Before the operation of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway two weeks ago, people were expecting it would deal a severe blow to airlines. And various air carriers offered big discounts on tickets between China's two biggest cities to hedge the risks. But frequent train malfunctions are causing it to lose its competitive edge.
在两周前开通的京沪高铁运营之前，人们预计它会给航空公司带来重创。很多航空公司纷纷给这两个中国最大城市之间的机票大打折扣以规避风险。但是频发的列车故障使高铁失去了竞争优势。
Changzhou City in east China's Jiangsu Province was luckily chosen to be one of the stations on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway. It reduces travel between Changzhou and Beijing to no more than four hours, making trains quite competitive against air with its lower price. However, frequent recent malfunctions are making more and more passengers go for air.
中国东部的江苏省常州市很幸运被选为京沪高铁的一个站点。这把常州至北京的行程时间缩短了短四个小时，让车票价格较低的火车比飞机更有竞争力。然而，最近频发的故障让越来越多的乘客改乘飞机。
"I think it has technical problems, and still needs improvement."
“我觉得高铁还存在技术问题，仍然需要改进。”
The flight from Changzhou to Beijing witnesses a lowest flight load of about 27 percent. But this number climbed to 64 percent, with frequent railway malfunctions. For the time being airline operators are not worried about competition from rail.
从常州至北京的航班见证了27%的最低上座率。但是由于铁路故障频发，这个数字攀升至64%。目前，航空公司并不担心来自铁路的竞争。
Zhao Kaijun, vice manager of Changzhou Airport, said, "The malfunctions of the railway due to bad weather will influence some passengers. I believe some business passengers will return to flights"
常州航空公司副总经理赵开军表示：“由恶劣天气引发的铁路故障影响了乘客。我相信一些商务乘客会重新选择搭飞机的。”
The disappointing performance of the railway has also encouraged air carriers to push up prices. Previous large discounts are no longer available. And it will still take time before high-speed trains makes the most of its potential.
铁路系统令人失望的性能也鼓励了航空公司提高价格。之前的大折扣已不复存在。高铁充分发挥它的潜能还需要时间。