Look at this list of words to do with rail travel. Check that you know what they mean

buffet corridor platform sleeper

carriages couchette refreshments station

compartment engine restaurant car track

2. You are going to read someone's account of a train journey in India. What do you think it was like? Think about the stations, the facilities on the train, the scen­ery, and the other passengers.

3. Read the account to see if you were right. Complete the gaps with words from the list.

HEAT AND COAL-DUST ACROSS INDIA BY TRAIN

"1 remember the journey so clearly. The... in Delhi was hot and crowded with thousands of people: taxi and rickshaw driv­ers, boys selling strange items of food, men selling carpets, and a million other things. The heat and the choking steam made us thirsty and hungry, so we found a sort of... and went inside for some.... After a while, we returned to the heaving masses and stood on the... as the train pulled in. There was almost a fight to get on. But we managed to climb aboard one of the..., fight our way down the narrow..., and find a... which wasn't too crowded.

The journey was hot but exciting, with delicious smells from the open fires in the kitchens next to the... and fantastic scen­ery passing by as the... pulled us across the plains of India. We leaned out of the windows in search of fresher air. The... stretched before us — two metal lines running into an endless distance.

That evening we rested at Agra under the shadow of the Taj Mahal before boarding a... for a night journey further south.

We slept in a..., the seats converting into narrow beds, and chat­ted to the early hours, our words full of the romance and ex­citement of our Indian adventure."

(by Keith Harding)

4. Imagine you are going on a holiday travelling across Canada by train. You want to enjoy the scenery and be comfortable. In pairs, discuss what facilities you would want on the train, and along the journey in general.

5. Read the article "VIA Rail Canada" and make a list of all the different facilities mentioned.