What is the main idea of the passage?

London’s 1863 Metropolitan Railway proved underground city travel was possible despite disruptive construction and smoky steam trains. (The passage balances the first line’s limitations with its importance as a successful new urban idea.)

Why did builders dig mainly along roads?

The cut-and-cover method needed a surface route that could be opened and covered again. (The described method begins with a trench at the surface, making road corridors practical despite disruption.)

What does “rerouted” mean?

sent along a different path (Traffic had to take other paths while road trenches were under construction.)

What powered the early trains?

steam locomotives (The third paragraph directly identifies steam locomotives as the early power source.)

The First Underground Railway: Level 3 Reading Comprehension Questions

On January 10, 1863, London's Metropolitan Railway opened between Paddington and Farringdon. It was the world's first underground passenger railway. Crowded streets and growing suburbs had created demand for a new way into the city.

Builders dug a trench along existing roads, laid tracks, formed brick tunnels, and covered the route again. This “cut-and-cover” method caused major disruption above ground. Buildings were removed, traffic was rerouted, and construction filled streets with mud and noise.

The early trains used steam locomotives. Stations and tunnels had vents, but smoke and steam still made the air unpleasant. Even so, large numbers of passengers used the seven-stop line. The railway showed that regular urban travel could move beneath streets instead of competing for space on them.

Later underground lines used electric trains and deeper tunnels bored below the surface. Those changes produced a system different from the first Metropolitan route. Yet the 1863 railway established the risky idea in public life. Its engineering was imperfect and disruptive, but it changed what a growing city imagined possible.

Comprehension questions