Translate the following passage about modern rails. Write your translation and read it in your English group.

RAILROAD MACHINERY

Whatever happens on the railroad – blizzard, flood or wreck – the damage to the track must be repaired very quickly. The trains must be kept moving, for only when trains are moving can the railroads work, grow and develop successfully.

The most important and widely used railway maintenance machines and equipment are the following: tracklayers, rail-grinding machines, ballast tampers, ballast cleaners, spike-removers, spike-drivers, weed-cutters, detector cars, snow-plows, and many others.

Modern track has to cope with the growing demands of rail traffic, in particular with the constant increase in the weight and speed of trains.

One modern development in the upkeep of the permanent way is the use of the welding process.

Steel rails were first rolled in England in 1856. From that date, they had rapidly become of a standard shape and length. The standard length of a single rail in the USA is 39 ft; 60 ft rails are common in Europe. The use of longer rails is advantageous in maintenance work.

Rail joints and crossings wear away very rapidly. They are costly to make and to maintain.

Railroads are therefore progressively adopting long welded rails that lessen wear and tear of rolling stock and mean longer life for rails. Wear of rail ends is avoided and there are fewer bolt holes that may cause cracks.

Continuous welded rails are being laid in regions where the range of temperature during the year may be as much as 100°. In such regions it is customary to lay the rails on days when the temperature is midway between the annual maximum and minimum. This means that the force of expansion and contraction is reduced to the lowest possible point.

The greatest success with the long welded rails is obtained in tunnels, where the variation of temperature during the year is much less than in the open air.

Continuous welded rails are now steadily growing in favor with railroad construction engineers. The elimination of track joints reduces the expense of track repair and maintenance considerably. Continuous rails are much more durable, they give to the railroad track a smoother riding quality, and they permit the operation of trains at greater speeds.

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HOW RAILROADS SERVE THE PEOPLE

Most people think of communications only when they want to get from one place to the other. But communications are extremely important to the national economy of a country as well. Without good roads and railways a country cannot develop its resources, industry and trade.

Early man probably used great rivers as his first means of traveling and communication. Later, people began to develop roads. In the Roman times, roads became very important for military reasons.

Nowadays, roads are still extremely significant; waterways are used for carrying bulky goods; airplanes cannot take very heavy loads and are especially useful for carrying passengers, mail and valuable equipment. And only railroads still carry the bulk of people and loads. Railway transport is still one of the cheapest ways of hauling freight over long distances.

Railroads provide two main types of service: passenger service and freight service. The importance of each type of railroad service varies from country to country.

Railroads operate two main types of passenger trains: commuter trains and intercity trains. Commuter trains carry passengers between large cities and the surrounding suburbs. Most of these trains are equipped with coaches only. Coaches provide seats for passengers but do not usually offer any extra services. Intercity trains make longer runs than most commuter trains do. The longest intercity runs cover great distances and take several days to complete. As a result, many intercity passenger trains have special cars, such as dining cars and sleeping cars, in addition to coaches.

Since the 1940's, the number of rail passengers in the USA has declined sharply as more and more people prefer to travel by automobile and airplane. Railroads now carry less than 1 percent of all US intercity passenger traffic.

In most other countries, passenger trains have not faced such strong competition from other forms of transportation. People in China, India, Japan, Russia, and most European countries still rely heavily on trains for transportation.

About 75 % of all US rail passengers ride commuter trains. Each working day, these trains carry hundreds of thousands of suburban residents to and from work in such large cities as Chicago and New York City. Commuter trains also serve London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Moscow, Tokyo, Toronto and many other cities all over the world. Some intercity trains also carry commuter passengers.

It takes as many as 1,000 automobiles to carry as many commuters as one commuter train can carry. Commuter trains thus help to relieve rush-hour traffic jams on city expressways. By reducing the number of automobiles in use, commuter trains also help to conserve fuel and to reduce air pollution caused by exhaust fumes.

Some countries have unusually fast, efficient intercity passenger trains. Many Japanese trains travel at an average speed of more than 100 mph (160 kmph). The fastest passenger trains in the world operate in France: these trains travel up to 180 mph (290 kmph) between Paris and Lyon and some cities in Switzerland. They travel up to 200 mph (320 kmph) between Paris and other cities in France. High-speed trains also serve cities in Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, and other European countries. Some of the Japanese and European high-speed trains offer a number of luxury services, including beauty shops, gift shops, telephones, and meals served at the passengers' seats.

Some Canadian intercity trains also provide luxury service. One of these trains, the Rapido, is Canada's fastest train. It carries passengers between Toronto and Montreal – a 335-mile (536-km) journey – at an average speed of about 80 mph (130kmph).

In the early 1900's, there were thousands of intercity passenger trains in the USA that linked almost all American cities. Today, only about 125 intercity passenger trains serve the entire country. Few of them compare with Japanese and European intercity trains for speed. Subway electric-powered trains that run between New York City and Washington, D.C., are the fastest US trains in commercial service. They run at an average speed of about 80 mph (130 kmph) over a 225-mile (360-km) route. They reach a top speed of over 100 mph (160 kmph).

About 95% of the money earned by US railroads comes from hauling freight. Canadian railroads earn about 80% of their income from freight operations. As many as 10,000 freight trains a day roar across the US countryside, loaded with everything from coal and iron ore to television sets and new automobiles. The longest freight trains consist of 200 or more cars. An average freight train includes about 70 cars and carries about 2,500 tons of goods. Some of the cars in a freight train are empty cars being moved to various points for loading.

Railroads in the United States and in many other countries now carry more freight than ever before. However, most of the railroads haul a smaller share of the total freight traffic than in the past. In 1929, railroads handled almost 75% of all loads carried between US cities. Today, they carry less than 40% of the intercity freight. American railroads also used to carry most of the nation's mail, and so they received most of the money spent for mail transportation. Today, airplanes and trucks carry most US mail. The railroads receive only about 15% of the country's mail revenue.

To attract more customers railroads in many countries have improved their freight service. In the 1950’s, US railroads introduced flatcars to carry truck trailers loaded with freight. Today, US railroads carry hundreds of thousands of truck trailers each year.

Дата добавления: 2017-02-01