Portal:Trains
Portals → Technology → Transport → Trains
The trains portal
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)) |
|
Selected article of the week
The Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway is a 191 km-long (119 miles) German high-speed railway, between Nuremberg and Erfurt. The line is listed in Germany's federal transport plan as Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit Nr. ("German Unity transport project no.") 8.1 and is a section of the high-speed route between Berlin and Munich and a section of the line connecting Italy and Scandinavia in the European Union's Trans-European Rail network. It consists of an upgraded line between Nuremberg and Ebensfeld and a new line between Ebensfeld and Erfurt. The journey time between Erfurt and Nuremberg will be reduced to approximately one hour and 20 minutes after completion. The planning began in 1991 and construction started in April 1996. Three years later construction was stopped by the new SPD-Green coalition government formed after the 1998 election and only recommenced in 2002. The new line was opened at the timetable change on 10 December 2017. The timing of the final commissioning of the upgraded section is still uncertain.
Recently selected: NSB Class 72 - NRLA - Nottingham station
Selected image of the week
Seen on the occasion of an Open Day in August 1964, British Railways 0-6-0, formerly SR USA class, No. 30072 is a late survivor of the hundred or so American wartime 'switchers' brought over by the US Army in 1942-43. After the War, in 1946 14 were purchased by the Southern Railway for use at Southampton Docks.
Recently selected: Tokyo Station platforms - Korail freight train - trains at Skopje station
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
- June 29
- 1864 – An immigrant train traveling from Quebec City to Montreal, Quebec, falls into the Richelieu River at Belœil, Quebec, (pictured) after failing to stop for a signal at an open swing bridge, killing 99 people; the St-Hilaire train disaster, as it has come to be known, is so far the accident with the largest passenger death toll in Canada.
- 1896 – The St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company (predecessor of the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway) is incorporated.
- 1934 – The Southern Railway renames the Southern Belle passenger train (between London and Brighton, England) to Brighton Belle.
- 1949 – The Monon Railroad operates its final day of steam locomotive service as the Monon becomes one of the first Class I railroads in America to fully convert to diesel motive power.
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
- United States
- Fictional rail transport topics:
Note: WikiProjects marked as inactive are retained pending future editing activity
Subcategories
Things you can do
See also Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/Todo and Wikipedia:Pages needing attention/Railroads
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus