Unit 3.Railway stations

Vocabulary

a railway station/a rail terminal - вокзал

freight - груз, грузоперевозки

elevated - надземный, эстакадный

the terminus - терминал, конечная станция

rapid transit systems - скоростные системы перевозок

a pet project - детище

to resemble - напоминать

a time zone - часовой пояс

a transport knot - транспортный узел

ticket sales offices - билетные кассы

left-luggage - камера хранения

lost-and-found - бюро находок

luggage carts - тележки для багажа

rolling stock - подвижной состав

repair jobs - ремонтные работы

A railway station is a railway facility where trains regularly stop to load or unload passengers and freight. It generally consists of a platform next to the track and a station building providing related services. Stations may be at ground level, underground, or elevated. Connections may be available to intersecting rail lines or other transport modes such as buses, trams or other rapid transit systems. The world's oldest station built for steam locomotives which is still in use is Broad Green railway station in Liverpool, England, built in 1830.

The longest railway routes across Russia start at Komsomolskaya Square in Moscow, at the three railway stations — Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky and Kazansky.

Leningradsky Rail Terminal is the oldest of Moscow’s principal railway stations. The station was constructed between 1844 and 1851, designed by Konstantin Thon as the terminus of the Moscow–Saint Petersburg Railway, a pet project of Emperor Nicholas I. Regular connection was opened in 1851. From here trains go to Saint-Petersburg, Murmansk, Helsinki (Finland), Borovichi, Novgorod, Pskov, Tallinn, and Tver. Traveling by train from Leningradsky station is really the most convenient way to get to St. Petersburg. It takes about 5, 5 to 9, 5 hours to get there depending on the train class.

From Kazanskiy Rail Terminal which is considered to be the largest in Europe, trains depart to many southern and eastern directions: Kazan, Adler, Samara, Ufa, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk, and many other cities of Russian Povolzhye, Ural, Siberia, and the Middle East. Construction оf the modern building according to the design оf an architect, Alexey Shchusev started іn 1913 аnd ended іn 1940. The building resembles the Sö yembikä Tower іn Kazan.

Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal, built nearby Leningradsky station in 1862, is a terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway – the longest railway in the world. Connecting Moscow and Vladivostok, it is around 9, 300 kilometers (5, 800 miles) long and spans 8 time zones. This terminal is a transport knot, connecting Moscow with North regions, Ural, Siberia, the Far East, China, Mongolia and North Korea. Because of diversity of routes Yaroslavsky station is even more crowded and chaotic than other railway stations and considered to be one of the busiest in Russia.

As a rule, stations usually have staffed ticket sales offices, automated ticket machines, or both, although on some lines tickets are sold on board the trains. Many stations include shops, fast food or restaurant facilities. Other station facilities may include: left-luggage, lost-and-found, departures and arrival boards, luggage carts, waiting rooms, taxi ranks and bus bays. The larger stations are, the greater range of facilities they have.

As well as providing services for passengers and loading facilities for goods, stations can sometimes have locomotive and rolling stock depots (usually with facilities for storing and refuelling rolling stock and carrying out minor repair jobs).

Read the text again and answer the questions:

1. What sort of a railway facility is a railway station?

2. Where is the oldest station in the world located?

3. Where do the longest railway routes across Russia start?

4. When was Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal built?

5. Stations provide only services for passengers, don`t they?

Exercises:

1) Find the English equivalents in the text:

1) сооружение, помещение

2) пересекающийся

3) виды транспорта

4) считать, рассматривать

5) отправляться, уезжать

6) охватывать 8 часовых поясов

7) разнообразие

8) табло прибытия и отправления поездов

9) стоянка такси

10) автобусный парк, стоянка автобусов

2) Choose the best variant -ing or infinitive:

1) My friends really enjoy listening/to listen to the MP3s that I have given them.

2) How did she learn speaking/to speak Chinese so well?

3) David finally managed finding/ to find his passport before the train departure.

4) They are looking forward to visiting/ visit New Zealand.

5) There`s no answer at the office. Let`s try calling/to call Lucy`s mobile.

6) Sam has just taken up cycling/to cycle to work.

7) Stop pretending being/to be asleep! Get up or you will be late!

3) Tag questions. Form the proper tag for each question:

1) I am completely crazy about skateboarding, ___________?

2) Tony`s dad used to be quite fit, __________?

3) That sounds like a joke, __________?

4) There aren`t any sports centers nearby, __________?

5) They haven`t given the baby the name yet, ________?

6) This year more than a million tourists will visit our region, __________?

7) It`s going to rain, ________?

8) People shouldn’t drop the litter in the street, ________?