Right on track
Duncan Peattie from Kingston upon Thames, England, reads and speaks little Chinese. But since 2001, he has been doing a Chinese-English translation - at least once a year - of a little book that has benefited hundreds, if not thousands, of travelers from across the world.
Armed with little more than the names of cities in language skills, he has been producing regularly updated English translations of the Chinese railway timetables.
A railway signal testing engineer since 16, Peattie was based in Hong Kong, from 1997 to 2000, but now splits his time between Thailand, Australia and his home country, the United Kingdom. He claims to knows every rail line in China and every new improvement and addition to one of the world's most dynamic rail systems.
Based on the Chinese timetables put out by China Rail Publishing House (CRPH), Peattie's English version isn't merely a translation, but a recompilation that is more user-friendly especially for a foreigner who doesn't read or speak Chinese.
Peattie calls it "a labor of love", one that he is quick to share with whoever is interested.
His timetables comes in two formats - a downloadable PDF file version, which is a free, "quick reference" summary of express trains between main stations, the only trains most foreign tourists will ever take, and a complete, national timetable for sale if you are getting off the main lines as part of a more complex travel plan.
The schedules are linked to the Quail China Railway Atlas, which is also available in print, and can be invaluable in finding connections along various routes. The timetable's sixth edition (based on the April 2009 Chinese timetable and including major changes over the past year) is out, and now routinely referenced by various guidebooks and websites.
But some still wonder why anyone would go to the great lengths that Peattie does to produce a timetable.
"Some have called it an obsession, but surely it's a harmless one," says Peattie, by phone from Australia.
He adds that his fascination with trains goes back to when he was 3.
"You know, mothers usually take their children to see art or enjoy music or experiment with science, to help discover their interest and potential as early as possible," says Peattie. "This is what my mother did after running out of options - she took me to the train station near our house."
The year was 1959. Both mother and son would stand mesmerized as the steam trains puffed in and out of the station amid the glittering signals.
As an assistant to his electrician father since his early childhood, Peattie also developed a strong interest in electricity. That led naturally to his becoming a rail signaling test engineer. He worked for British Rail for nearly 20 years before moving overseas for work, mostly in Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong.
One thing he loves about working for the railways, Peattie says, is that he used to get three train tickets for free each year when he was back in UK.
"I used every single ticket I got because I love traveling, especially by train," he says. "Traveling by train means you don't have to worry about driving and traffic as you do when you travel by car, and can enjoy the beautiful scenery outside. Riding a train in a foreign country is often quite a journey in itself. It's also much safer and reliable when compared to travel by air or car."
When he landed in Hong Kong in 1997, he got on the through train between Hong Kong and Shanghai as soon as it was introduced, embarking on the first of many explorations of the country by train.
"I was very excited to see a food trolley pulled along the platform selling drinks and snacks. I'd never seen services like this before," recalls Peattie.
He still remembers the delicious eggs boiled with tea and soy sauce he bought then. "What a good choice of snack for a train traveler!"
When he arrived in Shanghai, he wanted to continue his explorations and started to look for timetable information. There was a lot, but all in Chinese. "I decided to make my own timetable even though it took a long time. My Chinese language skills were zero, and are still not good, but I have developed the ability to read place names."
The first complete edition was ready in April 2001. "Having completed it I realized that it was a bit silly to keep it to myself, so I turned it into something fit for publication," he says.
Peattie says he usually sells a few hundred copies for each complete edition of 176 pages, which is currently priced at $20. But, he adds, profit has never been the purpose of his project. "I share the view of CRPH that there isn't a commercial market for a detailed English language Chinese railway timetable. However, there is a significant demand for such information."
While rail services in China have improved significantly in the past decade, "not many people know much about these. I believe if they knew, they would like to travel by train", says Peattie.
Peattie says he is looking forward to his next China trip next year. "Since my last trip to China in 2007, many new lines have been added.