1. Most people think of communications only when they went to get from one place to the other. But communications are extremely important to the national economy of а country as well. Without good roads and railways а country cannot develop its resources, industry and trade.
2. Early man probably used great rivers as his first means of travelling and communication. Later, people began to develop roads. In the Roman times roads became very important for military reasons.
3. 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 distance.
4. Roads provide two main types of service: passenger service and freight service. The importance of each type of railroad service varies from country to country.
5. Railroads operate two main types of passenger trains: commuter trains and intercity train. 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 usualy offer any extra services. Iniercity trains make longer runs than most commuter trains do. The longest intercity runs cover great distances and take several days to complete. As а result, many intercity passenger trains have special cars, such as dining cars and sleeping cars, in addition to coaches.
6. 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 then 1 percent of all US intercity passenger traffic.
7. 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 sill rely heavily on trains for transportation.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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 upto 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.
11. 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 (130 kmph).
12. In the early 1900’s, there were thousands of intecity passenger trams in the USA that link 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-mite (360 km) route. They reach a top speed of over 100 mph (160 kmph).
13. 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 andcarries about 2,500 tons of goods. Some of the cars in a freight train are empty cars being moved to various points for loading.
14. Railroads in the United States and in manу 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, theycarry less than 40% of the intercity freight. American railroads also used to carry most of the nation's mail, and so they received mostof 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.
15. 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.
Семестр
TEXT 4.
VOCABULARY
A carrier – перевозчик
A pipeline - трубопровод
A truck - грузовик
Bulk goods (commodity) – крупногабаритный товар
Undeniably – бесспорно
A freight – груз
A haul – дальность перевозок
A railcar – амер. железнодорожный вагон