The Development of the London Underground Railway Reading Answers

Feb 3, 2023

The Development of the London Underground Railway Reading Answers is an academic reading topic discussing about the establishing the London Underground Railway. The given IELTS topic has originated from the book named “The Complete Guide to IELTS with DVD-ROM and Intensive Revision Guide Access Code”. The topic named The Development of the London Underground Railway Reading Answers has a total of 13 wide range of questions. The topic consists of two sorts of questions, such as, complete the following sentences, and True/False/Not Given. The candidates should thoroughly read the IELTS reading passage to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords and answer the questions below. IELTS reading practice papers can be taken into consideration by the candidates in order to score a good score in the reading section in which similar topics like The Development of the London Underground Railway Reading Answers has been included.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

The Development of the London Underground Railway Reading Answers

In the first half of the 1800s, London’s population grew at an astonishing rate, and the central area became increasingly congested. In addition, the expansion of the overground railway network resulted in more and more passengers arriving in the capital. However, in 1846, a Royal Commission decided that the railways should not be allowed to enter the City, the capital’s historic and business centre. The result was that the overground railway stations formed a ring around the City. The area within consisted of poorly built, overcrowded slums and the streets were full of horse-drawn traffic. Crossing the City became a nightmare. It could take an hour and a half to travel 8 km by horse-drawn carriage or bus. Numerous schemes were proposed to resolve these problems, but few succeeded.

Amongst the most vocal advocates for a solution to London’s traffic problems was Charles Pearson, who worked as a solicitor for the City of London. He saw both social and economic advantages in building an underground railway that would link the overground railway stations together and clear London slums at the same time. His idea was to relocate the poor workers who lived in the inner-city slums to newly constructed suburbs, and to provide cheap rail travel for them to get to work. Pearson’s ideas gained support amongst some businessmen and in 1851 he submitted a plan to Parliament. It was rejected, but coincided with a proposal from another group for an underground connecting line, which Parliament passed.

The two groups merged and established the Metropolitan Railway Company in August 1854. The company’s plan was to construct an underground railway line from the Great Western Railway’s (GWR) station at Paddington to the edge of the City at Farringdon Street – a distance of almost 5 km. The organisation had difficulty in raising the funding for such a radical and expensive scheme, not least because of the critical articles printed by the press. Objectors argued that the tunnels would collapse under the weight of traffic overhead, buildings would be shaken and passengers would be poisoned by the emissions from the train engines. However, Pearson and his partners persisted.

The GWR, aware that the new line would finally enable them to run trains into the heart of the City, invested almost £250,000 in the scheme. Eventually, over a five-year period, £1m was raised. The chosen route ran beneath existing main roads to minimise the expense of demolishing buildings. Originally scheduled to be completed in 21 months, the construction of the underground line took three years. It was built just below street level using a technique known as ‘cut and cover’. A trench about ten metres wide and six metres deep was dug, and the sides temporarily help up with timber beams. Brick walls were then constructed, and finally a brick arch was added to create a tunnel. A two-metre-deep layer of soil was laid on top of the tunnel and the road above rebuilt.

The Metropolitan line, which opened on 10 January 1863, was the world’s first underground railway. On its first day, almost 40,000 passengers were carried between Paddington and Farringdon, the journey taking about 18 minutes. By the end of the Metropolitan’s first year of operation, 9.5 million journeys had been made.

Even as the Metropolitan began operation, the first extensions to the line were being authorised; these were built over the next five years, reaching Moorgate in the east to London and Hammersmith in the west. The original plan was to pull the trains with steam locomotives, using firebricks in the boilers to provide steam, but these engines were never introduced. Instead, the line used specially designed locomotives that were fitted with water tanks in which steam could be condensed. However, smoke and fumes remained a problem, even though ventilation shafts were added to the tunnels.

Despite the extension of the underground railway, by the 1880s, congestion on London’s streets had become worse. The problem was partly that the existing underground lines formed a circuit around the centre of London and extended to the suburbs, but did not cross the capital’s centre. The ‘cut and cover’ method of construction was not an option in this part of the capital. The only alternative was to tunnel deep underground.

Although the technology to create these tunnels existed, steam locomotives could not be used in such a confined space. It wasn’t until the development of a reliable electric motor, and a means of transferring power from the generator to a moving train, that the world’s first deep-level electric railway, the City & South London, became possible. The line opened in 1890, and ran from the City to Stockwell, south of the River Thames. The trains were made up of three carriages and driven by electric engines. The carriages were narrow and had tiny windows just below the roof because it was thought that passengers would not want to look out at the tunnel walls. The line was not without its problems, mainly caused by an unreliable power supply, Although the City & South London Railway was a great technical achievement, it did not make a profit. Then, in 1900, the Central London Railway, known as the ‘Tuppenny Tube’, began operation using new electric locomotives. It was very popular and soon afterwards new railways and extensions were added to the growing tube network. By 1907, the heart of today’s Underground system was in place.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-6

Complete the notes below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

The London underground railway

The problem

The 1 …………………… of London increased rapidly between 1800 and 1850
The streets were full of horse-drawn vehicles

The proposed solution

Charles Pearson, a solicitor, suggested building an underground railway
Building the railway would make it possible to move people to better housing in the 2

……………………

A number of 3 …………………… agreed with Pearson’s idea
The company initially had problems getting the 4 …………………… needed for the project
Negative articles about the project appeared in the 5 ……………………

The construction

The chosen route did not require many buildings to be pulled down
The ‘cut and cover’ method was used to construct the tunnels
With the completion of the brick arch, the tunnel was covered with 6 ……………………

Question 1:

Answer: population
Supporting sentence: In the first half of the 1800s, London’s population grew at an astonishing rate
Keyword: 1800s, London’s, population, astonishing rate
Keyword location: paragraph 1, line 1
Explanation: The first line of paragraph 1 explains that London’s population rose at an incredible rate in the first half of the 1800s. Also, the central area became increasingly congested. Additionally, a growing number of travellers entered the capital as a result of the expansion of the overground railway network.

Question 2:

Answer: suburbs
Supporting sentence: His idea was to relocate the poor workers who lived in the inner-city slums to newly constructed suburbs
Keyword: idea, relocate, slums, suburbs
Keyword location: paragraph 2, lines 4-5
Explanation: The fourth to fifth lines of paragraph 2 explains that Pearson saw both social and commercial benefits in developing an underground railway. This underground railway would connect overground train stations while also clearing London slums. His plan was to move the underprivileged employees. The employees who lived in the slums of the inner city to recently developed suburbs and to offer them reasonably priced train transportation to get to work.

Question 3:

Answer: businessmen
Supporting sentence: Pearson’s ideas gained support amongst some businessmen
Keyword: Pearson’s, ideas, support, businessmen
Keyword location: paragraph 2, line 6
Explanation: The sixth lines of paragraph 2 explains that Pearson's views were supported by certain industrialists. He submitted a plan to Parliament in 1851. It was turned down, but it came at the same time as another group's request for an underground connecting connection, which Parliament approved.

Question 4:

Answer: funding
Supporting sentence: The organization had difficulty in raising the funding for such a radical and expensive scheme
Keyword: organisation, difficulty, raising, funding
Keyword location: paragraph 3, lines 4-5
Explanation: The fourth to fifth lines of paragraph 3 explains that the business intended to build an underground railway line stretching over 5 kilometres. They planned to build a railway that would stretch from the Great Western Railway (GWR) station at Paddington to the fringe of the City at Farringdon Street. The organisation struggled to find the money for such an innovative and pricey plan.c

Question 5:

Answer: press
Supporting sentence: not least because of the critical articles printed by the press
Keyword: least, critical articles, printed, press
Keyword location: paragraph 3, line 5
Explanation: Line 5 of paragraph 3 explains that the organization faced trouble gathering funds for such a bold and costly programme. It happened not least because of unfavourable press pieces. The argument put out by opponents was that the tunnels would collapse under the weight of the traffic above, that the buildings would tremble. It was also became a matter of argument that the pollutants from the train engines would poison the passengers.

Question 6:

Answer: soil
Supporting sentence: A two-metre-deep layer of soil was laid on top of the tunnel and the road above rebuilt.
Keyword: two-metre-deep, soil, tunnel, rebuilt
Keyword location: paragraph 4, lines 8-9
Explanation: Lines 8-9 of paragraph 4 explains that the brick walls were built, and ultimately a brick arch was erected to make a tunnel. The tunnel was covered with a two-meter layer of soil, and the road above was reconstructed.

Questions 7-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?

In boxes 7-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Question 7. Other countries had built underground railways before the Metropolitan line opened.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: The Metropolitan line, which opened on 10 January 1863, was the world’s first underground railway.
Keyword: Metropolitan, line, opened, first underground railway
Keyword location: paragraph 5, lines 1-2
Explanation: The first two lines of paragraph 5 explains that the Metropolitan line, which was inaugurated on January 10, 1863, was the world's first underground railway. Nearly 40,000 passengers were transported on the inaugural day between Paddington and Farringdon, with the trip taking about 18 minutes. The above lines defines that the other countries had not built underground railways before the Metropolitan line opened. So, the above sentence can be regarded as a FALSE one.

Question 8. More people than predicted travelled on the Metropolitan line on the first day.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: There isn’t any justified information that more people then expected travelled on the first day on the Metropolitan line. So, we can clearly conclude the above sentence to be an invalid one.

Question 9. The use of ventilation shafts failed to prevent pollution in the tunnels.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: However, smoke and fumes remained a problem, even though ventilation shafts were added to the tunnels.
Keyword: smoke and fumes, problem, ventilation shafts, tunnels
Keyword location: paragraph 6, lines 6-7
Explanation: Lines 6-7 of paragraph 6 states that the route used specially constructed locomotives with water tanks in which steam could be condensed. Ventilation shafts were constructed to the tunnels, but smoke and gases were still an issue. Therefore, the above statement can be considered to be a TRUE one.

Question 10. A different approach from the ‘cut and cover’ technique was required in London’s central area.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: The ‘cut and cover’ method of construction was not an option in this part of the capital.
Keyword: cut and cover, construction, option, capital
Keyword location: paragraph 7, line 4
Explanation: The fourth lines of paragraph 7 explains that the existing subterranean lines formed a ring around the centre of London and expanded to the suburbs. However, it did not cross the capital's centre. In this area of the city, the "cut and cover" style of building was not a possibility. The only other option was to drill well beneath the surface. So, the above sentence is the TRUE one.

Question 11. The windows on City & South London trains were at eye level.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: The carriages were narrow and had tiny windows just below the roof
Keyword: carriages, narrow, tiny windows, roof
Keyword location: paragraph 8, lines 6-7
Explanation: The sixth to seventh lines of paragraph 8 implies that the trains comprised of three carriages and were powered by electric engines. Because it was assumed that passengers would not want to stare out at the tunnel walls, the carriages were small with tiny windows just below the top. Thus, the above statement can be regarded as a FALSE statement.

Question 12. The City & South London Railway was a financial success.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: Although the City & South London Railway was a great technical achievement, it did not make a profit.
Keyword: City & South London Railway, technical, achievement, profit
Keyword location: paragraph 8, lines 9-10
Explanation: The ninth to tenth lines of paragraph 8 explains that the City & South London Railway was a wonderful technical feat, however it did not earn a profit. The Central London Railway, sometimes known as the Tuppenny Tube, then started running in 1900 utilising brand-new electric locomotives. So, The City & South London Railway was not successful financially. Hence, the given statement can be regarded as a FALSE one.

Question 13. Trains on the ‘Tuppenny Tube’ nearly always ran on time.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: No information stating that the trains on the Tuppenny Tube always ran on scheduled time has been given in the passage. Hence, the above sentence can be regarded as an invalid one.

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