Прочитайте текст второй раз и ответьте на следующие вопросы.

1. How were Russian railways managed in the past?

2. When and why was JSC Russian Railways established?

3. What governmental bodies regulate JSC Russian Railways?

4. What corporate structure does the company Russian Railways have?

5. What are RZD assets?

6. Why do you think RZD is a company of vital strategic importance?

7. What does the company Russian Railways provide for passengers?

8. Who worked on the project of the Sapsan trains?

9. Why do you think the Sapsan trains are fully reliable and energy efficient?

10. How is RZD integrating into Eurasian transport infrastructure?

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23. Проанализируйте развитие железнодорожного транспорта в России, выделите главные элементы, основные положения занесите в таблицу:

Student’s Independent Work

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From the History of the Railways

Modern railways differ greatly from the early ones. The first railways used horses for drawingtrains and were made of wood. In 1767 an iron masterAbraham Darby started making rails of cast iron. The first attempts to use the steam engine to draw passenger and freight trains were made in 1808 by an English inventor Richard Trevithick.

In 1829 George Stephenson, an English engineer, constructed the world’s first steam locomotive. He also built the first public railway in England between Stockton and Darlington. He called his new steam engine “Locomotion”. Another railway was built in 1830 to link Manchester and Liverpool (its length was 48 km).

The early locomotives were small and slow. They were not as safe and powerful as they are today. Some accidents were caused because of broken rails or wheels. However, the early trains did not have brakes. Most accidents happened when two trains crashed into each other, because there were no proper signals.

The first railway carriages were small and uncomfortable. They looked like stage coaches. In England the carriages for the first class passengers had three compartments with soft seats and doors at either side. There was a high seat at the back for the guard and a rackon the roof for luggage. The second class carriages also had roofs, but low sides and hard seats. The third class passengers had to ride in uncovered wagons without seats at all. These early trains had neither heating nor lighting.

The prototype of the modern sleeping car appeared in the middle of the 19^th century. Its inventor was George M. Pullman, an American publisher.

The first steam locomotives in Russia were built by the Cherepanovs, father and son. So thanks to them Russia was among the first countries to use steam traction.

The first Russian passenger 28-km railway was built between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo. The railway was used by the Tsar's family for travelling to the countryside. The construction of the St. Petersburg − Moscow railway was finished in l851. It operated successfully, though many people doubted the possibility of using steam engines in the Russian winter. In 1891 the building of the world’s longest Trans-Siberian Railway began; it was put into operation in 1905.

Questions for discussion:

1. What was used to draw the first railways?

2. What were the first railways made of?

3. Who made the first attempt to use steam engine to draw trains?

4. Who invented the first steam locomotive?

5. Were the early railways safe or dangerous? Why?

6. How did the compartments of the first railway carriages look like?

7. Who was the inventor of the modern sleeping car?

8. Who built the first Russian locomotive?

9. What first railways in Russia do you know?

10. When was the world’s longest railway put into operation?

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Railway Tourism

Railway tourism appeared when Thomas Cook arranged his first railway excursion on the 5^th of July 1841 in Great Britain. Since then railway companies all over the world have developed railway tourist routes that attract lots of tourists.

Historically, railways have always been the dominant mode of transport in Russia. It takes about 10 hours to cross Russia from West to East by air, however the option of travelling across the vast country by train has always been a popular choice for many people. Unsurprisingly, in both the Soviet and post-USSR times the choice was made mostly because it was much cheaper to use trains than planes, especially travelling in a second-class sleeping carriage. However the growing demand from the affluent Russians and visitors from abroad for the luxury travel on railway has made our country think of developing short- and long- distance railway tourism.

The most popular railway short-distance tourist route in Russia is “The Polar Express”, which delivers families to Ded Moroz’ residence. Besides, there exist luxury and expensive Trans Siberian railway trips from Western Russia to Lake Baikal and Vladivostok with a quick detour to China and Mongolia. "The Golden Eagle" train, serving this route, was launched in April 2007. It is operated by Trans-Siberian Express, a Russian travel company that manages luxury trains and single carriages running through Russia and neighbouring countries. In fact all their customers are foreigners. Another popular route in Siberia is “The Baikal Cruise” organised on the Circular-Baikal Railway.

A new direct train Moscow – Nice was launched by Russian Railways in September 2010. Russian tourists are its target audience. The train runs once a week, and it takes more than 50 hours to cover the distance.

Now railway officials as well as travel firms and companies are thinking of how to make the services relevant to the current needs of different customer groups.

Questions for discussion:

1. When did the railway tourism appear?

2. What have railway companies all over the world developed to attract more tourists?

3. Why has travelling across Russia by train always been a popular choice for so many people?

4. What has made our country think of developing short- and long-distance railway tourism?

5. What are the most popular railway short-distance tourist routes in Russia?

6. What trains and carriages does Trans-Siberian Express offer for travelling across Russia?

7. Who are the passengers of the “Golden Eagle” train?

8. What train was launched by Russian Railways in September 2010?

9. What is its target audience?

10.What is the task of railway officials and travel firms now?

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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 outstandingsuccess and is still in widespreaduse.

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 curvesat 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. Is British railway systems one of the most efficient and heavily used in the world?

2. Do both freight and passenger services operate without subsidy from the British government?

3. What is TOPS?

4. Why is the InterCity125 considered to be an outstanding success?

5. What railway company was a pioneer in using titling train?

6. Was privatization of British Rail a success or did it make harm to the public image of rail travel?

7. Why did Railtrack impose speed restrictions across its network?

8. What companies does Railtrack compete with?