德国铁路网无法承接所有从莱茵河转移而来的货物——由于水位偏低，加上维护作业挤占了运力，铁路物流公司 VTG GmbH 表示。
Germany’s rail network is unable to handle all the goods that are being diverted from the Rhine River — where water levels are low — with maintenance crimping capacity, rail logistics firm VTG GmbH said.
作为连接欧洲工厂与全球市场的重要运输通道，莱茵河水位在干旱和反复热浪影响下，今年跌至历史低位。这推高了企业成本，迫使它们将部分运输量转向铁路和公路，但德国铁路网的一个关键路段自 7 月起一直在进行维护，这进一步加剧了压力。
Water levels on the river, an important transportation route connecting European factories with global markets, fell to record lows this year after drought and repeated heat waves. That has driven up costs for companies and forced them to switch some traffic to rail and road, though a key part part of Germany’s rail network has undergone maintenance since July, and that has added to the strain.
VTG 一位发言人通过电子邮件表示，虽然铁路正在承担“相当大份额”的转移运量，“但由于德国铁路建设仍在进行，铁路尚无法一对一替代莱茵河”。他无法说明有多少货运量转移到了铁路。他指出，一列满编的整列货运列车可运送 1200 至 1500 吨货物，少于一艘标准驳船。
While rail is handling a “substantial share” of displaced volumes, “due to the ongoing rail construction in Germany, rail cannot replace the Rhine one to one yet,” a spokesman for VTG said by email. He wasn’t able to say how much freight has switched to rail. A full block train can move 1,200 to 1,500 tons, less than a standard barge, he said.
低水位限制了柴油、取暖油、煤炭和可可经由德国南部运往瑞士的交付。发电厂是受影响者之一，瑞士政府上周援引铁路货运延误，警告苏黎世机场可能出现航空燃料短缺。该机场表示，航空燃料交付量已连续数周低于正常水平，并指出目前加油业务未受限制。
The low water levels have restricted deliveries of diesel, heating oil, coal and cocoa through southern Germany into Switzerland. Power plants have been among those affected, and the Swiss government last week cited delays in rail freight for a potential shortage of jet fuel at Zurich airport. The airport said deliveries of jet fuel have been below normal levels for weeks, noting that there are currently no restrictions on refueling.
铁路维护作业在特罗伊斯多夫（Troisdorf，波恩附近）与维斯巴登（Wiesbaden，法兰克福以西）之间、莱茵河右岸进行，计划于 12 月 12 日结束。这将货运交通推向了左岸线路，导致绕行路线变长。VTG 指出，额外的交通量意味着“剩余储备很少”。
The work on the rail network is being done between Troisdorf, near Bonn, and Wiesbaden, west of Frankfurt, on the right bank of the Rhine, and is scheduled to finish on Dec. 12. It’s pushing freight traffic onto the left-bank line, with longer diversion routes. The additional traffic means there is “little reserve left,” according to VTG.
那段河流的河道中有一个关键节点——考布（Kaub）；由于水位过低，船只难以继续向上游航行，这导致瑞士的驳船运输费用创下今年的新纪录。根据 Riverlake 的数据，目前在鹿特丹地区装载货物后前往考布的驳船每次最多只能运输约 280 吨货物，而一艘标准的莱茵河驳船的载重量约为 2,500 吨。
That stretch of the river includes a chokepoint at Kaub where low water levels hamper vessel movements further upstream, pushing barge rates for Switzerland to a record this year. Barges loading in the Rotterdam area headed for Kaub can currently load about 280 tons, according to Riverlake. A standard Rhine barge has capacity of roughly 2,500 tons.
由于瑞士严重依赖通过铁路运输的航空燃料，该国上周不得不释放了部分石油储备。实际上，上个月该国就已经释放了一部分石油储备——当时其唯一的炼油厂发生了意外停机，同时莱茵河的航运也受到了限制。
Switzerland’s reliance on jet fuel deliveries by rail prompted a release of reserves last week. The nation had already released a part of its petroleum reserves last month after an unplanned outage at its only refinery coincided with transport restrictions on the Rhine.