動力。

·來源：泰國外交部

·編譯：莫婷婷

The King and the Cloud — the Story Behind the Royal Rainmaking Project

By Suvat Chirapant

Droughts have always prevailed in the plateau of Isan， the Thai nickname for the northeastern region of Thailand， where almost half of its population are farmers. Dependent on rainfall to sustain their crops， farmers would traditionally gather at the beginning of the wet season to shoot homemade Bang Fai rockets to the sky to ask the weather god to release the monsoon upon the earth. According to folklore， the higher and louder the rockets blast into the sky， the better. The deity will likely be more pleased with the offering and allow plentiful rainfall for the seasons harvest.

On November 14， 1955， His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great travelled through the dried-up Isan region during a royal visit. The then 28-year-old monarch noted the effects of water deficiency in the area， which caused low crop yields and subsequently， the people to suffer from chronic poverty and malautrition. When the young King looked up to the sky in hope of finding a solution， he noticed that the weather was cloudy， yet it did not result into precipitation. As every cloud has a silver lining， literally， King Bhumibol found one while watching the clouds — an idea of how to draw droplets from the clouds onto the farmlands.

“The idea of artificial rain came to me since 1955 when I visited Isan during the month of November. It was cloudy， yet the drought still persisted. So I had two ideas in mind. First was to build check dams， and second was how to bring the water from the clouds. Then I recalled that I had heard about rain-making before. Later， I mentioned it to Mom Rajawongse Debariddhi （an expert in agricultural engineering） that I have read from the books that it is possible to make artificial rain.” — （His Majesty King Bhumibol， interview with public officers from the Office of the Royal Development Project Board， March 17， 1986）

Having shown keen interest in science from a young age， the King was equipped with knowledge on technological research from his enrolment at the Faculty of Science at the University of Lausanne. After 14 years of research on meteorology and weather modification， the first experiment in making artificial rain was attempted on July 1， 1969. It was quite a remarkable success. After the fleet of aircraft had distributed dry-ice flakes over the top of the clouds， it started to rain within 15 minutes. This operation marked the dawn of what is now acknowledged by Thais as “The Royal Rainmaking Project”.

Since then， the project has gone through a series of transformations to perfect the artificial rainmaking process. His Majesty King Bhumibol recognized that a sufficient amount of moisture is crucial for rainmaking to be successful. Therefore， a new chemical formula was invented to maximize the humidity level for different types of clouds. The current technique of rainmaking now involves three processes. First， “agitating”， or to activate cloud formation by using salt and other chemical substances to accumulate humidity. Second， “fattening”， or to stimulate the accumulation of droplets in the cloud by scattering calcium chloride， and lastly “attacking”， to initiate rainfall from the heavy clouds by adding a mixture of salt and urea.

The project later manifested into the establishment of the Bureau of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation in 1992 under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The rainmaking technique， however， is exclusive to Thailand. In 2001， King Bhumibol received recognition for the Royal Rainmaking Project from the EUREKA organization “for an invention that is beneficial to the world.” In 2003， King Bhumibol was granted a patent for weather modification from the European Patent Office. Ever since the invention caught the attention of the international community， many countries have sought cooperation with Thailand to apply this know-how in addressing their own drought problems. Jordan， for instance， was granted the use of the rainmaking technique in 2009， through an MOU for training and technology transfer. Other countries who have sought cooperation include Mongolia， Sri Lanka， Indonesia， Australia， and the Philippines. In Thailand， November? 14 is now celebrated as “Father of Royal Rainmaking Day” to commemorate the day that inspired this invaluable initiative that has benefited many countries around the world.

Even 50 years since the birth of the Royal Rainmaking Project， the operation still remains very much active today. There is no need to rely on weather gods， when citizens can submit a request for rain where needed， and rain shall be granted. The project enables Thai farmers to harvest without disruption， and to fill hydroelectric dams to help fulfill the increasing demand for electricity.

In 2013， the Bureau of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation was upgraded to become the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation due to the significance of its mission and expanded responsibilities. In 2019， the Department conducted 1，673 rainmaking operations across the country. Almost 89% of the flights were successful， producing rainfall over 63 million hectares of forest， agricultural area， and reservoirs. The downpour of rain has increased the amount of water reserves by 2，595 million cubic metres. Still， the demand of artificial rain is expected to rise due to air pollution problems and the effects of global warming， and the Department is now exploring the use of rockets to help scatter the rainmaking substance over the cloud.

Today， under the guidance of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorm， the legacy of the Royal Rainmaking Project continues to live on. Following in his fathers footsteps， King Vajiralongkorn has also initiated various irrigation projects to address drought， such as the construction of six reservoirs in the western province of Ratchaburi， and the development of canal systems， check dams， and levees to assist farmers in the deep south of Thailand. This is one of the many testimonies of the vision， continued dedication， perseverance， and ingenuity of the monarchs in the Chakri Dyaasty watching over the Thai people and the country.

· Source： Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand