Translate the sentences into English. Try to find equivalents for Russian terms using the following words:
Bentonite slurry, cant ledge, cohesive material, content, cutting wheel, erector, face crown, loose soil, mounted ring, shab, soil heaving, soil settlement, subsurface voids, tunnel ring, water yield.
Связный и сыпучий грунт с высоким содержанием глины или суглинков и низкой водоотдачей создает идеальные условия для проходки щитом с грунтовым пригрузом. Разрабатываемый ротором грунт используется для поддержания лба забоя.
Блокоукладчик за щитом собирает кольца обделки тоннеля. Он монтирует железобетонные блоки с точностью до миллиметра. Чтобы двигаться дальше, тоннелепроходческий комплекс с грунтовым пригрузом отталкивается гидравлическими щитовыми домкратами от последнего смонтированного кольца.
Способ проходки всегда зависит от геологических условий. Устойчивая или хрупкая сланцеватая порода, переходные зоны выветривания с высоким давлением грунтовых вод или подземные пустоты – многообразие условий практически безгранично. Крепость пород меняется от мягкого известняка до твердого гнейса и гранита.
Сильнонабухающая глина или бентонитовая суспензия (смесь глины и воды) используется при проходке тоннеля в миксщитах как транспортирующее средство для грунта и поддержания нестабильного лба забоя. Проходка в грунтах с высокой водопроницаемостью – песок и щебень, ведется быстро и безопасно. В хвостовой части щита тоннель герметично собирается из железобетонных блоков.
Unit 19
GENERAL IDEA OF THE UNDERGROUND
Read the text and find out peculiarities in the underground railway systems of different countries.
The phenomenal growth of traffic flow in mega cities has fuelled the rapid expansion of the metro because the drivers and passengers, who waste their time in traffic congestion and lose their health and even lives in daily traffic accidents, want safer, faster and top-quality services. Cities of more than one million inhabitants see the metro as a sustainable means of meeting the surging demand for mobility, particularly with the recent sharp increase in fuel prices. In recent years, the interest in metros has grown substantially as the expected growth of street traffic will cause not only chronic holdups and bottlenecks, but the level of vehicle noise will exceed the allowable limit. It is quite evident, that in addition to other beneficial effects, underground railway systems can settle the problems of traffic jams, air and noise pollution, and thus offer a real alternative while providing an environmentally friendly option. Therefore, the metro is much more than a means of moving people around, it is also a showcase, a tool for prestige in the face of rival cities.
Twenty-eight countries in more than 90 cities all over the world are developing their underground transportation networks though their construction, within the urban area, is a rather expensive and complicated engineering work. The metro differs from the railway by the track gauge, the overall dimensions of the rolling stock and the current collection equipment. The underground railway system includes subsurface lines; ground based lines which can be seen at the terminal stations of the underground railway (fig. 19.1a,b and c) and elevated lines located on trestle bridges.
The underground railway carrying capacity depends on the number of cars that comprise the trains, which ranges from two to eight per train, the seating capacity which ranges from 90 to 270 passengers per car and the frequency of trains running. The time intervals range from ninety seconds to six minutes.
Underground railway systems, all over the world, use two types of line intersections. Some foreign metros use one level line (fig. 19.1d). Passengers can get to their stop without changing trains. The metro lines in Russia are laid in different levels providing an absolutely safe service without any train collisions. Passengers traveling within underground systems can change their lines using connecting passenger tunnels at the stations. Confusing situations at stations and entries/exits are cleared up using information displays, boards and direction signage on the walls of underground stations at 5-10 m distance, and on the car’s windows. Besides, so they do not lose their way, passengers can get free copies of information brochures with plans and maps.
The idea of the underground railway system has been developing, and Dockland Light Railway (DRL) is the innovating company in London. The railway transport system involves several ground metro lines, which formally do not belong to the Tube, but were integrated into it. Standard travel tickets, monthly and seasonal tickets are used on these lines with no limitation. It looks like the Moscow light rail metro but with some differences. The driverless trains are operated by computer. There is no cab in the first car, and the front passenger seats are placed immediately before the car windshield. However the vehicle cannot manage without an operator at all. A uniformed metro official enters the car at certain stations and provides safe travel between station-to-station distances. He or she makes complicated switches using the control console. Then he or she leaves the car and the train returns to computer-aided control.
The Metro gives good service being a form public transport, and provides stimulating competition to the surface transport system. Its purpose is to provide safe, reliable and convenient passenger travel. Customers do not care about the competition between different means of transport; they only care about price and quality.
Exercises:
Think of the answers and give a reason to support what you say.
What problems can be solved by the underground railway system?
What does the metro carrying capacity depend on?
What do metro route intersections look like?
Is there any convincing alternative to a metro system for the nearest future?
What is the average speed of the metro trains?
What information facilities are metro stations equipped with?
What can you say about the innovations in the London metro?
Do you know any interesting facts connected with the history of metro construction and operation? Read some facts and discuss the main differences in early and modern metro systems with your partner.
The Underground project in Rome was proposed in 1881 but the construction of the Metropolitana began only in 1946, and its ten stations were put into operation in 1955. The miners found ancient ruins, antique statues and mosaics, which were well preserved. Now they decorate the concourses of the Termini – the main railway station in Rome. All these marble gods and goddesses recall ancient Roman means of transport and nowadays watch modern vehicles.
The spacious halls of the underground stations were the most reliable refuges for people during World War II. Besides, many ancient books and rare museum collections spent the wartime in the underground tunnels. The underground railways were prepared for any emergencies. In London, aircraft manufacturing facilities occupied some of the unused Tube tunnels.
The length of the Paris Underground is about 200 km and it comes third after London and New York. Budapest built its Underground in 1896 and holds the third place in the history of Metro construction. The shortest metro line was built in Turkey and its length was only 600 m. Nevertheless, Istanbul, the largest city in the country with a population of more than 12.5 million, was very proud of the metropolitan means of transport. It was a solution to traffic gridlock in this mega city.
First opened in 1863, The London Underground (the Tube) is the oldest and largest metro system in Europe. Charles Pearson proposed the idea in 1843. According to his project, almost all lines were to be laid close to the ground surface. Currently there are 275 stations in it and its total length is 415 km. The Tube is twice as long as the Moscow Metro lines but the traffic flow is nearly three times lower. The diameter of the tunnels, at the old lines, is rather small as in the case of Russell Square Station. Besides, there are lifts instead of escalators. Some metro lines are partly elevated and partly underground. Sometimes the passages at old stations are so narrow that two persons with luggage can hardly pass by without touching each other. However, modern stations at Circle Line look more spacious and passengers go up and down using the escalators. The Jubilee Line is one of the most recently built, and its stations are radically different from the early Tube structures. Modern designs of spacious halls decorated with metal ornamental strips resemble a city from a science fiction novel.
New York City was the next place, after London, to build a subway. The first track was laid in 1848 and nowadays its length is the largest in the world. The USA subway heads the list of the underground railway systems because eleven cities, in the US, have integrated the subway into public transport and its overall length is 1060 km.
The foundation of the first metro station in Moscow dates back to June 1931. It came into operation on May 15, 1935. The world press wrote about that engineering feat and described the subsurface structures as par excellence everywhere. The Metro was built according to the Moscow Master Development Plan but since then, the work has not stopped for a single day. The stations and halls are spacious and well lit coupled with essential ventilation systems. They are equipped with fans, dust collectors and mufflers. The stations are decorated with marble, bronze, aluminum and glass. The cleanness in the Moscow Metro has been part of its image. “No smoking” became a hard and fast rule from the very first day of its foundation. All deep stations have escalators. The speed of the trains is 70-90 km/h.
New metro lines are being built all over the Russian Federation and six Russian cities have already afforded this means of transport.