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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

Metrolink is a commuter rail system in Southern California, United States. Established in 1991 as the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), it began service the following year. The rail system operates lines in Ventura County, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Orange County and San Diego County. It connects with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro Rail lines at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and with the San Diego Coaster and Sprinter lines at Oceanside. It also connects with Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, Coast Starlight, Southwest Chief, and Sunset Limited trains. As of December 2009, it served 55 stations on 388 miles (624 km) of track (excluding shared miles) throughout Southern California. Average weekday ridership for the fourth quarter of 2009 was 38,400. Ridership increases almost every year; in July 2008 ridership saw a record 16% increase over the previous year. For 2010, Metrolink was allotted an operating budget of $168.1 million. It is headquartered in the MCI Center in Los Angeles.

Recently selected: NSB El 17 - Westcott railway station - Delhi Metro

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Selected image of the week

The mechanical interlocking tower above the platforms at Laon station in northern France was built in the 1920s by Chemin de Fer du Nord.

Recently selected: German brakeman - Robert Kennedy's funeral train - Ouse Valley 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

August 8

1829 – The Stourbridge Lion (pictured), the first steam locomotive delivered to the Delaware and Hudson Railway, operates for the first time in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.
1837 – Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij, the first railway company in the Netherlands, is founded.
1942 – The Mumbai Rajdhani passenger train, one of many Rajdhani Express trains, is inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in Mumbai, India.
1950 – Illinois Central Railroad retires the Green Diamond passenger trainset from active service; the trainset will soon be scrapped.

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