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, 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
Holland Village MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle line (CCL), located along the boundary of Bukit Timah and Queenstown planning areas in Singapore. Situated close to the junction of Holland Avenue and Holland Road, it primarily serves the area of Holland Village, where its name was derived from. The station is operated by SMRT Trains. First announced as Holland MRT station in 2003, the station was renamed Holland Village through a public poll in 2005. The station opened on 8 October 2011 when Stages 4 and 5 of the CCL stations opened. The station features Holland Beat by Jeremy Sharma as part of the MRT network's Art-in-Transit programme.
Recently selected: history of Cincinnati Union Terminal - - Hartford and New Haven Railroad
Selected image of the week
Rail clips are used to fasten the rail to the sleepers on new standard gauge track in Kenya in 2016.
Recently selected: first Sm6 departure from Helsinki - - East African Railways freight train
Did you know...
- ...that by 1968, when it was sold to Amfac, Inc., the Fred Harvey Company, well known for its business relationship with the Santa Fe Railway, was the sixth largest food retailer in the United States?
- ...that upon the public unveiling of the first Frecciarossa 1000 train in 2013, it was hailed as being the fastest train to reach series production in Europe?
- ...that since the Fraserburgh and St Combs Light Railway line was partly unfenced, the locomotives were fitted with cowcatchers, an arrangement rarely found in United Kingdom practice?
- ...that although Washington Metro's Franconia–Springfield station was the 8th-most-used Metro station in Virginia as of 2016, its parking garage is the largest on the Metro system?
Selected anniversaries
- September 2
- 1868 – William F. Nast succeeds Samuel C. Pomeroy as president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
- 1922 – The Meguro-Kamata Electric Railway (a predecessor of Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway) is formed in Japan.
- 1940 – Kansas City Southern Railway inaugurates the Southern Belle passenger train service between Kansas City, Missouri, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 2004 – Robert R. Dowty, construction foreman for the replica Jupiter and 119 steam locomotives (pictured) at the Golden Spike National Historic Site at Promontory, Utah, dies (b. 1923).
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