China's Ministry of Railways has had trouble keeping track of its trains and its money. In July, rail officials tragically failed to detect a stalled bullet train, allowing another to plow into it, killing 40 people. In February, the rail minister was sacked and placed under investigation for possible corruption. In March, auditors said embezzlers had made off with 187 million yuan ($29.2 million) from just the Beijing-Shanghai portion of China's ambitious high-speed rail network.

　　中國鐵道部過去在掌握列車和資金情況方面遇到了麻煩。今年7月，鐵路工作人員因未能察覺到一列停在半道的拋錨動車，從而造成它與另一列動車相撞，釀成40人死亡的悲劇。2月，中國鐵道部長被革職，并因可能的腐敗問題接受調查。3月，審計人員說，京滬高鐵項目1.87億元人民幣資金被挪用，而該項目只是中國建設宏偉高速鐵路網的一部分。

　　It remains to be seen whether the ministry has overcome the safety problems, said to be linked to faulty signaling. But the ministry may have had some improvement in sorting out other signals, particularly when it comes to managing its money.

　　鐵道部是否解決了安全問題還有待觀察。據說這些事故與信號系統故障有關。不過，鐵道部在處理其他“信號”問題、特別是資金管理方面，可能已經有了些許長進。

　　The rail ministry has had a huge appetite for funds as it builds out the world's largest high-speed rail network -- now sprawling over 8,000 kilometers. To help pay for it, the ministry is a frequent issuer in the nation's bond market. It had some 2.09 trillion yuan in debt outstanding as of June, and it plans to offer 100 billion yuan of just one kind of debt this year.

　　隨著中國建設全球規模最大的高速鐵路網工程的推進，中國鐵道部有著巨大的資金需求。中國高速鐵路的通車里程目前已超過8,000公里。為幫助償還自己的建設貸款，鐵道部頻繁在中國國內債券市場上融資。截至今年6月，鐵道部的未償債務大約是2.09萬億元。今年，鐵道部計劃只發行一種債券，融資總額為1,000億元。

　　But the fatal accident in July has shaken investor confidence in the ministry and its ability to repay on time. That has forced it to pay higher interest rates on new bond offers to convince investors to buy its debt.

　　然而，7月發生的災難性動車追尾事故動搖了投資者對中國鐵道部及其按時償還貸款能力的信心。無奈之下，鐵道部只能增加新發債券的利率，目的就是勸說投資者購買其債券。

　　State banks have also restricted its access to lower-cost funds, forcing it to borrow at higher rates. It also needed some help from Beijing, which called on local governments to step up financing for rail projects in their districts.

　　中國國有銀行也對鐵道部獲取較低利率貸款的能力進行了限制，這迫使鐵道部只能以更高利率籌資。另外，鐵道部還需要來自中國政府的一些幫助。中國政府曾呼吁地方政府提高對其轄區內鐵路項目的融資力度。

　　Shortly before the National Day holiday, the rail ministry had been scheduled to issue 20 billion yuan in bonds. But at the last minute it put the brakes on those plans. There was no official explanation, but market analysts suggested the decision was an adept shift in the ministry's financial gears, avoiding a pre-holiday spike in interest rates as other borrowers rushed to raise funds.

　　就在國慶假期前夕，鐵道部曾計劃發行200億元債券，但在最后一刻卻推遲了發行計劃，并且沒有對此提供官方解釋。不過，市場分析人士表示，放棄之舉是鐵道部融資安排的一個巧妙安排，可避過節前因其他借款人紛紛舉債而出現的利率飆升現象。

　　But perhaps there was more to the unexplained move, with the ministry able to see a little bit further down the track than other market participants.

　　但或許鐵道部未作解釋的舉動還有更多含義，因為它有能力比市場上的其他參與者看得更遠一點。

　　On Monday, the Ministry of Finance helpfully announced a plan to cut in half the tax rate on interest on some types of bonds issued by the rail ministry through 2013. That made railway bonds suddenly more attractive to investors -- and no doubt less costly to the ministry. Today, the ministry has said it will offer 10 billion yuan of seven-year bonds and 10 billion yuan of 20-year paper on Wednesday.

　　中國財政部周一稱，計劃對鐵道部今年至2013年發行的某些債券的利息收入減半征稅。突然之間，鐵道部債券對投資者的吸引力增強了，而鐵道部的成本無疑也就減少了。鐵道部周二說，將于周三發行100億元的七年期債券和100億的20年期債券。

　　Coincidence? Perhaps, but maybe the ministry just sees some kinds of signals better than others.

　　這是巧合嗎？也許是，也許不是──可能只是鐵道部比別人更清楚地看到了某種信號也說不定。