Text 9 . Container Transportation
Container traffic is a modern and the most effective kind of freight transportation. It is carried out by means of removable transport appliances - containers.
Containers are suitable for mechanised loading, unloading and trans-shipment from one transport mode to another. Any cargo can be transported in containers if it meets the requirements.
Basic requirements to containers are safety of transported freight and the full use of vehicle capacity. There are different classifications of containers. Thus, containers can be distinguished by their purpose. All-purpose containers can be used to transport any goods in various packages. Specialised containers are suitable for small loads, dry or liquid cargo. Special containers are used only for goods that require special transport conditions.
Container transportation is highly effective. It gives high material economy and cuts expenses. Containerization frees large amount of wood, iron, packing fabric and other materials. Improved cargo security is also an important benefit of containerization. The cargo is not visible and is less likely to be stolen. Goods are packed into containers at factories or warehouses and are not disturbed while in transit. Thus, they are conveyed from “door-to-door”.
The use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems of incompatible rail gauge sizes in different countries.
Containerization was a Canadian innovation. The world’s first purpose-built container ship was constructed in Montreal in 1955. It carried 600 containers between British Columbia and Alaska.
The benefits of container transportation make it clear that in future the volume of container transportation would increase.
Questions for discussion:
1. What is a container?
2. What kind of cargo can be transported in containers?
3. What are the basic requirements to the containers?
4. How can containers be classified?
5. What are special containers used for?
6. What are the main advantages of the container traffic?
7. Why is container transportation highly effective?
8. What was the result of using the standard containers across the globe?
9. When and where was the first container ship built?
10. Is the idea of using containers promising?
Text 10 . Railway Operation
Railway operation is an extremely complex operational system. It consists of different activities that are called business units. They involve infrastructure, rolling stock, operation of passenger and freight transportation.
|
|
|
Infrastructure includes track, railway buildings and signals which are necessary for railway operation.
The track is composed of rails, sleepers, ballast and subballast. Rails support and guide train wheels. Sleepers or ties distribute the loads applied to the rails and keep them at a constant spacing. The ballast usually consists of crushed stone and only in exceptional cases of gravel. It provides the damping of the train vibrations. The ballast also adequates load distribution and fast drainage of rainwater. The subballast consists of gravel and sand. It protects the subgrade top from the penetration of ballast stones.
Railway buildings are stations and other engineering structures such as depots, goods and switching yards.
Signalling system comprises different types of signals – mechanical, colour light, position light and colour-position signals.
Rolling stock is another business unit of railroad operation. It involves diesel, electric and steam locomotives, electric and diesel railcars, passenger carriages and freight wagons.
Operation of passenger and freight transportation is characterised by two principal features – carrying capacity and through-put capacity. Carrying capacity is determined by the length of the track, the number of passengers and the volume of freight. It is expressed by t/km. Through-put capacity is the number of trains running on a particular section in a certain period of time.
Time-table making is a very important element of railway operation. It requires many factors to be taken into account. They include different kinds of transportation, various types of trains and climatic conditions.
Railways constitute a complex system. Each element has many sub-components, the interaction of which is not easy to predict. However, a good synergy of all rail components is necessary to achieve the most effective results.
Questions for discussion:
1. How many elements does railway operation comprise?
2. What does infrastructure include?
3. The ballast usually consists of gravel, doesn’t it?
|
|
|
4. What is the function of the subballast?
5. Are goods and switching yards called railway buildings?
6. What types of signals does signalling system involve?
7. What are the principal features of passenger and freight operations?
8. What railway vehicles is the rolling stock composed of?
9. Which capacity is expressed by t/km: carrying capacity or through-put capacity?
10. Is making a time-table a very important component of railway operation?
Дата добавления: 2019-02-12; просмотров: 2391; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!