Rio revives the commuter rail network

Rio de Janeiro’s suburban railway network has a long history of deterioration. It could have disappeared entirely by now but for the fact that it was privatized in 1998. SuperVia (the new private owner of the Rio commuter network) began the slow process of reviving railway network. SuperVia inherited a large number of serious problems. Signaling did not work properly. Only 35 out of a fleet of 180 four-car trains were operational, some of them only barely. The condition of the track was poor, and only 50% of all journeys were completed, such was the frequency of breakdowns. Several accidents that occurred soon after privatization also gave SuperVia a very bad public reputation at the outset, but the company quickly took measures. The worst sections of track were replaced and the others were upgraded. Besides, SuperVia began rebuilding emus* and this work has increased the number of the working emus to 126 trains, while another 48 emus are currently being restored. All the new and rebuilt emus are air-conditioned, an important design element in the tropical climate of Rio. In addition, 20 km of rails, 50,000 sleepers and 83 switches** have been replaced. The system of power supply is being upgraded and all 30 stations are being refurbished***. Drainage has also been improved to overcome serious flooding problems, which have halted traffic in the past.

These measures have worked. Reputation of SuperVia is rapidly improving and passengers have begun to come back. In 1998 the network carried just 170,000 passengers a day but in 2003 traffic has reached 300,000 riders a day. The ultimate aim is to increase passenger traffic to 1.4 million customers.

SuperVia’s image has been restored to such extent that the newly elected left-wing state government, opposed in principle to privatization, has admitted that the operator is doing a really good job!

Notes: *emu (electric-multiple unit) – электричка

**switch – стрелочный перевод

***to refurbish – реставрировать, модернизировать, обновить

Ex.24. Choose the appropriate word combinations to complete the sentences.

1) Having privatized Rio’s suburban railway network, SuperVia…

a) increased fares. b) began refurbishing emus. c) fired all locomotive drivers.

2) SuperVia had to replace…

a) the system of power supply. b) the system of signaling. c) the worst sections of track.

3) The new and rebuilt emus are equipped with…

a) air-conditioning systems. b) computers and fax machines. c) long-distance telephones.

4) In 1998 the railway network carried…

a) 1.4 million riders a day. b) 170,000 passengers a month. c) 170,000 customers a day.

5) The ultimate aim of SuperVia is…

a) to increase the number of employees. b) to increase passenger traffic. c) to increase `train fare.

TEXT C

Read and translate the text using a dictionary if necessary.