第一条地铁:世界上第一条地铁是怎么诞生的，如何挖的地道？ _第一条地铁

世界上第一条地铁是如何建造的第一条地铁？

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It was the dawn of 1863, and London’s not-yet-opened subway system, the first of its kind in the world, had the city in an uproar.
在公元 1863 年的黎明,第一个拥有地铁系统的都市伦敦，地铁虽尚未营运，但城市已经在喧嚣之中.
Digging a hole under the city and putting a railroad in it seemed the stuff of dreams.
在城市底下挖个洞并将轨道放进去,曾经听起来像是个梦想.
Pub drinkers scoffed at the idea and a local minister accused the railway company of trying to break into hell.
酒馆里的酒客都嘲笑这个想法,当地的官员还指控地铁公司正试图开启地狱之门.
Most people simply thought the project, which cost more than 100 million dollars in today’s money, would never work.
大部分的人都觉得这项在今日会耗资超过几亿的计划是不可能实现的.
But it did.
但是成功了
On January 10, 1863, 30,000 people ventured underground to travel on the world’s first subway on a four-mile stretch of line in London.
1863 年 1 月 10 日三万个民众在世界上第一个地下铁道系统通勤当时在伦敦的铁道长达四哩.
After three years of construction and a few setbacks, the Metropolitan Railway was ready for business.
经过三年的建设和一些挫折后，都市铁道系统已准备好开始正式商业营运.
The city’s officials were much relieved.
城市官员都松了口气.
They’d been desperate to find a way to reduce the terrible congestion on the roads.
因为人们已经对他们改善交通阻塞的能力感到失望.
London, at the time the world’s largest and most prosperous city, was in a permanent state of gridlock, with carts, costermongers, cows, and commuters jamming the roads.
当时伦敦身为全世界最大最繁荣的都市长期饱受交通雍塞之苦马车、摊贩、牛车和通勤族都塞在路上.
It’d been a Victorian visionary, Charles Pearson, who first thought of putting railways under the ground.
Charles Pearson 是维多利亚时代第一个想到将铁道放到地底下的前瞻者.
He’d lobbied for underground trains throughout the 1840s, but opponents thought the idea was impractical since the railroads at the time only had short tunnels under hills.
他在1840年代发表地底铁道系统的概念,但反对者认为这是个不切实际的想法因为当时的在山丘下只建有很短的隧道铁路.
How could you get a railway through the center of a city?
你要如何把整个铁道放到是市中心下呢？
The answer was a simple system called \”cut and cover.\”
答案是一个称做「明挖回填式」的简单方法
Workers had to dig a huge trench, construct a tunnel out of brick archways, and then refill the hole over the newly built tunnel.
工人要挖一个很大的沟渠用砖块建造一个拱形的隧道再重新填平新建隧道的沟渠.
Because this was disruptive and required the demolition of buildings above the tunnels, most of the line went under existing roads.
因为这个方法是破坏性的,而且隧道上方的建筑物也会遭到破坏,大部分的铁道路线都建在马路下方.
Of course, there were accidents.
当然，还是有意外发生
On one occasion, a heavy rainstorm flooded the nearby sewers and burst through the excavation, delaying the project by several months.
有一次，一场倾盆大雨使水淹到旁边的下水道冲破地铁系统的地道使得这项计画延迟了好几个月.
But as soon as the Metropolitan Railway opened, Londoners rushed in to ride the new trains.
但当地铁系统一开始营运伦敦人就抢搭新型火车.
The Metropolitan quickly became a vital part of London’s transport system.
地铁很快变成伦敦交通中重要的一部分
Additional lines were soon built, and new suburbs grew around the stations.
随着更多的路线兴建，车站旁的市郊随之发展.
Big department stores opened next to the railroad, and the railway company even created attractions, like a 30-story Ferris wheel in Earls Court to bring in tourists by train.
大型百货公司都开在地铁旁铁路公司便创造了新的卖点,像是位于伦敦伯爵宫的摩天轮就是倚赖地铁带来的观光人潮.
Within 30 years, London’s subway system covered 80 kilometers, with lines in the center of town running in tunnels, and suburban trains operating on the surface, often on embankments.
【第一条地铁:世界上第一条地铁是怎么诞生的，如何挖的地道？】30年内，伦敦地铁就长达了80公里，包括市中心下的隧道以及在市郊陆地上、路堤上营运的铁路.
But London was still growing, and everyone wanted to be connected to the system.
但伦敦市区还在扩大每个地方都想与地铁相通.
By the late 1880s, the city had become too dense with buildings, sewers, and electric cables for the \”cut and cover\” technique, so a new system had to be devised.
大约在1880年代晚期，城市的建筑、下水道和管线密集度对于要实施「明挖回填式」实在太高了所以必须建一个新的系统.
Using a machine called the Greathead Shield, a team of just 12 workers could bore through the earth, carving deep underground tunnels through the London clay.
他们使用一种称做「潜盾隧道」的机械,一组约12个工人便可以探钻在伦敦土地下挖掘更深的隧道.
These new lines, called tubes, were at varying depths, but usually about 25 meters deeper than the \”cut and cover\” lines.
这些称做 tubes 新路线位于各种不同的深度,实际上比采「明挖回填式」的隧道还深约 25 公尺.
This meant their construction didn’t disturb the surface, and it was possible to dig under buildings.
显示这种建造方法不会破坏路面而且可以在建筑下挖掘.
The first tube line, the City and South London, opened in 1890 and proved so successful that half a dozen more lines were built in the next 20 years.
第一条 tube 路线「城市及南伦敦铁路」在 1890 年营运而且运作相当成功,在接下来 20 年内又另外兴建了超过六条的路线.
This clever new technology was even used to burrow several lines under London’s river, the Thames.
这项聪明的新科技也被运用在伦敦泰晤士河下的地铁路线兴建.
By the early 20th century, Budapest, Berlin, Paris, and New York had all built subways of their own.
大约在20世纪早期布达佩斯、柏林、巴黎和纽约也纷纷兴建它们自己的地铁系统。
And today, with more than 160 cities in 55 countries using underground rails to combat congestion, we can thank Charles Pearson and the Metropolitan Railway for getting us started on the right track.
在今日，有超过 55 个国家、160 个城市都运用地铁系统来纾解交通，这都要感谢Charles Pearson和都市地铁系统让我们的城市发展从一开始就走在正途上。