IQBAL - User contributions [en]

Railway to ruin: Hanoi train factory fades from glory

2018-06-20T21:08:21Z

CherylePocock:

The Gia Lam train factory in Hanoi was the first in the then-French territory established to bolster the expanding rail network of the time Built by the French to fix trains for their fast-developing Vietnamese colony, the Gia Lam factory later churned out weapons to fuel the country's independence fight, and then survived the onslaught of American bombers during the war. But the storied Hanoi plant is now in decline, a victim of the rising consumer power of Vietnam's middle classes as passengers [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] turn from trains [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] to planes. The storied Hanoi plant is now in decline, a victim of the rising consumer power of Vietnam's middle classes as [http://Sportsrants.com/?s=passengers passengers] turn from trains to [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] planes "In the past, I was proud to work here because this factory was the biggest in Indochina," repairman Au Duy Hien told AFP. Opened in 1905, Gia Lam was the first train factory in the then-French territory, which spanned modern-day Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mechanics used the base to first fix and then assemble the engines and carriages that served the region's rapid push toward industrialisation. The factory was taken over by the Vietnamese in the 1940s, expanding production to make bazookas and grenades for revolutionaries fighting the colonial rulers who were finally thrown out in 1954 The factory was taken over by the Vietnamese in the 1940s, expanding production to make bazookas and grenades for revolutionaries fighting the colonial rulers who were finally thrown out in 1954. And then it continued to make weapons during the Vietnam War -- even as it was bombed by US planes targeting Communist-backed revolutionaries in northern Vietnam. - Running out of steam - Output at the factory is down more than 90 percent since its 1990s heyday and it is now mostly used to repair old trains, with little demand for new carriages on the country's vast but outdated rail network But today, output is down more than 90 percent since its 1990s heyday. It is now mostly used to repair old trains, with little demand for new carriages on the country's vast but outdated rail network. The industry is struggling to keep pace with the lure of low-cost air travel. For many, the choice between a clanging, slow-moving train or a quick -- and cheap -- plane is a no-brainer. In 2015, 31 million people travelled by air, more than double the number in 2010, according to official statistics. Train use remained steady at 11 million for the year. Today, some companies are seeking to revive the colonial romance of rail travel, offering first-class trips, wood-lined cabins with restaurant car. The air travel industry in Vietnam has taken off in recent years, aided by the launch of low-cost airlines offering cheap tickets. In 2015, 31 million Vietnamese took to the skies, more than double the number who flew in 2010 "If rail transportation isn't developed, then the railway industry cannot be revived," union boss Nguyen Anh Tuan told AFP. Some lawmakers recently called for private investment into the state-controlled sector, and the country's parliament is currently considering revising the law. But unless the industry sees a major upturn in fortunes, Gia Lam employees fear it will soon run out of steam. Advertisement

Today in History April 21

2018-06-14T17:30:23Z

CherylePocock:

HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY ON THIS DATE 753 BC - According to legend, the city of Rome is founded by Romulus. 1526 - Babur, an Uzbek prince, defeats Sultan Ibrahim Lodi at the Battle of Panipat north of Delhi, leading to Mughal rule over [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] India. 1809 - Napoleon's army defeats the Austrians at the Battle of Landshut in Germany. 1856 - Stonemasons in Melbourne strike and march on state parliament, demanding an eight-hour day. They soon win their claim. 1861 - Australian explorers Robert Burke, William Wills and John King arrive back at Cooper Creek to find only a few provisions and tree marked "Dig, 21st April, 1861". Base camp party had left seven hours before. Burke and Wills died; King was saved by Aborigines. 1910 - Death of US author Mark Twain. 1918 - Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the German ace known as the Red Baron, is killed in action during World War I, apparently shot down by Australian troops. 1945 - Last German troops leave Bologna, Italy, in World War II; on the same day Russian troops reach suburbs of Berlin. 1954 - US flies a French battalion to Indochina to defend Dien Bien Phu. 1960 - Brazil's capital moves from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia. 1961 - A French army revolt led by General Maurice Challe begins in Algeria. 1967 - Military coup in Athens establishes the regime of the Greek colonels. 1975 - South Vietnam's President Nguyen van Thieu resigns and names successor to seek negotiations with Communist forces sweeping across country. 1979 - Queensland National Party-dominated Government demolishes Brisbane's historic Belle Vue Hotel. 1989 - Thousands of students, shouting for democracy and human rights, march from campuses to converge on Beijing's Tiananmen Square. 1991 - Soviet hardliners launch a petition drive for a Parliament session to impose a national state of emergency and take President Mikhail Gorbachev to task over worsening ethnic and economic troubles. 1993 - The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis Garcia Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution. 1995 - FBI arrests former soldier Timothy McVeigh in connection with the deadly Oklahoma City bombing two days earlier. 1995 - Australian Rugby League launches Federal Court damages claim against Super League for interference in the game. 1997 - The first Chinese Army soldiers march into Hong Kong, in preparation for the handover of the British colony to China on July 1. 1997 - The ashes of 1960s LSD guru Timothy Leary and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry are blasted into space in the world's first space funeral. 1998 - France announces an accord on the future of New Caledonia, easing more than a decade of tension between pro and anti-independence forces. 1998 - South Korea drops efforts to get compensation from Japan for women held as sex slaves during World War II, and says it will pay surviving women. 1999 - NATO warplanes attack Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's party headquarters in Belgrade. 2002 - French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen shocks France and the world by coming second in the first round of a presidential election, qualifying for the run-off with the incumbent Jacques Chirac. 2004 - Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu is freed from prison in Israel after 18 years, saying he is proud of revealing secrets that [http://Www.bing.com/search?q=exposed&form=MSNNWS&mkt=en-us&pq=exposed exposed] Israel as an atomic power. 2006 - Australian soldier [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh] Jake Kovco dies in Iraq after his gun [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] accidentally discharges. The wrong body is sent back to Australia. 2009 - European researchers say they not only found the smallest exoplanet ever, Gliese 581 e, but also realised that a neighbouring planet discovered earlier, Gliese 581 d, was in the prime habital zone for potential life. 2010 - Airlines tote up losses topping $2 billion and struggle to get hundreds of thousands of travellers back home after a week of crippled travel as recriminations erupt over Europe's response to the volcanic ash cloud. 2011 - Japan seals off a wide area around the radiation-spewing Fukushima nuclear power plant to prevent thousands of residents from sneaking back to the homes they had been forced to evacuate. 2012 - An infusion of hundreds of billions of dollars will give the International Monetary Fund a badly needed boost to tackle Europe's prolonged debt crisis. 2013 - Australian singer and Divinyls frontwoman Chrissy Amphlett dies in New York, aged 53, after battling cancer. 2014 - Syria calls for a presidential election June 3 to give President Bashar Assad a veneer of electoral legitimacy in the midst of a civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people and driven a third of the population from their homes. 2015 - As the worst storms in a decade hit NSW, three people die as water surges through the Hunter Valley town of Dungog. 2016 - US singer-songwriter Prince dies at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in Minnesota, aged 57. TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS Charlotte Bronte, English novelist (1816-1855); Anthony Quinn, Mexican actor (1915-2001); Queen Elizabeth II (1926-); Russell Boyd, Australian cinematographer (1944-); Iggy Pop, US singer (1947-); Tony Danza, US actor (1951-); Andie MacDowell, US actor (1958-); Michael Franti, US rap singer (1966-); James McAvoy, Scottish actor (1979-); Princess Isabella of Denmark, daughter of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary (2007-). THOUGHT FOR TODAY I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. - Stephen Leacock, Canadian economist and humourist (1869-1944). Advertisement

User:CherylePocock

2018-06-14T17:30:17Z

CherylePocock: Created page with "My name's Cheryle Pocock but everybody calls me Cheryle. I'm from United Kingdom. I'm studying at the high school (3rd year) and I play the Cello for 10 years. Usually I choos..."

My name's Cheryle Pocock but everybody calls me Cheryle. I'm from United Kingdom. I'm studying at the high school (3rd year) and I play the Cello for 10 years. Usually I choose music from my famous films :D. I have two brothers. I like Herping, watching movies and Billiards. Here is my site: [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội]