In the eighteen eighties Russian factories were already meeting all fabrication requirements for locomotives and rolling stocks. The greatest increase in railway construction began in the nineties of the 19th century. From 1890 to 1900 more than 11,000 miles of railways were built.
One of the most important projects in the development of the Russian railway system was building of the Great Trans-Siberian Main Line. This line plays an important role linking European and Asian transport systems. On the 15th of March, 1891 Alexander III wrote: “I command to start the construction of an integral railway across all Siberia in order to connect natural treasures of the Siberian region with a system of inland railways”.
The city of Vladivostok celebrated lying of the very first rail and the construction of the Great Siberian Track began.
It was decided to build the track in three stages. The first stage included the construction of the West Siberian, the Middle Siberian and the South Ussurian lines; the second stage was the Zabaikalskaya and the North Ussurian lines; the third stage was the Krugobaikalskaya and the Amour lines. The whole main line was to be laid within 10 years. It meant a lot of construction work and lying of 8,144 km of railway.
Only Russian experts worked on the Trans-Siberian Main Line using domestic materials. There were more than 100,000 workers involved. Work and living conditions were extremely tough. Diggers, carpenters, metal – workers, masons and their families were channeled from the European part of Russiato Siberia. Russian people were building the railway using locally – produced materials. The track went through impassable taiga crossing wide rivers and huge mountains.
The work was finished in 1902, except for a ferry crossing Lake Baikal. A difficult passage round the South tip of the lake, with many tunnels, was finally completed in 1905. In our days the Great Trans-Siberian Main Line is the longest railway in the world (9,288km). The line links Europe with the Far East, Japan, China and Southeastern Asia.
By 1913 domestic railway network consisted of 25 state lines and 13 private lines belonging to different companies. The Russian railway system became one of the largest in the world.
Today it is difficult to imagine our Fatherland without the railways. The geographical, historical and economic conditions have been formed in such a way that the railway becomes a symbol of Russia.
1. Match the Words to their Definitions:
| 1. A system of lines or similar things such as tubes, wires, roads etc. that are connected to each other. | Track |
| 2. A passage that has been dug under the ground for cars, trains etc. to go through. | Rolling stock |
| 3. All the trains, carriages etc. that are used on a railway. | Channel (v) |
| 4. A railway line. | Network |
| 5. Direct people or things to a particular place, work, situation. | Tunnel |
2. Find in the text the synonyms to the words:
| Enterprise (n) | |
| growth (n) | |
| start (v) | |
| connect (v) | |
| order (v) | |
| principal (a) | |
| work (n) | |
| very big (a) | |
| finish (v) | |
| various (a) |
3. Complete the following sentences:
1. The greatest increase in railway construction in Russia began…
2. The Great Siberian Track linked…
3. It was decided to build the track in…
4. The construction work meant a lying…
5. Russian people were building the railway using…
6. The track went through…
7. By 1913 the domestic railway network consisted of…
8. The Russian railway system became one of the …
4. Make up the sentences:
1. Went, impassible, through, the railway, mountains, huge, wide, taiga, rivers, and, crossing.
2. People, domestic, building, Russian, were, the railway, materials, using.
3. To imagine, it is, Russia, difficult, today, the railways, without.
4. It, was, the track, to build, three, decided, stages, in.
5. Russian, meeting, already, for locomotives, were, all requirements, in the eighties, factories.
6. Railway, became, in, system, the, world, one, the largest, the Russian, of.
5. Answer the questions:
1. When was the greatest increase in Russian railway construction?
2. What railway did Alexander III command to start?
3. What was the purpose of the construction?
4. How long did it take to build the railway?
5. What was the length of the line? How long is it now?
6. How many workers were involved into the construction?
7. What were work and living conditions?
8. When was the work on the line completed?
6. Translate the sentences into English:
1. Александр III приказал начать строительство железной дороги через Сибирь.
2. Строительство железной дороги велось в три этапа.
3. Условия работы и жизни были чрезвычайно тяжёлыми.
4.Строительные работы включали укладку 8 144 км железнодорожного пути.
5. Линии принадлежали государственным и частным компаниям. 6. Железная дорога стала символом России.