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A Russian ЧС8 class electric locomotive leads a passenger train at Rostov in June 2010

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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

Former California Zephyr dome car in service with the Inland Lakes Railway, Plymouth, Florida

A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car or observation. The earliest documented predecessor of the dome car was first developed in the 1880s; known at the time as the "birdcage car", it was used on an 1882 sightseeing tour on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q). The first successful dome cars were conceived by Cyrus Osborn of General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD). In 1944, while traveling in an EMD-built Rio Grande locomotive through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado, it was Mr. Osborn that recognized the wonderful views the passengers could enjoy from a panoramic dome. His idea was to provide a full 360-degree view from above the train in newly built "Vista-Dome" cars. This design was then adopted by the CB&Q where Vista Domes quickly found their way into many Burlington Zephyr consists, culminating in 1949 with the inauguration of the California Zephyr. Dome car usage spread primarily in the United States and Canada, though a small number were constructed in Europe for Trans Europ Express service. In North America, dome cars were manufactured by the Budd Company, Pullman-Standard and American Car & Foundry. Southern Pacific Railroad built its own dome cars in their Sacramento, California, shops. In the 1990s Colorado Railcar began producing dome cars. Generally, seats in the dome were considered "non-revenue" like lounge car seats. When dome cars are now operated in excursion trains, the dome seats often command a premium fare.

Recently selected: NSB Class 93 - Eurostar - Flekkefjord Line

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Selected image of the week

A train of the Berninabahn passes "Madonna di Tirano" pilgrimage church in Tirano, Italy.

The Berninabahn is one of several lines of the RhB, the largest network of all the private railways in Switzerland. This line runs from Tirano to St. Moritz over the Bernina Pass and traverses the steepest grades of the network at 7%.

Recently selected: Philadelphia and Western interurban - Vor der Vollendung - Austrian passenger train

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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

August 1

1836 – The Utica and Schenectady Railroad, a predecessor of the New York Central Railroad in New York, opens.
1999 – Two trains carrying 2,500 people collide at the remote station of Gaisal, 310 miles (500 km) from the city of Gauhati in West Bengal, India, killing more than 285 people. See: Gauhati rail disaster.
2002 – Deutsche Bahn opens the high-speed line (pictured) between Frankfurt and Cologne, Germany.
2004 – Iowa Interstate Railroad takes over operations of a daily freight train from Iowa City, Iowa, to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, from the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway.

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