2003,长江客运终结年

2003,Marks Ending of Passenger Transport on the Yangtze River

有"黄金水道"美誉的长江,自古就是巴山蜀地与外界联系的重要水道,客运传统千年不衰.进入20世纪以来,随着工业文明的加速发展,长江水系成为中国内河最大的运输动脉,客运在80年代达到了顶峰,年运量超过3000万人次,经历了千舟竞发的鼎盛十年.但是在我国公路、铁路和航空等综合运输体系的发展下,长江客运量从上世纪90年代中期开始,以每年22%的速度锐减,代之而起的是日益强盛的长江旅游观光业.在由普客向旅游转向的浪潮中,长江客运的最后一个动作--"100条普通客轮在3年内全部停运",这是长航集团在前年发出的信息.重庆长江轮船公司有望在今年成为长江普通客运的历史终结者.

The passenger transport has gone over thousands of years on the Yangtze River and is expected to stop in 2003. Though the construction of highway networks along the River, increased speed of trains and cheaper price of civil flights have directly driven the passenger transport on the Yangtze River into a difficult situation, this also reflects the social economic development and the updating of people's minds. Passenger transport on the Yangtze River will have to be tourism-oriented, especially in the prospective 'Three Gorges' area.