V. Insert prepositions

1) to reach speeds… … … 205mph

2) to set a record … the fastest rail journey … the capitals

3) halfway.. the Channel tunnel

4) to handle the controls … his British counterpart who took the train … … 200 mph … the viaduct

5) to dive … the London tunnel

6) A smiling brunette checks me … and I go … security

7) 20 minutes saved … the journey make a real difference

 

VI. Find some additional information about the Channel tunnel, the TGV, the Eurostar. Taking it into account, make your own project for the Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod high-speed line.

UNIT VI

Amtrak

Amtrak company is the main railway company providing its services at the Union station. At the station you can find Amtrak’s self-service ticketing kiosk – Quik Trak. If you’ve booked your reservation and paid for your tickets online, you can pick up and print out your tickets on a Quik-Trak kiosk. Or, for many destinations, you can make new reservations, buy your tickets and pick them up – all at a Quik-Trak kiosk.

Each passenger can bring aboard no more than two pieces of carry-on baggage. Not included in this limit are personal items such as briefcases, purses, laptops, and infant paraphernalia such as strollers, and car seats.

Each carry-on bag must be visibly tagged with the name and address of the passenger. Passengers may use their own personal identification tags, or may obtain Amtrak baggage identification tags at the station ticket offices or onboard trains from a member of the train crew. Ski equipment, snowboards, golf clubs and bicycles may generally only be handled as checked baggage on Amtrak trains, and not as carry-ons. Items are permitted onboard when they can be safely stowed in the exterior lockers of Superliner equipment, or onboard equipment that is specifically designed to safely and securely accommodate the storage of the items.

As for checked baggage, each ticketed passenger may check up to three pieces of luggage at no charge. One should check all baggage at least 30 minutes prior to departure, and longer for special items. Otherwise the baggage may be delayed Checked baggage will be available for claming generally within 30 minutes of arrival. Be prepared to identify your luggage by the claim check numbers. Claims for lost checked baggage must be submitted within 30 days of arrival at your destination station.

Uniformed Red Caps provide free baggage-handling assistance at many major Amtrak stations. One should accept assistance from only uniformed Red Cap agents. Red Caps will provide a claim check for all baggage handled. At the Union Station self-service Handcarts are also available.

Most of Amtrak long-distance trains include a full-service dining-car, which serves hot meals prepared onboard for breakfast, lunch and dinner to the passengers with sleeping accommodations and Coach Class passengers. All meals for the passengers with a sleeping accommodation are included in the price of their train ticket while coach class passengers may dine for an additional charge. Hours of operation of food-service cars vary depending on train operation.

On long-distance trips, passengers are asked to make reservations for lunch and dinner. Reservations are taken in 15-minute increments; this allows for a more pleasant dining experience, assures passengers of receiving quality service from Amtrak staff, and prevents the dining cars from becoming overcrowded during peak meal times.

Sleeping accommodations are available on most long-distance routes. Amtrak trains traveling long-distance routs typically use either two-leveled Superliner or one-leveled View-liner equipment, each of which has sleeping cars with bedrooms arranged in various configurations. Sleeping car passengers are entitled to a range of hotel-like amenities, including fresh linen and towel service, complimentary bottled water and daily newspapers.

On most Amtrak trains you have options for sitting accommodations. Each passenger paying a fare is entitled to a seat, to the extent coach seats are available. Passengers are entitled to one seat per fare, to ensure other paying passengers are not excluded. Unless specific seats are assigned, seating is on the first-come, first-served basis. On unreserved trains, there are no guaranteed seats.

Many trains feature Quiet Car service, intended to provide a peaceful, quiet atmosphere for those who want to work or rest without distraction. Customers may not use any devices making noise, including cellular phones, pagers, handheld games without headphones, laptop computers with audible features enabled, portable CD or DVD players without headphones. Customers using headphones must keep the volume low enough so that the audio cannot be heard by the neighboring passengers. Amtrak personnel may ask passengers who fail to follow these guidelines to relocate to another car.

Conductors may dim overhead lighting, but reading lights may be used and emergency lights will remain lit. Luggage bin doors will remain closed during and between stops.

All Amtrak trains are entirely non-smoking except for the Auto Train. Passengers may smoke on station platforms at longer stops as announced by the train crews. Passengers must remain next to the train, ready to re-board immediately upon hearing the sound of the locomotive horn and the “all aboard” calls from Amtrak employees.

Smoking stops may be shortened or eliminated entirely if the train is operating late.