gridlock
/ˈɡrɪdˌlɑk/A traffic jam so complete that no vehicle in any direction can move at all.
Example: One stalled lorry can bring total gridlock to the city centre.
C225 words · Proficient
Road & Rail vocabulary — C2
Road and rail vocabulary for transport as policy, including gridlock, electrification and decarbonisation, plus nationalisation, privatisation and a rail terminus.
25 questions
Words in this set
25swerve
/swɜrv/To turn suddenly and sharply to one side while moving, usually to avoid hitting something.
Example:
You sometimes have to swerve to avoid deer on this road.
autonomous
/ɔˈtɑnəməs/Able to drive itself without a human driver.
Example:
The company is testing autonomous delivery vehicles.
juggernaut
/ˈdʒʌɡərˌnɔt/A very large truck used to carry heavy loads long distances.
Example:
A juggernaut thundered past on the motorway.
roadster
/ˈroʊdstər/A type of car with two seats and no roof.
Example:
He restored a vintage roadster from the 1960s.
chauffeur
/ʃoʊˈfɜr/A person whose job is to drive another person around, usually in a smart car.
Example:
A chauffeur waited outside with the car door open.
combustion
/kəmˈbʌstʃən/The process of burning fuel to produce power, as in a car engine.
Example:
The engine works through internal combustion.
motorcade
/ˈmoʊtərˌkeɪd/A group of vehicles travelling together, often for an important person.
Example:
The president's motorcade drove through the city centre.
gas-guzzler
A vehicle that uses a very large amount of fuel.
Example:
His old gas-guzzler cost a fortune to fill up.
roadkill
An animal that has been killed on the road by a vehicle.
Example:
We saw some roadkill on the country lane.
turnstile
/ˈtɜrnˌstaɪl/A metal gate with rotating arms that lets one person at a time through after paying.
Example:
Tap your card and the turnstile lets you through.
fare evasion
The offence of travelling on buses or trains without paying what you owe for the journey.
Example:
Inspectors are cracking down hard on fare evasion across the network.
paratransit
Flexible transport services, such as door-to-door minibuses, for people who cannot use regular public transport.
Example:
Elderly residents rely on paratransit to reach the clinic.
decarbonisation
The process of reducing the amount of carbon emissions produced, especially by transport or industry.
Example:
Cities are under pressure to speed up transport decarbonisation.
franchise
/ˈfrænˌtʃaɪz/An official contract giving a company the right to run a service, such as a rail line.
Example:
A new company won the rail franchise last year.
nationalisation
The process of bringing an industry or company under government ownership and control.
Example:
The party campaigned for the nationalisation of the railways.
privatisation
/ˈpraɪvətəˈzeɪʃən/The process of selling a government-owned company or service to non-government owners.
Example:
Bus privatisation changed the city's routes completely.
deregulation
/diˌrɛɡjəˈleɪʃən/The removal of government rules and controls from an industry.
Example:
Deregulation allowed new companies to compete on the route.
modal shift
A change in the type of transport people use, for example from cars to trains.
Example:
The city hopes cheaper fares will encourage a modal shift.
electrification
/ɪˌlɛktrəfɪˈkeɪʃən/The process of converting a system, such as a railway, to run on power carried through cables instead of fuel.
Example:
The line's electrification cut journey times significantly.
terminus
/ˈtɜrmɪnəs/The station at the very end of a railway or bus line, where every service stops and goes back.
Example:
Stay on until the terminus and then walk five minutes.
viaduct
/ˈvaɪədəkt/A long, high bridge with many arches that carries a railway or road across a valley.
Example:
The train crosses a stone viaduct above the whole village.
rolling stock
All the engines and carriages that a railway company owns and puts into service on its lines.
Example:
The operator is finally replacing its ageing rolling stock next year.
funicular
A railway on a steep slope, pulled up and down by a cable.
Example:
We took the funicular up the mountainside.
narrow-gauge
Having rails set closer together than the standard width.
Example:
The old mining line is a narrow-gauge railway.
