Among the most vocal advocates of solutions to London’s traffic problems was Charles Pearson, who worked as solicitor for the City of London. He saw both social and economic advantages in building an underground railway that would link underground railway stations together as well as clear out the slums of London.As per The Development of the London Underground Railway Reading Answers His idea was to relocate poor workers living in inner-city slums to newly built suburbs and provide them with affordable rail travel to work. Pearson’s ideas gained support from some businessmen and in 1851 he presented a plan to Parliament. This was rejected, but coincided with another group’s proposal for an underground connecting line, which was passed by Parliament.
The two groups merged in August 1854 and the Metropolitan Railway Company was formed. The company’s plan was to build an underground railway line from the Great Western Railway (GWR) station in Paddington to the edge of the town at Farringdon Street – a distance of about 5 km. Km. The organization had difficulty raising funds for such a radical and expensive plan, not least because of the critical articles printed by the press. Objectors argued that the traffic burden would cause the tunnels to collapse, buildings to shake and passengers to be poisoned by emissions from the locomotives. However, Pearson and his companions persisted.
The Story Changes
The GWR knew that the new line would eventually enable them to run trains into the city centre, they invested approximately £250,000 in the scheme. Ultimately, over a five-year period, £1m was raised. According to The Development of the London Underground Railway Reading Answers. The route chosen passed beneath existing main roads to reduce the expense of demolishing the buildings. Originally scheduled to be completed in 21 months, construction of the underground line took three years. It was built just below street level using a technique called ‘cut and cover’. A trench about ten meters wide and six meters deep was dug, and wooden beams were temporarily placed on the sides. Brick walls were then built, and finally a brick arch was added to form a tunnel. A two meter deep layer of soil was laid over the tunnel and the road above was rebuilt.
The Metropolitan line that was launched on January 10, 1863 was the world’s first underground railway station. On its first day, 40,000 approx. passengers were carried between Farringdon and Paddington, with the journey taking around 18 minutes. From the end of the Metropolitan’s first operation year, 9.5 Million journeys had been made.
New Move
Even as the metropolitan started operations, the initial extensions of the line were being authorized. Those were built in the next five years that reach from Moorgate in London east and in the west Hammersmith. As per The Development of the London Underground Railway Reading Answers. The original plan was to halt the trains with stream engines by using fire bricks in their boilers. But, these engines were never introduced. Instead, the line was particularly designed for locomotives fitted with water tankers. Moreover, fumes and smoke continued to be problematic, even though ventilation shafts were added to tunnels.
Instead of the underground railway’s extension, by the 1880s, congestion on London’s streets became worse. The issue was partly that the existing underground lines created a circuit around the London center and extended to the suburbs. But, it didn’t cross the caprial center.
Although the technology to build these tunnels existed, steam engines could not be used in such a confined space. It was not until a reliable electric motor and means of transferring power from a generator to a moving train were developed that the world’s first deep-level electric railway, the City and South London, became possible. The line opened in 1890 and ran from the city to Stockwell, south of the River Thames. Trains were made up of three coaches and ran on electric engines. The carriages were narrow and had small windows just below the roof because it was thought that passengers would not want to look up at the tunnel walls. The line was not without its problems, mainly due to unreliable power supplies, and although the City and South London Railway was a major technical achievement, it did not turn a profit. Then, in 1900, the Central London Railway, known as the ‘Tuppenny Tube’, began operating using new electric locomotives. It was quite popular and soon afterwards new extensions and railways were added to the enhancinhg Tube network. By 1907, the heart of today’s underground system was established.
Questions 1-6
Complete the notes below.
Choose only one word from the passage for each answer and you can write the answers from 1 to 6.
london underground railway
Problem
- Between 1800 and 1850 London’s 1…………………… grew rapidly. The roads were full of horse-drawn carriages proposed solution.
- Charles Pearson, a lawyer, suggested building an underground railway.
- The construction of the railway will make it possible to move people to better housing in 2…………………….3 in number ………………… agreed with Pearson’s idea.
- The company initially had problems obtaining the 4…………………… needed for the project.
- Negative articles about the project appeared in 5…………………….building construction
- The route chosen did not require demolition of many buildings
- ‘Cut and cover’ method was used to construct the tunnels
- With the completion of the brick arch, the tunnel was covered with 6…………………….
Questions 7-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
Write in boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet
- The statement is true if it agrees with the information.
- False if the statement contradicts the information
- Will not be given if there is no information on this
- 7 other countries built underground railways before metropolitan lines opened.
- On the first day, 8 more people traveled on the Metropolitan line than expected.
- 9 The use of ventilation shafts failed to prevent pollution in the tunnels.
- 10 A different approach to the ‘cut and cover’ technique was required in the central area of London.
- The windows of the 11 City and South London trains were at eye level.
- 12 The City and South London Railway was financially successful.
- The 13 trains on the ‘Tupenny Tube’ almost always ran on time.
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