Signaling Technology

(1) Signaling technology has undergone the same changes as telecommunications. Availability of powerful computer equipment and rapid information exchange techniques have led to more sophisticated signaling systems. These systems are not only able to drive the train, but decide when is the optimum time to brake, coast or accelerate for maximum energy efficiency. These abilities have allowed on-board computers to provide much more necessary information for a driver which was impossible some years ago.

(2) On the one hand, with the exception of some newly constructed lines, the cost of providing continuous data exchange between track and train can be high. On the other hand, up-to-date signaling systems help to save time which is of great importance for train operation. Secure coding of information has increased the effectiveness of intermittent ATC and increased the quantity of data that can be handled.

(3) Although developed for metro lines, various components of ATC are increasingly being applied to main lines, because they provide automatic train protection, control and operation.

(4) Needless to say that safety has become a political question, forcing a reappraisal of what level of signaling technology is required. More and more practical railway engineers realize that ATC is essential for safe operation, even though statistics do not always support this view.

(5) Introduction of ATC is important from economic point of view. Thus, in metro driverless operation may help to save labour costs.

(6) It’s quite clear that no modern railway can exist without ATC. Nevertheless, introduction of this system is not such an easy task as it may seem at first sight. At present it’s a headache for many European railways. As we know many more high-speed railway lines are being constructed, more and more trains are being designed and produced specially for cross-border operation. All this makes operators’ work more responsible and nervous. New up-to-date ATC facilities must be installed, and their design, manufacture and installation require great costs. But this work must be done, because to benefit from ATC system railways are to use it throughout their networks.

Ex. 17. Go back to text A and using the paragraph reference find the words which are similar to:

facilities, fast, advanced, to permit (paragraph 1);

to build, safe, data, amount, to process (paragraph 2);

to work out, underground, different, an element, to use, a trunk line (paragraph 3);

a matter, to understand, important, to back up (paragraph 4);

to assist (paragraph 5);

obvious, up-to-date, a railroad, simple, a job, nowadays, to build, expenses (paragraph 6).

Ex. 18. Answer the following questions to text A. Do it in written form.

1. What was the result of introduction of powerful computer equipment? 2. What are the main functions of sophisticated signaling systems? 3. Was it possible for a driver to receive all the necessary information some years ago? 4. Is it expensive to provide continuous data exchange between track and train? 5. Where are various components of ATC being applied? 6. Do you think that safety is a political question? Can you give any reasons? 7. Why is introduction of ATC important from economic point of view? 8. Is introduction of ATC an easy task? 9. Is an operator’s work responsible and nervous? 10. Why is it vital to introduce automatic train control?

Ex. 19. Translate the following sentences into English using the phrases from exercise 16 and text A:

1. Ни одна наука не претерпела таких изменений, как кибернетика. 2. С одной стороны, эти новые технологии позволяют сэкономить время, с другой стороны, они облегчают рутинную работу. 3. Нет необходимости говорить о преимуществах этого проекта. 4. Совершенно ясно, что никто не переведет этот текст, не зная терминов. 5. Ни одна современная железная дорога не может существовать без автоматического управления поездом. 6. Введение передовой компьютерной технологии было оценено с экономической точки зрения, так как не потребовало больших затрат. 7. Это не такая простая задача, как может показаться на первый взгляд. 8. Автоматическое управление поездом облегчает работу машиниста и обеспечивает плавное движение поездов. 9. Ты сэкономишь время, если поедешь в Лондон на Евростар. 10. Прокладка тоннеля в этом районе потребует много затрат.

Text B. Scan the text and write down all the unknown words. Read the text trying to guess the meaning of the unknown words. Retell the text in Russian.

Russian Railways want tiny robots to replace humans in difficult maintenance work, and they want Russian-made androids that can dance and talk. Prototypes of tested Russian robots are "surpass foreign-produced robots with their technical characteristics," according to a statement from Russian Railways overnight. They have bought eight Russian robots for testing. Seven are 35-centimetres high, and the eighth is 1.4 metres tall and weighs 70 kilograms. The plan is to "build special robot models that can replace humans in particularly difficult work for railways," the statement said. The robots can inspect parts of trains that are difficult for humans to access, Roman Timofeyev, a rail official, told Vesti 24 television channel. Russian television showed the robots dancing on tables in front of amazed members of the public. One robot said "Hello" and a few words on its capabilities.

Lesson THREE

Ex. 1. Practice the reading of the following words and phrases:

replacement, purpose, therefore, length, extend, relay, danger, caution, continuous, continuously, insertion, long-welded;

track circuiting, low voltage current, track-circuited section, safe distance, electrical interference, insulated fishplate, electrical resistance.

Ex. 2. These are the key words to Lesson 3. You are to copy them and memorize their meanings.

Word-box:

to complete a circuit – замыкать цепь; current – электрический ток, direct current / alternating current – постоянный ток/ переменный ток, running current - рабочий ток; to energize - подавать питание, включать напряжение; a fishplate - стыковая накладка, an insulated fishplate – изолированная стыковая накладка; a stop signal – запрещающий (закрытый) сигнал; to set a signal (to danger/caution) – устанавливать предупреждающий / запрещающий сигнал; a continuous welded rail / jointless rail – бесстыковой (сварной) рельс; a rail joint – рельсовый стык; a running rail - ходовой рельс; rear – хвост поезда; resistance – сопротивление; voltage – напряжение.

Ex. 3. Copy the following words and memorize their meanings:

to adopt – принимать;

caution / warning – предостережение;

to detect – опознавать, обнаруживать;

to extend – тянуться, простираться;

to interfere – влиять, быть помехой (чему-л.),

interference – влияние, помеха;

to join – присоединять(ся), примыкать;

to remain – оставаться (в каком-л. cостоянии);

as soon as – как только.

Read and translate the following sentences into Russian:

1. The first amendment adopted to the US Constitution was the amendment on the freedom of the press. 2. The director adopted the decision to arrange a meeting with former graduates of the school. 3. Much has been done in information technology since 1960s but the basic principles of computer operation remain. 4. As soon as you switch on the VCR it begins working. 5. As soon as you are ready please ask your tutor to see through your test. 6. We are going to the country on the weekend. Will you join us? 7. The hyphen sign (-) can be used to join two words together. 8. I wish you’d stop interfering. You’ve caused a lot of problems already. 9. He’s made up his mind not to interfere in the way she was raising her children. 10. Track circuit must be protected from electrical interference. 11. The system is so sensitive that it can detect changes in temperature as small as 0.003 degrees. 12. A caution must be added: although this experimental method works well, even the slightest amount of water in the vessel will make it inaccurate. 13. The company remains careful about the technology in the near period. 14. There was a caution notice: Danger! High voltage! Authorized personnel only! 15. Infrared sensors on the ground can detect motor-vehicle engines, hot jet engines, etc. 16. It's safer to remain a certain distance behind, in case the car in front suddenly stops. 17. CAUTION: Take care. Not to let hands or fingers be pinched by the arm. 18. The border extends to the river. 19. WARNING: Do not look into lens. 20. Fiber optics is likewise secure against interference; they also have huge carrying capacity, and are extremely light and inexpensive to manufacture.

Ex. 4. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word or words given, and so that the meaning stays the same. Mind the Grammar!

Model: Terry works in a different place now. JOB → Terry has a different job now.

1. Bad weather often makes it difficult to hear a radio signal. INTERFERE

2. Railroads have been among the leaders in taking over advanced techniques of data processing. ADOPT

3. This program can find any virus in the computer file. DETECT

4. It’s very hot and I’m having a glass of cold water. Would you like one too? JOIN IN

5. Peter is thinking of becoming a soldier. JOIN THE ARMY

6. Children can’t continue to be quite for long. REMAIN

7. I prefer to work away from anything that stops me doing it. INTERFERENCE

8. When the fence was applied a source of electric current it was highly dangerous. ENERGIZE

9. The traffic jam stretched beyond the city center. EXTEND

10. When washing machine was made to work by itself without much human control, it became easier to do the laundry. AUTOMATE

11. Many power plants produce electricity by burning coal or oil. GENERATE

Ex. 5. Put the, a(n) or – (no article) in each blank. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1. I hope that you will adopt … latest methods used by … our foreign colleagues. 2. Not much remained of … house after … fire. 3. The doctors had to use … metal plate to join … two pieces of … bone together. 4. Tony wanted … his mother’s … advice and … support, but not her interference. 5. … Geiger counter is designed for detecting very small … differences in … radioactivity. 6. Everybody knows that … word “CAUTION” on … back of … TV set means that you must be particularly careful with this apparatus. 7. … railroads were among … first to adopt … electric telegraph and … telephone, both for dispatching trains and for handling other business messages. 8. Railroad signals are … form of communication designed to inform … train crew, particularly … engine crew, of track conditions ahead and to tell it how to operate … train. 9. … electric current passes through … coil of … wire. 10. … police received … warning just before … bomb exploded.

Ex. 6. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the verb to be.

1. There are several versions of ATC, and each is different. 2. There is a great difference between manual and automatic signaling. 3. When the signal is green, the electro-magnet is energized. 4. If the driver fails to recognize the warning within 2.75 seconds, the brakes are automatically applied. 5. The train was traveling at 170mph with 800 passengers on board. 6. Richard Trevithick was a builder of the first working railway steam locomotive. 7. A monorail was built for Disneyland in 1959. 8. The driver was to stop the train but he didn’t see the warning signal. 9. A track circuit is a simple electrical device used by the railroads. 10. The main task of a dispatcher is to see the trains' locations and efficiently control the train's movements. 11. Signaling is to provide the safety of traffic. 12. Automatic devices were to replace manual controls. 13. The purpose of signaling is to provide the safety of traffic. 14. In metro the current is obtained from the third rail. 15. As the rail joint is the weakest part of the permanent way (верхнее строение пути) it is necessary to use continuous welded rails. 16. The trains operation on the underground lines is provided with low voltage direct current. 17. The diagram shows the operator where every train is. 18. The purpose of track circuiting is to detect the presence of a train on the section of the line. 19. The track circuit system was created by William Robinson. 20. Robinson’s system was electric, automatic, efficient, cheap to operate, functional not depending on the weather.

Ex. 7. Translate the sentences paying attention to the different functions of the word one:

1. One of the children was crying. 2. They are selling their house to move to a smaller one. 3. His one regret is that he has never learnt English. 4. One cannot always be right, can one? 5. This is my one chance to become famous! 6. One of the computers isn’t working. 7. My shoes are totally worn out. I’ll have to get some new ones. 8. That’s the one thing I forgot. 9. One doesn’t often get the chance to talk to a President. 10. All my presents were good, but I liked the one from my granddad best. 11. Which one is correct? 12. One by one they left the room. 13. А track circuit usually extends from one stop signal to another one. 14. Current-limited resistors at one end of the circuit are used to reduce the voltage in the track circuit. 15. One must know that signaling provides the safety of traffic. 16. When two trains are operating on the same track, a switch can allow one train to pull off to a holding track while the other one passes. 17. It sounds like there's a fault in one of the loudspeakers. 18. A switch also can change a train's direction like moving it from a north-south track to an east-west one. 19. Swimming twice a week is about the one thing he does to keep fit. 20. One should be careful when crossing the street.

Ex. 8. Translate the following sentences into Russian paying attention to the Complex Object.

1. I believe Vanessa May to be a wonderful violist. 2. I consider this business to be very profitable. 3. The firm can’t expect this unskilled man to become an experienced engineer overnight. 4. I admit the weather this year to be unpredictable. 5. I want your appraisal to be objective and true. 6. I think us to gain a bigger profit building a salt mine in Siberia than making a road project in South Africa. 7. I can’t believe your personnel manager to pull the workers off the job every two weeks because they are unskilled. And I don’t expect him to give any reasons. 8. He found his colleague to accept responsibility every time he was asked to. 9. We expect them to clear up several terms of the contract. 10. I want you or somebody from your company to meet our guests at the airport. 11. The engineers wanted cab signals to be located in the locomotive cab. 12. I want you to take responsibility for all the arrangements. 13. We know electrical engineering to be divided into four main branches: electric power and machinery, electronics, communications and control, and computers. 14. Everyone knows among the most important subjects in the field of electrical engineering to be electronic circuits, control systems, robotics, fiber optics, etc. 15. When the relay is de-energized, the system understands the track to be occupied or damaged. 16. Signals typically use colored lights to let drivers know when to stop, whether the track ahead of them is occupied and when to proceed with caution. 17. Some signals use physical mechanisms to make sure drivers obey them. 18. Everybody knows the electric current to be the motion of electrons through an electric conductor.

Ex. 9. Match the Russian phrases in column A with their English equivalents in column B.

A	B
1) важный шаг	a) principle of operation
2) управление стрелками и сигналами	b) the length of the section
3) принцип действия	c) a train enters
4) присутствие поезда	d) neighbor track circuit
5) поезд входит	e) the insertion of a fishplate
6) безопасное расстояние	f) operation of points and signals
7) соседняя рельсовая цепь	g) wire-bonded joints
8) установка стыковой накладки	h) important step
9) проволочно-соединенные стыки	i) the presence of a train
10) длина участка	j) safe distance

Text A. Read and translate the text using a dictionary if necessary.