Railway system is a very complex mechanism. It implies track, rail equipment, rolling-stock and train operation.
Track is one of the basic features of a railway. It is also called the permanent way. It consists of rails, ties and ballast. The distance between the rails is called the gauge. The standard gauge in most countries is 1,435 mm while in Russia it is 1,524 mm. Rails rest on sleepers which are laid on ballast (in the USA sleepers are called ties). The ballast is the foundation of the railway track.
Rail equipment consists of rails, sleepers, ballast, artificial structures, signals, railroad constructions (railway stations, tunnels, bridges). They enable the railway to operate successfully.
Railway Signalling makes railways safe and quick. Safety depends on many factors. It is determined by the condition of the track and signal techniques. Very important features of the railway safety engineering are signal and block systems.
Rolling stock is the term describing all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, such as locomotives, carriages, coaches and wagons. There are various types of trains designed for particular purposes. A passenger train includes passenger-carrying vehicles. Freight trains comprise wagons or trucks rather than carriages. Long-distance trains travel between many cities and regions of a country, and sometimes cross several countries. High-speed trains are designed for passenger travel, and some high speed systems offer freight service. Trains connecting cities can be divided into two groups. Inter-city trains do not halt at small stations, trains that serve all stations are usually known as local trains. Commuter trains are used for shorter distances serving the city and its suburbs.
Traffic and convey capacity of the railways is called operation service. Efficient operation mostly depends on the time-table.
Questions for discussion:
1. What does the term track mean?
2. What is the gauge?
3. What is the gauge standard in Russia?
4. What is the foundation of the track?
5. What is the aim of railway signalling?
6. What does the rail equipment consist of?
7. What does the term rolling-stock mean?
8. What does the term operation service imply?
9. What types of trains do you know?
10. What does efficient operation depend on?
Text3: British Railways
Britain has one of the most efficient and heavily used railway systems in the world. Both freight and long-distance passenger services now operate without subsidy from the Government and in direct competition with other forms of transport. British Rail has а computerized freight information and traffic control system known as TOPS (Total Operations Processing System). In Britain а network of city to city services operates at speeds of up to 100 mph (161 km/h). On some lines the speed is raised to 125 mph (201 km/h).
The 1970s saw British Rail successfully introduced high speed diesel train services. The InterCity 125 High Speed Train (HST) was introduced on some services, and the InterCity brand was adopted. This created an increase in passengers using the railways and improved British Rail's finances. The InterCity125 was an outstanding success and is still in widespread use.
British Rail also started development of the world's first tilting train – the Advanced Passenger Train (APT) achieving 150 mph (241 km/h). The APT is powered either by electric motors or by gas turbines, and it can use existing track. The object of the tilt was to minimise the discomfort to passengers caused by taking the curves at high speed.
Between 1994 and 1997 British Rail was privatized and passed to Railtrack. Privatization made an improvement in passenger services. But the public image of rail travel was severely damaged because of the series of significant accidents caused by a train going through a red light and by a rail fragmenting due to the development of microscopic cracks.
Following these accidents Railtrack imposed over 1200 speed restrictions across its network and started an extremely costly nationwide track replacement programme.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in demand for rail transport in Britain. Railways operate in direct competition with road hauliers and airlines.
Questions for discussion:
1. Do British Railways have a subsidy from the Government?
2. What is another name for British computerized freight information and traffic control system?
3. What speed do British city to city services operate at?
4. When and why did British Rail introduce HST and APT?
5. What do the abbreviations “HST” and “APT” mean?
6. What speed do “HST” and “APT” trains achieve?
7. What happened in the British railway services between 1994 and 1997?
8. What were the reasons of the railway accidents after privatization?
9. What did the authorities do to improve the situation on the rail track?
10. What do British railways compete with?
Text 4: Russian Railways
Railway systems are essential to the economy and infrastructure of any country. A highly developed railway network is vital to Russia as well, partly because of its huge territory. Rail connects Russia’s regions and provides services to main cities and towns. Much of the population relies on the railways because of rather cheap transportation.
Russian railways are one of the largest in the world. The total length of track is 85,500 km. The majority of railways in Russia are electrified. The national gauge standard is 1,524 mm. Modern Russian railways are transcontinental, they provide international passenger and freight service between Europe and Asia. The Russian railway system transports most of the country's industrial goods and raw materials. It also carries the bulk of passenger traffic. More than 1 billion passengers and 1 billion tons of freight travel via Russian Railways annually.
Actually, the rail network of Russia comprises 17 railways such as Oktyabrskaya Railway, Northern Railway and Moscow Railway. This division is based on historical and regional principle.
However, the density of the railways in Russia is still comparatively low. The country should enlarge its railway system, especially in the East with its relatively poor road connection.
The rolling stock used on Russian railways is reliable in operation and environmentally friendly. For instance, the locomotives possess high performance in quick acceleration and in tractive and braking power. The passenger coaches are modernised and comfortable. They also may have some extra facilities - conditioning, toned windows, or TV. High-speed railway transportation is the priority goal of the breakthrough development of rail transport in Russia.
To conclude, new technologies and equipment as well as high quality of service make Russian railways a competitive mode of transport.
Questions for discussion:
1. Railways are essential to the economy of any country, aren’t they?
2. Why does the population of Russia rely on railways?
3. What is the length of Russian railways?
4. Are modern Russian railways transcontinental?
5. Are Russian railways electrified?
6. What freight and passenger turnover does the Russian rail account for?
7. How many railways does the Russian rail system consist of?
8. Is the rolling stock used on Russian railways reliable and modern?
9. Why should Russia enlarge its railway network?
10. What makes Russian railways a competitive mode of transport?
