Rail Transport

Rail transport Rail transport is the transport of passengers and goods along railways. A railway track consists of two steel (or in older networks, iron) rails, and sleepers made of timber, concrete, or steel to maintain the distance between the two rails. This distance is called the gauge. The rails and sleepers are usually placed on a foundation made of concrete or ballast to prevent the track from bending or changing form. The vehicles traveling on the rails are called trains. These vehicles move with much less friction than cars and trucks, and the locomotive that pulls the train uses much less energy than other transportation methods. Rail transport uses a little space: a double-track rail line can carry more passengers or goods in a certain time than a four-lane road. As a result, rail transport is a major form of public transport in many countries. In Asia, for example, many millions use trains as regular transport in India, South Korea, Japan, and China. It is also used widely in European countries. Most rail systems, including subways, have never been profitable; however, their indirect benefits are often great. Passenger rail in nearly all countries is dependent on the government's aims. A railway can be broken down into two major subjects. Basically these are the items which "move", the locomotives, coaches and wagons. And those which are "fixed", like the rails, sleepers, ballast, etc. Trains can travel at very high speed, are heavy, are unable to exit the track and require a great distance to stop. Although rail transport is one of the safest forms of travel, there are many possibilities for accidents to happen. These can vary from the minor derailment (jumping the track), a head-on collision with another train coming the opposite way and collision with a car (automobile) at a level crossing (Grade crossing in US/Canada)). Level crossing collisions are relatively common in the United States where there are several thousand each year killing about 500 people - although the comparable figures in the United Kingdom are 30 and 12 (collisions and casualties, respectively). For information regarding major accidents, see List of rail accidents. The most important safety measures are railway signalling and gates at level crossings. Train whistles warn others of the presence of a train, while trackside signals maintain the distances between trains. In the United Kingdom, vandalism is thought responsible for about half of rail accidents. Railroad lines are zoned or divided into blocks guarded by combinations of block signals, operating rules, and automatic-control devices so that at most one train may be in a block at any time. Such traffic control is done in a similar way to air traffic control. Compared to road travel, railways remain relatively safe. Annual death rates on roads are over 40,000 in the United States and about 3000 in the United Kingdom, compared with 1,000 rail-related fatalities in the United States and under 20 in the

UK. (Sources: U.S. Department of Transportation and U.K. Health & Safety Executive). However, a true comparison needs to take account of the number of people using each mode. [edit] History Main articles: History of rail transport and Heritage railway See also Timeline of railway history The Diolkos was a 6-km long railway that transported boats across the Corinth isthmus in Greece in the 6th century BC. Trucks pushed by slaves ran in grooves in a limestone track. The Diolkos ran for over 1300 years, until 900 AD. The first horse-drawn wagonways appeared in Greece, Malta, and parts of the Roman Empire at least 2000 years ago, using cut-stone track. They began reappearing in Europe from around 1550, usually operating with wooden track. The first railways in Great Britain (also known as wagonways) were built in the early 17th century, mainly for transporting coal from the mine to the water side where it could be loaded on to a boat. Early examples of this can be found in Broseley in Shropshire. These had wooden rails and flanged wheels, as on a modern railway. However, the rails were liable to wear out and have to be replaced. In 1768, the Coalbrookdale Company laid cast iron plates on such wooden rails to provide a more durable bearing surface. In the late 18th century iron rails began to appear: British civil engineer William Jessop designed edge rails (which have the flange on the rail, used with plain wheels) for use on a scheme from Loughborough, Leicestershire in 1789 and in 1790 was one of the partners who established an iron-works at Butterley, Derbyshire to produce rails (and other goods). In 1802, Jessop opened the Surrey Iron Railway in south London arguably the world's first public railway, albeit horse-drawn. The first steam locomotive to operate on rails was built by Richard Trevithick, and was tried out in 1804 at Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. This was not a success, partly because the engine was so heavy that the rails broke under it. In 1806 a horse-drawn railway was built between Swansea and Mumbles. In 1807 this railway started carrying fare-paying passengers - the first in the world to do so. In 1811 John Blenkinsop designed the first successful and practical railway locomotive[2]. He patented (No 3431), a system of moving coals by a rack railway worked by a steam locomotive, and a line was built connecting the Middleton Colliery to Leeds. The locomotive was built by Matthew Murray of Fenton, Murray and Wood. The Middleton Railway was the first railway to successfully use steam locomotives on a commercial basis. It was also the first railway in Great Britain to be built under the terms laid out in an Act of Parliament. Blenkinsop's engine had double-acting cylinders and, unlike the Trevithick pattern, no flywheel. The cylinders drove a geared wheel which engaged under the engine with the rack. This design was quickly superseded following the discovery of railroad traction properties by George Stephenson during construction of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in northern England in 1825 to be followed five years later by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, considered to be the world's first "Inter City" line, which proved the viability of rail transport, with Stephenson's famous Rocket steam locomotive. Railways soon spread throughout the United Kingdom and through the world, and became the dominant means of land transport for nearly a century, until the invention of aircraft and automobiles, which prompted a gradual decline in railways. The rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) used for the Stockton and Darlington railway became known as "standard gauge" and is used by about sixty per cent of the world's railways. Two SD70 diesel locomotives of the Union Pacific refueling at Dunsmuir, California. The first railroad in the United States may have been a gravity railroad in Lewiston, New York in 1764. The Leiper Railroad in Pennsylvania was the first permanent railroad, opened in 1810, and the Granite Railroad in 1826 may have been the first to evolve through continuous operations into a common carrier. The Baltimore and Ohio, opened in 1830, was the first to evolve into a major system. In 1867 the first elevated railroad was built in New York. In 1869, the symbolically important transcontinental railroad was completed in the United States with the driving of a golden spike at Promontory, Utah. Further information: Oldest railroads in North America The use of overhead wires conducting electricity, invented by Granville T. Woods in 1888, amongst several other improvements, led to the development of electrified railways, the first of which in the United States was operated at Coney Island from 1892. An historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888. The intersection shown is at 8th & Broad Streets. Richmond, VA had the first successful electrically-powered trolley system in the United States. Designed by electric power pioneer Frank J. Sprague, the trolley system opened its first line in January, 1888. Richmond's hills, long a transportation obstacle, were considered an ideal proving ground. The new technology soon replaced horse-powered streetcars. Diesel and electric trains and locomotives replaced steam in many countries in the decades after World War II. In the USSR the phenomenon of children's railways was developed since the 1930s (the world's first one was opened on July 24, 1935). Fully operated by children, they were extracurricular educational institutions, where teenagers learnt railway professions. A lot of them are functioning in post-Soviet states and Eastern European countries. Many countries since the 1960s have adopted high-speed railways.

On 24 August 2005 the Qingzang railway became the highest railway line in the world, when track was laid through the Tanggula Mountain Pass at 5072 meters above sea level. [3] [edit] Terminology Rail tracks Main article: Rail terminology In the United Kingdom and most other Commonwealth of Nations countries, the term railway is used in preference to railroad, while in the United States the reverse is true. In Canadian speech, railway and railroad are interchangeable, although in law railway is the usual term. Railroad was used in the United Kingdom concurrently with railway until the 1850s when railway became the established term. A number of American companies have railway in their names instead of railroad, the BNSF Railway being the pre-eminent modern example. Further information: Usage of the terms railroad and railway In the United Kingdom, the term railway often refers to the whole organisation of tracks, trains, stations, signalling, timetables and the operating companies that collectively make up a coordinated railway system, while permanent way or p/way refers to the tracks alone. See also: Rail transport in the United Kingdom Subways, metros, elevated lines, trolley lines, and undergrounds are all specialized railways. Further information: International railroad terminology