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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 Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line (Norwegian: Kirkenes–Bjørnevatnbanen), or the Sydvaranger Line (Sydvarangerbanen), is an 8.5-kilometer (5.3 mi) long railway line between Kirkenes and Bjørnevatn in Sør-Varanger, Norway. Owned by the private mining company Northern Iron, the single-track railway is solely used to haul 20 daily iron ore trains from Bjørnevatn Mine to the port at Kirkenes. It was the world's northern-most railway until 2010. The line was built by the mining company Sydvaranger, who started construction in 1907 and inaugurated the railway in 1910. From 1912, the port network received electrification, as did the mainline in 1920. Originally, free passenger train services were also offered. During the Second World War, the line was largely destroyed, but rebuilt afterwards and re-opened in 1952. Electric traction was abandoned in 1955 when two EMD G12 diesel locomotives were bought. The line closed in 1997, but was reopened in 2009, following a change in ownership of the mine. There are proposals to connect the line to either one or both of the Finnish and Russian railway networks.

Recently selected: Jarlsberg Tunnel - Stavne–Leangen Line - Flåm Line

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Selected image of the week

A VL20 class electric locomotive pulls a freight train on the South-Ural Iron Road line, Kisegatch, Russia, in 2006.

Recently selected: Anghel Saligny Bridge - Congo-Ocean Railway - 1:8 scale live steam locomotive

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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 31

1820 – John W. Garrett (pictured), president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad starting in 1858, is born (d. 1884)
1885 – Robert F. Fairlie, English steam locomotive builder, dies (b. 1831).
1971 – The Monon Railroad is merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
1987 – Queen Elizabeth II presides over the opening ceremonies of the Docklands Light Railway in London, England.

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