Basic vocabulary

The railway network of Great Britain is very wide. It was operated by British Rail (BR) between 1948 and 1997. Between 1994 and 1997, British Rail was privatized. Under the process of British Rail's privatization, operations were split into more than 100 companies. Now BritRail is a trademarked name of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) of Britain. BritRail was created as an initiative by the many private railway companies of ATOC in order to entice international travellers to visit Britain and explore its countryside by train.

The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world; the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825. Most of the railway track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2010 had a network of 15,754 kilometres of standard-gauge lines, of which 5,249 kilometres are electrified. There are also several private railways (some of them narrow-gauge), which are primarily short tourist lines. The British railway network is connected with that of continental Europe by an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994.

Travel by British railways is fast, comfortable and easy. You can travel to many places by Inter-City trains. Air-conditioned Inter-City-125 services (travelling at speeds up to 125 miles per hour, or 201 kilometers per hour) link London with South and West Wales, the West of England, the Midlands, the North-East of England and Scotland. For example, you can reach Cardiff, Leeds and York, each in less than two hours.

New Inter-City-225 services link London with far-off parts of Britain in record time. It is now possible to travel from London to Edinburgh in as little as 3 hours 59 minutes. Inter-City trains usually have a restaurant and/or buffet cars, where hot meals or, in the case of buffet cars, light snacks and drinks are served.

When you buy a ticket, you can choose a smoker or a non-smoker carriage, you can choose a face to direction or a back to direction seat, you can also choose a window or an aisle seat. In some trains there are pay phones.

Railway travel in Britain is expensive, more expensive than in European continent. There are two classes of carriages in these trains: first and standard. First class carriages are more comfortable and the tickets are more expensive. A one-way ticket is called a single ticket and a round-trip ticket is called a return ticket. If you are going to return on the same day, buy a day return which is considerably cheaper.

There are special offers for passengers made by railway companies. For example, some rail cards sold to certain groups of rail travellers enable them to travel at half-price or at specially reduced rates. Among such travellers are old age pensioners (OAPs), young people under 24 or disabled people. These rail cards are valid for one year only.

There are a lot of BritRail Passes for various railway trips.

A London Visitor Travel card (in full, a One Day Travel-card) is a special ticket issued at a reduced rate for travel on a single day within the Greater London area by any train, including those of the underground, and also some buses.

BritRail operates a service of 1600 trains a day serving over 2000 stations; there’s hardly a part of Britain that can’t be reached by train. A fast Inter-City network links London with all major cities as Bristol, Cardiff, York and Edinburgh with trains leaving the capital every hour during the main part of the day. Also, at no extra cost, you can travel up to 125 mph (200kph) on the High Speed Inter-City Trains to many major destinations.

Practical tasks:

Ex.1. Complete the sentences with one of the following verbs in the correct form.

a) Great Britain ………… an extensive railway network.

b) Snacks and drinks ………… in buffet cars.

c) You can ………… to many cities from London.

d) British railway companies ………… certain groups of passengers tickets at specially reduced rates.

e) A London Visitor Travel card ………… trips by train, underground and buses.

f) Trains to Edinburg …………the capital every hour during the main part of the day.

Ex.2. Insert the missing words from the text.

1. BritRail is a ………… name.

2. A one-way ticket is called a …………ticket.

3. In Inter-City trains you can choose a window or an aisle seat.

4. Inter-City trains usually have a ………… cars, where snacks and drinks are served.

5. Under the process of British Rail's privatization, operations were ………… into many companies.

6. Some rail cards are sold to certain groups of rail travellers at half-price or at specially ………… rates.

7. There is ………… a part of Britain that can’t be reached by train.

8. The BritRail trains serve over 2000 ………… a day.

Ex.3. Choose a, b, or c, in each question below. Only one choice is correct.

1. BritRail is the...

a) association of private companies.

b) private company.

c) national company.

2. There are …carriage

a) non-smoking

b) non-smoker

c) non-smoked

3. A London Visitor Travel card is issued for travel on a...

a) single night

b) single day

c) weekend

4. Under the process of British Rail's privatization, operations were... among more than 100 companies.

a) depended

b) divided

c) decided

5. The British railway network is connected with that of continental Europe... the Channel Tunnel.

a) buy

b) by

c) but

6. Travel by British railways is fast and....

a) condensed

b) conclusive

c) convenient

7.... private railways are narrow-gauge.

a) No

b) Some

c) Any

8. Since 1995 the amount of freight carried on the railways... sharply.

a) increased

b) was increasing

c) has increased

9. If you are going to return on the same day, buy a day... ticket.

a) single

b) round

c) return

10. There are four... freight operating companies in the UK.

a) mane

b) mean

c) main

Ex.4. Match the words in bold with their explanation.

1. a counter where light refreshments are served

2. a person travelling in a car, train, boat, etc., not driven by him

3. a rural area or its population

4. a light quick meal eaten between or in place of main meals

5. the predetermined end of a journey

6. mainland as opposed to islands

7. a passageway separating seating areas

8. a price or charge with reference to a standard or scale

Ex.5. Choose the right variant.

1. According to the text, the First class carriages are more.............

2. BritRail was............ as an initiative by the many private railway companies of ATOC.

3. You can............ much money, buying a ticket, if you are a young person under 24 y.o.

4. A fast Inter-City network links London with Cardiff, which is the............ of Wales.

5. Railway operations were privatized............. 1994–1997.

a) by b) at c) in d) during

6. From 1995 until 2009, 27 new lines and 68 stations..............

a) was opened b) are opened c) opened d) were opened

7. In 2010, there............ 1.33 billion journeys on the National Rail network.

a) is b) were c) was d) are

8. There are also a number............ local or specialized rail services.

a) of b) by c) to d) at

Ex.6. Make sentences from the following words.

1) ticket, for, of, There, a lot, are, travelers, options.

2) You, a UK resident, are, if, a BritRail Pass, you, buy, can, not.

3) any, reach, by, city, You, can, English, train.

4) in, have, trains, Great Britain, accommodations, do, 1st class, not, Some.

5) discounted, get, old, age, pensioners, The, can, tickets.

6) rail, year, are, cards, valid, Some, for, one.

7) track, Rail, of, managed, the, Most, railway, by, Network, is.

8) British, first, High-speed, by, in, introduced, the 1970s, rail, was, Rail, in, Great Britain.

Ex.7. Match the opposites.

Ex.8. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Великобританія має розвинуту залізничну систему.

2. Купуючи квиток, ви можете обрати місце біля проходу або біля вікна.

3. Потягом можна достатися майже усіх міст країни.

4. У вагоні-ресторані вам можуть запропонувати гарячі страви та різноманітні напої.

5. До Йорку, Лидсу та Кардіфу з Лондона можна доїхати на потязі менш ніж за дві години.

6. Проїзні квитки на потяг купувати значно вигідніше, особливо заздалегідь.

7. Щодня залізницями Великобританії курсують більш ніж 18 тис.пасажирських та 1 тис. вантажних поїздів.

8. Є плани із спорудження нових швидкісних залізниць до 2025 року.

9. Залізнична мережа Туманного Альбіону з’єднується з мережею континентальної Європи завдяки тунелю під проливом.

10. Подорожі на англійських потягах – швидкі і комфортні.

Ex.9. Complete the sentences using comparative/superlative forms.

1. Trains are not the fast… means of transport.

2. A return ticket is cheap... than a single ticket.

3. Travelling in Britain is … expensive than in European continent.

4. The railway system in Great Britain is the old… in the world.

5. The trains are slow… than the planes.

6. The sleeping car can accommodate all its passengers in beds to make nighttime travel … restful.

7. Some of the … luxurious types of cars have private compartments.

8. Despite many lines having closed in the 20th century the UK railway network remains one of the dens… rail networks.

9. The UK railway network is one of the bus… railways in Europe.

10. For some years, Britain has been said to have the high… rail fares in the world.

Ex.10. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)?

1. British Rail was privatized in the late nineties.

2. ATOC entice international travellers to visit Britain and explore its countryside by train.

3. Inter-City trains are rather slowly.

4. You can not travel with a London Visitor Travel card by bus.

5. All railway tickets are of the same price.

6. English carriages are of two classes: first and standard.

7. You never find a restaurant and/or buffet cars in Inter-City trains.

8. When you buy a ticket, you can choose a smoker or a non-smoker carriage.

9. The private railways are primarily short tourist lines.

10. The British railway network has connection with that of continental Europe.

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