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In rail transport, a train is a vehicle or (more frequently) a string of vehicles capable of being moved along a continuous line of rails or other guideway for the purpose of conveying freight or passengers between points on a predetermined route. The train may be hauled or propelled by one or more vehicles designed exclusively for that purpose (locomotives) or may be driven by a number of motors incorporated in all or several of the vehicles (multiple units).

As of 2018^[update], there are approximately 1,052,000 kilometres (654,000 mi) of railway track in use worldwide. (World Bank (via Archive.org))

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Selected article of the week

The history of the Oslo Tramway and Oslo Metro in Oslo (Kristiania until 1925), Norway, starts in 1875, when Kristiania Sporveisselskab (KSS) opened two horsecar lines through the city centre. In 1894, Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei (KES) built the first electric street tramways, which ran west from the city centre. Within six years, all tramways were electric. The city council established Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie (KKS) in 1899, which built three lines before it was sold to KSS six years later. Both KSS and KES were taken over by the municipality in 1924, becoming Oslo Sporveier. The company gradually expanded the city tram network, which reached its peak length in 1939. The Holmenkollen Line was the first light rail line, which opened in 1898 and ran west of the city. Later light rail lines in the west were the Røa Line (opened in 1912), the Lilleaker Line (1919), the Sognsvann Line (1934) and the Kolsås Line (1942). From 1928, they ran to the city centre via the Common Tunnel. East of the city, the Ekeberg Line opened in 1917, followed by the Østensjø Line (opened in 1926) and the Lambertseter Line (1957). The light rail lines were built by three private companies, Holmenkolbanen, Ekebergbanen and Bærumsbanen. By 1975, all had been bought by Oslo Sporveier. The Oslo Metro opened in 1966, consisting of a line through the Common Tunnel to Jernbanetorget and the upgraded Lambertseter light rail line. The same year the Grorud Line opened. The next year the Østensjø Line was connected, and in 1970 the Furuset Line opened. The city council decided to close the tramways in 1960, and several lines were closed until the decision was revoked in 1977. In 1987, the Common Tunnel was completed. From 1993, the western lines were upgraded and connected to the Metro, allowing Metro trains to run through the city centre. The Metro's Ring Line was completed in 2006.

Recently selected: Charles Holden - Getå Railroad Disaster - La Stazione

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New York Central Railroad J-1 class Hudson number 5271, built by ALCO in the late 1920s, pulls the 20th Century Limited passenger train between New York City and Chicago on an unspecified date.

Recently selected: Track near Carnoustie at sunset - Amtrak's California Zephyr - EL 3 locomotive and ore train

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Did you know...

...that the opening ceremonies of the Galway to Clifden railway were very sparsely attended because the event date was a strict church holiday and was reserved for attending church services?
...that following heavy damage to the Galveston Island Trolley track and cars from Hurricane Ike in 2008, substitute service with replica buses was operated until service resumed in October 2021?
...that although the former Santa Fe Railway's Galesburg station was demolished after regular passenger service to the station ended in 1996, the site is still used if derailments cause trains to use the Chillicothe Subdivision instead of the Mendota Subdivision?
...that the Fuzhou–Xiamen railway, which opened in 2010, was so heavily used that it reached capacity in 2015, spurring construction on the parallel Fuzhou–Xiamen high-speed railway for CRH passenger train services?

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Selected anniversaries

May 16

1832 – Philip Armour (pictured), founder of Armour and Company meatpackers and subsidiary Armour Refrigerator Line refrigerator car operators, is born (d. 1901).
1898 – Passenger service is inaugurated on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in England.
1979 – A. Philip Randolph, who organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, dies (b. 1889).
2006 – Norfolk Southern Railway is awarded the Gold E. H. Harriman Award for employee safety for the 17th consecutive year, a record that has not been equaled.

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Train News

Santa Fe No. 2926 at Albuquerque, New Mexico
July 24, 2021 – Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe No. 2926, a 4-8-4 steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1944, moves under its own power for the first time since Christmas Eve of 1953, after nearly twenty-two years of being rebuilt by volunteers. The locomotive will be put into mainline excursion service. (NMSL&RHS, Trains Magazine on Facebook)
Big Boy No. 4012 at Steamtown National Historic Site
May 5, 2021 – Steamtown National Historic Site completes thorough cosmetic overhaul on Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4012, which is moved back on static display before National Train Day. (NEPA Scene)
The derailed Taroko Express trainset, as seen from outside the entrance to the tunnel
April 2, 2021 – 2021 Hualien train derailment – A Taroko Express train operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) derails at the north entrance of Qingshui Tunnel in Heren Section, Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan, killing 49 people and injuring at least 200 others. North of Hualien City a construction truck had fallen down a slope onto the tracks. The eight-carriage train derailed after colliding with the truck, and then came to a rest in the tunnel, with severe damage and many casualties. (Bloomberg, CNN, CNA, New York Times, Financial Times)

The preserved C&O 1309 at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in October 2009

December 31, 2020 – Following a complete restoration, Chesapeake and Ohio 1309, a 2-6-6-2 Mallet locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1949, the last steam locomotive built by Baldwin for the North American market, is operated under its own power for test runs. When returned to service on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, it will be the largest steam locomotive in regular scheduled service in the United States and take 2-8-0 No. 734’s place as the largest active steam locomotive in the state of Maryland. (Trains.com Newswire)

An Avelia Liberty train on a test run in Delaware in May 2020

September 28, 2020 – Amtrak operates a test run using one of the 28 new Avelia Liberty trains manufactured by Alstom along the full length of the Northeast Corridor to Boston South Station. Previous test runs had occurred from Washington, D.C., only as far north as New Jersey and Delaware. Barring any problems, the trains are expected to enter regular service on the route in 2021. (Universal Hub)

Berryessa/North San José station on the first day of service

June 13, 2020 – The Bay Area Rapid Transit Silicon Valley BART extension opened its stations in Milpitas and North San Jose. (San Jose Spotlight, SF Gate)

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General images

The following are images from various train-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (from Locomotive)
Image 2Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both a pantograph and contact shoes. (from Locomotive)
Image 3China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)
Image 4Restored clerestory cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin (from Railroad car)
Image 5Second-class compartment of a China Railways CRH1A-A train (from Train)
Image 6A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 7The "hump" of a hump yard. Railcars travel past retarders, which control their speed, and are directed onto tracks to be assembled into new trains. The control tower operates the retarders. (from Rail yard)
Image 8Bombardier ALP-45DP, at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 9Schedule of train departure times in Indonesia stations (from Train)
Image 10Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 11An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)
Image 12Trains carrying hazardous materials display information identifying their cargo and hazards. This tank car carrying chlorine displays, among other markings, a U.S. DOT placard showing a UN number that identifies the hazardous substance. (from Train)
Image 13A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from Rail yard)
Image 14A Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)
Image 15Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 16A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 17US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 18A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 19British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
Image 20Yard for Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)
Image 21A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)
Image 22Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
Image 23A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 24A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 25The first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel–electric) for long distances, the SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)
Image 26Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from Train)
Image 27A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 28Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 29The New Orleans Streetcar System is the oldest in the world. (from Train)
Image 30A large Amtrak and Metra coach yard just south of Chicago Union Station. About 25 percent of all rail traffic in the United States travels through the Chicago area. (from Rail yard)
Image 31Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 32A narrow-gauge battery–electric locomotive used for mining (from Locomotive)
Image 33Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 34A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 35A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 36A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 37Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 38This cab car includes a horn (top), a bell (top right), headlights (above the door), classification lights (red lights on side), and ditch lights (white lights on side). (from Train)
Image 39This map of Cedar Hill Yard in Connecticut shows a variety of different facilities, including receiving yards, departure yards, classification yards, and a repair yard. (from Rail yard)
Image 40The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)
Image 41Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons. (from Train)
Image 42The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service (from Train)
Image 43A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 44Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 45The ESS 200 electric locomotive was introduced in 1925 in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. (from Locomotive)
Image 46The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 47The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)
Image 48A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 49Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 50A London Underground battery–electric locomotive used for hauling engineers' trains, at West Ham station (from Locomotive)
Image 51Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 52RegioCitadis light rail train in Zoetermeer (the Netherlands). (from Train)