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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 Nantes tramway (French: Tramway de Nantes) is a tramway system operating in the city of Nantes in Pays de la Loire, France. The first tramway in Nantes opened in 1879 and closed in 1958 due to bombing damage during World War II, while the present tramway was re-introduced to the city in 1985. The first tramway in Nantes was notable for its use of compressed air propulsion pioneering this technology. In the 1980s, Nantes became the first city in Europe to re-introduce the present tramway which was the first modern 'new generation' tramway to be built, reversing the trend of tramway closures that had been going on since the middle of the 20th century and becoming the first in a wave of tramways built from scratch in France and the rest of Europe. The current Nantes tramway network consists of three lines, is 43-kilometre (27 mi) long and serves 83 stations. It is operated by Semitan (commercially known as TAN), the operator of Nantes public transport network.

Recently selected: Namsos Line - Mysen Station - Munich S-Bahn

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A train of the Eritrean Railway, pulled by diesel locomotive number 27D, traverses the Massawa-Asmara line between Ghinda and Embatkalla in 2011.

Recently selected: Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway - Ukrainian Railways electric multiple unit - PKP train on Fleischmann Viaduct

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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

July 28

1862 – The first railway post office car (modern car pictured) in North America is operated over the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad; the mail is transferred to stagecoach in St. Joseph, Missouri, for the rest of the journey to California.
1982 – Fire destroys the Harrisonburg, Virginia, offices of the former Chesapeake Western Railway, which had been merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1954.
1996 – The Talleyrand Terminal Railroad (a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc.) begins operations in Jacksonville, Florida.
2005 – An explosion destroys a carriage of an express train near the town of Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, killing 13 people. See: 2005 Jaunpur train bombing.

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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)

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General images

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

Image 1Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 2This 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 3British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
Image 4A London Underground battery–electric locomotive used for hauling engineers' trains, at West Ham station (from Locomotive)
Image 5Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 6Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 7A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)
Image 8Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 9Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 10The "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 11The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service (from Train)
Image 12A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 13Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons. (from Train)
Image 14US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 15An Indian locomotive class WDM-3A diesel locomotive in India (from Locomotive)
Image 16Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 17China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)
Image 18A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 19Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 20Trains 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 21The first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel–electric) for long distances, the SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)
Image 22This 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 23A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 24Schedule of train departure times in Indonesia stations (from Train)
Image 25A 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 26Bombardier ALP-45DP, at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 27A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 28A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 29A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 30Restored clerestory cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin (from Railroad car)
Image 31Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from Train)
Image 32Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
Image 33Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both a pantograph and contact shoes. (from Locomotive)
Image 34A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 35A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from Rail yard)
Image 36The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 37Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 38A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 39Yard for Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)
Image 40An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)
Image 41RegioCitadis light rail train in Zoetermeer (the Netherlands). (from Train)
Image 42A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 43Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 44The ESS 3200 electric locomotive was introduced in 1925 in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. (from Locomotive)
Image 45TGV Lacroix first class interior (from Train)
Image 46A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 47A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 48Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (from Locomotive)
Image 49The New Orleans Streetcar System is the oldest in the world. (from Train)
Image 50The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)