I want to be emperor

Chapter 705 Hangzhou Train Opens to Traffic
Chengshun 24th July [-]th.

Hangzhou North Railway Station in the east of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, was crowded with people at this time, and it was extremely lively. Inside the railway station, a train with more than ten carriages was parked on the platform.

Its Type 21 locomotive is still emitting a faint white mist, and these white mist are actually not smog, but water vapor!
The power source of a steam locomotive is to use coal to boil water, and then push the piston to reciprocate through high-temperature and high-pressure water vapor.

This also means that when the steam engine is started, water vapor will continue to be sprayed out. After the water vapor is sprayed out, it will become a white mist that people can see.

Similarly, because of the continuous injection of water vapor, this is also the reason why the steam engine needs to continuously add water.

The train stopped on the platform, and many passengers got on the train one after another with anticipation and excitement. For most of them, today's journey is definitely a novel journey.

Because of the great welcome and even curiosity of the people, the first passenger train officially opened today was full, whether it was the ordinary carriages with relatively cheap fares or the first-class carriages at the rear of the train, all were full, and many of them were not To go somewhere, purely to try something new.

They regard the train ride itself as a tourist...

As for trains, this is a new thing that has only appeared in recent years. Just like ships, trains have become the most talked about technological products in the Great Chu Empire in recent years.

Especially for ordinary people.

Various mechanical equipment, even steam engines, have existed for a long time, but these mechanical equipment are basically in the factory. Except for the relevant practitioners, it is actually difficult for ordinary people to see these large mechanical equipment, let alone those industrial steam engines. up.

But trains and ships are the magnificent industrial products that ordinary people can directly see and feel inspired by the industrial age.

Therefore, for the Great Chu Empire in the 24th year of Chengshun, it is actually difficult for ordinary people to feel the magnificence of the industrial age. You said that although some things that are used in daily life are also creations of the industrial age, they are still missing something.

But trains and ships are different!

Huge ships tens of meters or even hundreds of meters run on the water like this without sails, while steam trains hundreds of meters long gallop on the rails, and when the two are running, they are still emitting thick white smoke. cigarette……

One can tell at a glance that this thing is definitely a product of the industrial era!

This is why the first industrial revolution in history actually started in the middle and late eighteenth century, after the invention of the spinning jenny and the large-scale application of hydraulic machinery.

But people always habitually think that the industrial revolution started in the middle of the nineteenth century, after the trains were used on a large scale.

It is because trains and ships can make people more intuitively feel the magnificence of the industrial age.

But actually... the Industrial Revolution started decades before the train.

How should I put it? Well, trains and ships are products of the industrial age. It does not mean that the appearance of trains and ships started the industrial age.

This relationship cannot be confused.

----

When a large number of passengers boarded the train one after another, in the office on the third floor of the railway station, Qiu Chengzhe, the general office of the Jiangnan Branch of the Railway Corporation, stood in front of the window, looking at the platform outside the window.

As the person in charge of the eastern section of the Jiangnan Railway, that is, the Shanghai-Ningbo section, Qiu Chengzhe presided over the construction of this railway, including the site selection and start of construction of the railway station in front of him.

He still remembers that only a year and a half ago, it was a relatively messy suburban area, but after the construction of the Songhang Railway started, it was selected as the site of Hangzhou North Railway Station, and construction began.

A railway station with an extremely large area was built here, and its main building is made of cement and masonry.

Bricks and stones are nothing, the key is that cement is still a relatively rare building material nowadays, and the price is relatively expensive, so it is rarely used in ordinary folk buildings.

In the early years, cement was often used in the military, such as building fortresses, and later began to be used in various official buildings. For example, the imperial palace in Jinling City was the first building that used cement as a building material on a large scale, and then Various government offices, etc.

Now it is also used by some enterprises when building factories or office buildings. Many railway stations of railway companies are also buildings that use cement on a large scale.

Because of the use of reinforced concrete materials, the scale of Hangzhou North Railway Station is relatively large, and it is also very grand. The huge hollow waiting hall is rarely seen in traditional buildings.

And built together with this huge Hangzhou North Railway Station, there is another railway built together with this railway station: Jiangnan Railway Songhang Railway.

As part of the Jiangnan Railway Plan, the Songjiang-Hangzhou railway, that is, the construction of the Songhang Railway, began to conduct preliminary route surveys in the middle of Chengshun 22 years. At the end of the year, it began to requisition land along the line and prepare various materials. The month officially started construction.

Because the investment budget is sufficient, like other sections of the Jiangnan Railway, the Songhang Railway also started construction on multiple sections at the same time.

On the one hand, it is being built eastward from Shanghai County in Songjiang Prefecture, and at the same time, it is being built in Shanghai and Hangzhou in Jiaxing Prefecture, and the Hangzhou side is also being built in Jiaxing.

The four directions were built at the same time, and it took only about one year to complete the foundation construction, and then began the finishing work.

By June of this year, the trial opening to traffic had already begun.

Railways are more of a means of public transportation, and safety is more important. Even if the railway is completely completed, tests must be carried out to ensure that there are no problems with the railway.

At the same time, it is also necessary to give some preparation time in advance for railway operations. For example, the staff and equipment of the railway stations along the way also need to conduct advance drills.

Although the Songhang Railway is less than [-] kilometers away, there are many railway stations along the way, including Huating, Jiashan, Jiaxing, Tongxiang, Chongde, Renhe, and Hangzhou North Stations.

This is also a characteristic of railway construction in some densely populated and economically developed areas, that is, there are relatively more platforms.

And these platforms are equipped with facilities for adding coal and water.

Although the trains seem slow these days, they are also troublesome to operate. For example, adding coal and water along the way is indispensable.

Today's trains use the 21-type locomotive produced by Guangzhou Machinery Company. This type of locomotive basically needs to add coal and fresh water once it runs dozens of kilometers.

Therefore, in addition to loading and unloading passengers and loading and unloading goods, contemporary railway stations also need to add coal and water to passing trains.

After everything is ready, the official commercial operation will start today!

The first commercial operation has also been greatly welcomed by the public, which can be seen from the full capacity of the first commercial passenger train.

Although many of them are purely curious and regard the train itself as a trip, many passengers on the train really have travel needs. Some of them are going to Shanghai, Songjiang Prefecture for business, and some are planning to go to Hangzhou, Zhenjiang and other places. , There are also many people who want to go to Jinling, the capital.

In Songjiang Mansion, Hangzhou Mansion, and Jinling City, the demand for personnel exchange and cargo transportation is very large. Although there are also sea transport and canal and inland water transport, it is still a little short.

People have great demand for more convenient and fast railways.

In particular, other sections of the Jiangnan Railway have been opened to traffic one after another, and people have seen the convenience of the railway.

Prior to this, many sections of the Jiangnan Railway have been opened to traffic. From Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture to the north, the section of the railway that assaults Suzhou, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Yingtian Jinling, Dangtu, and Wuhu has been fully opened to traffic.

But now, with the opening of the Songhang Railway, the Jiangnan Railway will be further extended to Hangzhou. From Hangzhou, you can directly take the train to Jinling City.

In addition, it won't be long, probably in this winter, the railway from Wuhu to Hukou should be open to traffic.

At the same time, the railway from Hangzhou to Ningbo is also under overtime construction, and it is expected to open to traffic next spring.

In other words, after several years of construction, next year, in the spring of the 25th year of Chengshun, the Jiangnan Railway will be fully open to traffic.

This Jiangnan Grand Railway will start from Ningbo, Zhejiang in the east, pass through Hangzhou, Songjiang, Suzhou, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Jinling, Dangtu, Wuhu, and Chizhou, and finally arrive at Hukou, Jiujiang Prefecture, Jiangxi. The total length is about [-] kilometers.

This will be the earliest main line railway in the Great Chu Empire, and relying on the dense population and economic conditions of the Pan-Jiangnan region, this railway is also the main line railway with the highest operating income and the most lucrative profits in the Great Chu Empire.

The high profit is also the reason why the railway department of the Great Chu Empire invested almost most of its resources in the construction of this railway, because this railway makes money.

The Railway Corporation is also counting on the operating profits of this railway to support the construction of other railways.

It is an established strategic plan finalized by the Railway Corporation to build easy and profitable railways first, and use the money earned from these railways to repair unprofitable or even loss-making railways.

Today, with the opening of the Songhang Railway, the Jiangnan Railway is one step closer to the opening of the entire line.

But now Qiu Chengzhe is already considering the follow-up plan for the branch line of the Jiangnan Railway, especially the branch line plan from Jinling City to Hangzhou.

Qiu Chengzhe has been promoting the railway network plan around Taihu Lake within the company, that is, in addition to the existing railway, another railway from Jinling City to Hangzhou will be built.

From the map, it can be seen that the Jiangnan Railway has formed a ring around Taihu Lake, which can greatly shorten the time from Jinling City to Hangzhou.

At the same time, it can also connect Lishui, Liyang, Guangde, and Huzhou with railway lines, not to mention driving local economic development, and these places themselves are also densely populated and economically developed places, which can bring huge profits to Jiangnan Railway Company.

Once the railway from Jinling City to Hangzhou is completed, in the future, in addition to large and cheap goods that must be transported by sea and river, people and goods that are not sensitive to transportation costs will inevitably choose more convenient and fast trains.

After all, if you go by sea or inland river, it will take at least a few days from Hangzhou to Jinling City.

But if you take the railway, you can get there in one day, to be precise, in one day!
This kind of convenience is incomparable to river and sea transportation, so Qiu Chengzhe has been promoting this matter all the time.

And the higher-ups paid more attention to and agreed with his opinions. The route has entered the stage of field survey. If everything goes well, it is estimated that the construction will officially start next year.

Once this railway can be completed and put into operation, it will only take more than 200 kilometers from Hangzhou to Jinling City by train in the future, which can be reached in one day.

It doesn’t have to be the same as it is now, and it needs to detour to Shanghai, and the whole journey takes more than 600 kilometers of railways.

In addition, the travel of people and cargo transportation in Huzhou, Guangde and other places along the way will be more convenient.

In addition to this railway construction plan in the Jiangnan Railway, there are actually many other railway construction plans, such as Wuhu to Xuancheng.

According to the plan of the Jiangnan Railway Company of the Railway Corporation, in the future, every county in the Pan-Jiangnan area will be connected to trains, because these places are densely populated and economically developed, not to mention the travel needs of the local people, the demand for cargo transportation, etc. Yes, the railway company cannot give up the profits brought by operating the railway alone.

Although the Railway Corporation is carrying a lot of debt, it still counts on the profits brought by the large-scale operation of the railway in the south of the Yangtze River to repay the debt.

The money borrowed to build the railway has to be repaid, and the Jiangnan railway network will be the main force for repaying debts in the future.

The railway company currently owes a lot of debt, and it is expected to borrow more money in the future.

After all, the railway investment is very large. If the railway company wants to roll out railway construction on a large scale, it can only rely on a large number of loans and corporate bonds to raise funds.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to launch so many railway construction projects at the same time. You must know that in addition to the Jiangnan Railway, the Railway Corporation is still building the Central Plains Railway, Longhai Railway, Huguang Railway, and Guangdong-Jiangxi Railway.

Among them, the Central Plains Railway has entered the most critical construction period.

The Central Plains Railway, which is a strategic railway connecting the south and the north, not only has huge economic value, but also has huge national defense strategic value.

With such a railway, the traffic between the south and the north of the Great Chu Empire will become more convenient and faster... How should I put it, if there is a change in the northern grassland, the army stationed in the Jiangbei area will be destroyed within a few days. It can go to Tianjin City, and then go out of Zhangjiakou to go to the grassland.

This is a strategic railway that can better integrate the northern and southern regions, and the high-level empire attaches great importance to it.

The Central Plains Railway has been surveyed since the 22nd year of Chengshun, and in the same year it began to carry out construction while surveying, and multiple sections were constructed at the same time.

In the south, construction starts from Jiangbei of Jinling City, that is, Jiangpu Railway Station, to the north, and in the north, construction starts from Tianjin to the south.

The Xuzhou side, which is the intersection point with the Longhai Railway, will also carry out simultaneous construction, and the construction scale on the Xuzhou side is actually larger. Xuzhou is the intersection point of the Central Plains Railway and the Longhai Railway, so this place is also Simultaneously build railways in four directions...

In addition, the first section of the Longhai Railway, that is, the railway from Xuzhou to Haizhou, has also entered the actual construction stage.

The construction of the Central Plains Railway is very fast, even faster than the Jiangnan Railway, because there are a large number of small rivers along the Jiangnan Railway, and there are many railway bridges that need to be built.

But the places where the Central Plains Railway passes are all plains... the terrain is flat, and there are not so many rivers.

The construction difficulty is low and the cost is low, so the construction efficiency is faster than that of the Jiangnan Railway. Of course, this refers to the investment of the same personnel and equipment.

In fact, in the past two years, the Railway Corporation has concentrated its main resources on the Jiangnan Railway. Although the Central Plains Railway is also important, considering that the subsequent commercial operation profits cannot be as high as that of the Jiangnan Railway, the priority is to go to the back. of.

But even so, the construction speed of the Central Plains Railway is very fast. After a year and a half of construction, the north of Yingtianfu Jiangpu Railway Station has already reached Fengyang.
At the same time, the railway to the south of Xuzhou has also been built for dozens of kilometers, so it is optimistic that the railway line from Jinling City to Xuzhou will be open to traffic by the beginning of next year.

At the same time, the road from Tianjin to the south in the northern section has also been repaired to Dezhou.

According to the construction plan, the Central Plains Railway is expected to open to traffic in the 26th year of Chengshun. The entire construction time for this [-]-kilometer trunk line will only take about four years.

From this extremely fast construction time, it can also be seen that the top management of the Great Chu Empire attaches great importance to railway construction.

However, in order to build the railway, the Railway Corporation borrowed a lot of money, not only borrowing money from major banks, but also issuing a large amount of corporate bonds.

It is worth mentioning that the interest on these railway bonds is very good, which has attracted a large amount of private capital within the empire to purchase.

In other words, in fact, most of the money that the Great Chu Empire Railway Corporation currently spends on building railways is private capital.

This also allows private capital to share the dividends of railway construction and development, and the returns are very safe and risk-free.

If private capital invests in railway construction by itself, many people will make a lot of money in a short period of time, but at the same time, countless people will lose their money.

In history, when Britain set off a frenzy of railway construction, some people invested in railways and made crazy money, but countless people invested in railways and lost everything.

Not all railways can make money. Blind investment in railway construction will lead to nothing.

On the side of the Great Chu Empire, capital cannot directly participate in railway investment. Capital enters it by providing loans and purchasing corporate bonds. What they earn is not doubled profits, but fixed interest.

This kind of interest rate seems not high, and it is not attractive to ordinary people, but for a large-scale capital, this kind of interest rate slightly higher than that of national debt is already a very good return on investment.

How should I put it, when you manage [-] Chu Yuan, you can easily get an annual return of tens of percent or even [-] percent on investment.

But when you manage a huge fund of millions or even tens of millions of Chu Yuan, the difficulty of investment operation will increase sharply, let alone double the rate of return, even if you can stabilize the annual rate of return of more than ten points are extremely difficult.

It is even an exaggeration to say that being able to outperform inflation is considered awesome!

Therefore, when the fund managers of those regime companies are very cautious when investing the huge funds on hand, they tend to tend to more conservative investment strategies, such as buying government bonds, corporate bonds of high-quality companies, and stocks of high-quality companies etc.

The financial market of the Great Chu Empire has been developed for more than ten years, especially after the establishment of the Jinling Stock Exchange Market, the Jinling Futures Market was also established, and the futures trading of bulk goods was launched.

At the same time, professional securities and fund financial enterprises have emerged one after another.

Nowadays, the scale of the domestic financial market is not small, and it is easier for companies to raise funds than before.

Of course, the liberalization and promotion of finance has also brought some financial risks, but these are all incidental products of the development of productivity, and they will also appear without financial liberalization, but they will be reflected in different ways.

To develop industry and commerce, and to develop people's livelihood economy, you can't stop doing it just because there will be risks in the future!

And the money will not disappear, it will only flow... During the economic crisis, some people will lose their fortunes, while others will make a lot of money...

The most important thing is that regardless of whether there are any financial risks in the future, the industrial development brought about by financial stimulus and the resulting increase in production efficiency are real.

The improvement of production efficiency is of great benefit to the improvement of the living standards of the people in the whole society.

The total grain output obtained by mechanized farming is always much more than the total grain output obtained by your small-scale farming!

More food is always right!
Of course, these are very extreme statements. Just saying that the development of the industrial economy cannot be given up because of financial risks does not mean that the financial management structure of the Great Chu Empire will allow financial risks to arise.

(End of this chapter)