The railways of Great Britain

The British Railways with their combination of speed and comfort provide a passenger service of a high quality. The maximum speeds are lower than the speeds over certain first class routes in France and Japan, but average speeds are higher on British Railways. 100 miles/h is regularly attained over many routes.

The density of traffic is very high. The running is all left – hand operation. All British Railways are operated by the government. The high speed trains will prepare the way for the introduction of the advanced passenger train (APT).

This streamline electric train is British hope for future. It will operate at 125 mile/h but is designed for speeds of 150 mile/h and more. Higher speeds make higher demands upon the track, and British Rail is paying constant attention to its stability and general efficiency.

British Rail and its European partners are already planning the new rail services. An hourly service of high speed trains will link London with Paris and Brussels. Through trains will run beyond London to major towns and cities.

12. London’s underground

London`s first underground railway of the “tube” type was opened in 1863.

In the early days the trains were driven by steam locomotives which burnt coal.

The deep tunneling came later, in 1890. Tunneling a tube through miles of
clay, and sometimes sand and gravel is no easy task, and it was James Henry Greathead who developed the method which was to make most of London's tunnels possible.

London transport experience with tunnels brought them another record.

One of the longest continuous railway tunnels in the world is the 1714 mile tunnel on the Northern line.

There are numerous escalators which help to keep the traffic moving.

The first was installed in 1911. One of them at Leicester Square is over 80 feet in length.

On long escalators the speed is changeable. The "up" escalator runs at full speed when carrying passengers, but when empty it runs at half speed. Many of the new escalators have automatic control making more frequent service throughout the day possible.

Safety was always one of the main concerns of London transport. In spite of the fact that trains often follow each other within seconds, it is said that the London Underground is the safest form of transport in the world. Automatic signaling operated by the trains themselves. A program machine controls routs if changes are necessary, they are made automatically and with lightning speed. No changes can happen through human error.

New automatic driving systems are now being used. The air in the Underground is changed every quarter of an hour, and the temperature all year round is maintained at 69-79 degrees Fahrenheit.