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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, 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 Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York, with New Jersey, and providing service to Jersey City, Hoboken, Harrison, and Newark. It is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. PATH is one of the few rapid transit systems in the world that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While some PATH stations are adjacent to New York City Subway, Newark Light Rail and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail stations, there are no free transfers as the four systems operate independently. PATH spans 13.8 miles (22.2 km) of route mileage, not including any route overlap. PATH trains only use tunnels in Manhattan and parts of New Jersey (specifically, Hoboken and downtown Jersey City). The tracks cross the Hudson River through century-old cast iron tubes that rest on the river bottom under a thin layer of silt. PATH's routes from Grove Street in Jersey City west to Newark run in open cuts, at grade level, and on elevated track. As of 2006, PATH has an average weekday ridership of 239,200.
Recently selected: BR Standard Class 7 - Sleeping car - DB Class E 10
Selected image of the week
Rhaetian Railway's Glacier Express on the Landwasser Viaduct entering the Landwasser Tunnel.
The Glacier Express is a 7½ hour railway journey across 291 bridges, through 91 tunnels and across the Oberalp Pass at 2,033 meters (6,670 ft) in altitude. The entire line is metre gauge, and large portions of it use a rack-and-pinion system both for ascending steep grades and to control the descent of the train on the back side of those grades.
Recently selected: 1:8 and Z scale comparison - Narrow gauge ÖBB train - Soviet railway propaganda poster
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?
Selected anniversaries
- January 8
- 1855 – The first through train travels the entire distance from Chicago to the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois.
- 1863 – Ground is broken by the Central Pacific Railroad in Sacramento, California, on the western half of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America (locomotive pictured).
- 1944 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, heir to Cornelius Vanderbilt and president of the New York Central system, dies (b. 1878).
- 1962 – The Harmelen train disaster, the worst railway accident in the history of the Netherlands, occurs when one passenger train driver misses a warning signal and passes a red signal to collide nearly head-on with another passenger train.
Train News
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
General images
WikiProjects
WikiProject Trains (Shortcut: WP:TWP)
- WikiProject Stations (WP:STA)
- WikiProject Streetcars (WP:TRAM)
- WikiProject Rapid transit (WP:RTPJ) inactive
- By region:
- WikiProject Metros of the former Soviet Union (WP:SOVMETRO) inactive
- WikiProject Indian railways (WP:INRW)
- WikiProject Trains in Japan (WP:TJ)
- WikiProject New Zealand Railways (WP:NZR)
- WikiProject Pakistan Railways (WP:PKR) inactive
- United Kingdom
- WikiProject UK Railways (WP:Rail)
- WikiProject UK Trams (WP:UKTrams) inactive
- WikiProject London Transport (WP:LT/WP:TUBE)
- United States
- WikiProject New York City Public Transportation (WP:NYCPT)
- Fictional rail transport topics:
- WikiProject Thomas & Friends (WP:THOMAS)
Note: WikiProjects marked as inactive are retained pending future editing activity
Subcategories
Things you can do
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See also Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/Todo and Wikipedia:Pages needing attention/Railroads
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