Portal:Trains

Portals → Technology → Transport → Trains

The Trains Portal

Image:

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))

Shortcuts

edit

Selected article of the week

Euston station, also known as London Euston, is a major railway station to the north of central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden. It is one of 17 British railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line. Euston is the main rail gateway from London to the West Midlands, the North West and southern Scotland. It is connected to Euston tube station and near Euston Square tube station of the London Underground. Although the present station building is in the International Modern style, Euston was the first inter-city railway station to be built in London. The station and the railway that it served experienced several changes in management, being owned in turn by the London and Birmingham Railway (1837–1845), the London and North Western Railway (1846–1922), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (1923–1947), British Railways (1948–1994), Railtrack (1994–2001) and Network Rail (2001–present). On 5 April 2007, British Land announced they had won the tender to demolish the existing 40 year old building and rebuild the terminal, spending some £250 million of their overall redevelopment budget of £1 billion for the area. As a result the number of platforms will increase from 18 to 21.

Recently selected: Chicago 'L' - BR Standard Class 6 - Grand Crimean Central Railway

More selected articles - Candidates

edit

Selected image of the week

NSB Di 4 number 654 leading a passenger train from Trondheim to Bodø, is seen a few minutes before arriving at Mo i Rana in August 2020.

Recently selected: train at Transportation Center Skopje - KiwiRail train - panning shot of a tram

More selected pictures - Candidates

edit

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?

More did you know facts - Candidates

edit

Selected anniversaries

August 22

1910 – The first Western Pacific Railroad passenger train to operate over the railroad's entire route from Salt Lake City, Utah, arrives in San Francisco, California.
1935 – Diesel locomotives begin to replace steam locomotives on Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's long-distance passenger trains (pictured).
1950 – Canada's railroad workers go on strike, crippling operations across the country.
1994 – Indian Railways orders the first WDM-2C locomotives.

More... - Archive

edit

Train News

April 30, 2026 – American railroad companies Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern amend their plan for a merger. The plan involves connecting existing networks as well as adding new routes. (Railway-News)
April 30, 2026 – German company Siemens Mobility signs a 200-train contract with Swiss Federal Railways. The contract, which was awarded in November 2025, was until recently contested by Siemens’ competitor Stadler. (Railway Gazette)
April 26, 2026 – 2026 Bekasi train crash – The train Argo Bromo Anggrek collides with a Commuterline train near Jakarta, Indonesia. The crash left 16 people dead, all from the rear car of the Commuterline, and an additional 91 people injured. This happened after a separate train collided with a taxi earlier that day. (BBC, Reuters )

April 26, 2026 – In Mexico, tracks are opened for Tren Felipe Ángeles, a rail link that connects Felipe Ángeles International Airport with Mexico City. (Railway Gazette)

Archive

General images

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

Image 1US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 2A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)
Image 3Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 4The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service (from Train)
Image 5Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 6This 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 7A Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)
Image 8Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 9A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 10A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 11Bombardier ALP-45DP, at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 12A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 13An Indian locomotive class WDM-3A diesel locomotive in India (from Locomotive)
Image 14British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
Image 15Schedule of train departure times in Indonesia stations (from Train)
Image 16The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)
Image 17Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 18Trains 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 19The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 20Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 21TGV Lacroix first class interior (from Train)
Image 22A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 23A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 24The "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 25A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 26A narrow-gauge battery–electric locomotive used for mining (from Locomotive)
Image 27Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both a pantograph and contact shoes. (from Locomotive)
Image 28A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 29Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons. (from Train)
Image 30This GO train 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 31RegioCitadis light rail train in Zoetermeer (the Netherlands). (from Train)
Image 32The ESS 3200 electric locomotive was introduced in 1925 in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. (from Locomotive)
Image 33A 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 34Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 35China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)
Image 36Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 37Yard for Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)
Image 38Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 39An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)
Image 40Restored clerestory cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin (from Railroad car)
Image 41A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 42Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from Train)
Image 43A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 44The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)
Image 45Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 46Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
Image 47A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 48The first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel–electric) for long distances, the SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)
Image 49A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 50The New Orleans Streetcar System is the oldest in the world. (from Train)