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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 Class 180 is a type of British diesel multiple unit built by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 for use on then-new express services by First Great Western (FGW). They were built at Washwood Heath in Birmingham and are part of the Coradia 1000 family along with the Class 175. The first unit, 180101, was unveiled on April 18, 2000. However, following a string of problems, full main line testing did not begin until December 2000, six months after it was intended to start. FGW stopped using the class on 27 March 2009, and they are now employed by other operators. The Class 180s were given the name Adelante upon entry into service with FGW, a name devised by First Group that they retain with First Hull Trains. Grand Central renamed their units as Zephyrs leading some enthusiasts to nickname the units A to Z.

Recently selected: Copenhagen Metro - Pere Marquette 1225 - Indian Railways

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Preserved Norfolk & Western 1218 pulling an excursion train in Fall 1987. This 2-6-6-4 locomotive was built in by Norfolk and Western Railway 1943 at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia; it was retired in 1959, restored to operating condition in 1987, and is now on static display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation.

Recently selected: Meitetsu 7000 series - Soviet postage stamp with VL80 locomotives - Kornwestheim yard

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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

October 3

1839 – The first railway line in Italy, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long between Naples and Portici, opens.
1873 – Grand Trunk Railway begins converting its track between Stratford, Ontario, and Montreal from 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) (broad gauge) to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge); the conversion is completed within 24 hours.
2001 – Canadian Pacific Corporation divests itself of its five major subsidiaries, spinning off Canadian Pacific Railway (pictured) as an independent company.
2004 – The Southwestern Railroad in New Mexico leases the Carlsbad Subdivision, 183 miles (295 km) of track between Clovis and Carlsbad, from the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe 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 1This GO Transit Bombardier BiLevel 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 2A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from Rail yard)
Image 3Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (from Locomotive)
Image 4A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 5Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 6Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 7The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)
Image 8A narrow-gauge battery–electric locomotive used for mining (from Locomotive)
Image 9China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)
Image 10Bombardier ALP-45DP, at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 11Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 12A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 13A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 14Restored clerestory cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin (from Railroad car)
Image 15A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 16A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 17A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 18Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 19Schedule of train departure times in Indonesia stations (from Train)
Image 20A 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 21A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)
Image 22A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 23US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 24Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 25TGV Lacroix first class interior (from Train)
Image 26The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)
Image 27This 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 28Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 29Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons. (from Train)
Image 30Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from Train)
Image 31A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 32An Indian locomotive class WDM-3A diesel locomotive in India (from Locomotive)
Image 33Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 34The New Orleans Streetcar System is the oldest in the world. (from Train)
Image 35A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 36Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 37A Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)
Image 38The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service (from Train)
Image 39A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 40The first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel–electric) for long distances, the SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)
Image 41The ESS 3200 electric locomotive was introduced in 1925 in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. (from Locomotive)
Image 42The "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 43A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 44Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 45RegioCitadis light rail train in Zoetermeer (the Netherlands). (from Train)
Image 46The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 47A London Underground battery–electric locomotive used for hauling engineers' trains, at West Ham station (from Locomotive)
Image 48An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)
Image 49Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both a pantograph and contact shoes. (from Locomotive)
Image 50Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)