Types of trains
A train in South Sudan
There are various types of trains that are designed for particular
purposes. A train can consist of a combination of one or more
locomotives and attached
railroad cars, or a self-propelled
multiple unit (or occasionally a single or articulated powered coach, called a
railcar). Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by a cable, or run downhill by gravity.
Special kinds of trains running on corresponding special 'railways' are
atmospheric railways,
monorails,
high-speed railways,
maglev,
rubber-tired underground,
funicular and
cog railways.
A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives and
coaches. Alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger
carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a "
multiple unit". In many parts of the world, particularly the
Far East and
Europe,
high-speed rail is used extensively for passenger travel.
Freight trains are composed of wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains (especially
Travelling Post Offices) are outwardly more like passenger trains.
Trains can also be 'mixed', comprising both passenger accommodation
and freight vehicles. Such mixed trains are most likely to occur where
services are infrequent, and running separate passenger and freight
trains is not cost-effective, though the differing needs of passengers
and freight usually means this is avoided where possible.
Special trains are also used for
track maintenance; in some places, this is called maintenance of way.
In the
United Kingdom, a train hauled by two locomotives is said to be "double-headed", and in
Canada and the
United States
it is quite common for a long freight train to be headed by three or
more locomotives. A train with a locomotive attached at each end is
described as 'top and tailed', this practice typically being used when
there are no reversing facilities available. Where a second locomotive
is attached temporarily to assist a train up steep banks or grades (or
down them by providing braking power) it is referred to as '
banking'
in the UK, or 'helper service' in North America. Recently, many loaded
trains in the US have been made up with one or more locomotives in the
middle or at the rear of the train, operated remotely from the lead cab.
This is referred to as "DP" or "Distributed Power."
Terminology
The
railway terminology that is used to describe a 'train' varies between countries.
- United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the interchangeable terms
set and
unit are used to refer to a group of permanently or semi-permanently coupled vehicles, such as those of a
multiple unit. While when referring to a train made up of a variety of vehicles, or of several sets/units, the term
formation is used. (Although the UK public and media often forgo 'formation', for simply 'train'.) The word
rake is also used for a group of coaches or wagons.
In the United Kingdom Section 83(1) of the
Railways Act 1993 defines "train" as follows:
- a) two or more items of rolling stock coupled together, at least one of which is a locomotive; or
- b) a locomotive not coupled to any other rolling stock.
- United States
In the United States, the term
consist is used to describe the group of rail vehicles which make up a train. When referring to
motive power,
consist refers to the group of
locomotives powering the train. Similarly, the term
trainset refers to a group of
rolling stock that is permanently or semi-permanently coupled together to form a unified set of equipment (the term is most often applied to
passenger train configurations).
There are three types of trains: Electric, Diesel and Steam.
The
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's
1948 operating rules define a train as: "An engine or more than one
engine coupled, with or without cars, displaying markers."
[2]
Bogies
A
bogie (
/ˈboʊɡi/ BOH-ghee) is a
wheeled wagon or trolley. In
mechanics terms, a bogie is a
chassis
or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in
place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway
carriage or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar
tracked vehicle.
Motive power
The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses. From the early 19th century almost all were powered by
steam locomotives.
From the 1910s onwards the steam locomotives began to be replaced by
less labour intensive and cleaner (but more complex and expensive)
diesel locomotives and
electric locomotives, while at about the same time self-propelled
multiple unit vehicles of either power system became much more common in passenger service. In most countries
dieselisation of locomotives in day-to-day use was completed by the 1970s. Steam locomotives are still used in a few where
coal and labour are cheap, most notably the
People's Republic of China. Steam powered
Heritage railways are operated in many countries for the leisure and enthusiast market.
Electric traction offers a lower cost per mile of train operation but
at a higher initial cost, which can only be justified on high traffic
lines. Since the cost per mile of construction is much higher, electric
traction is less viable for long-distance lines with the exception of
long-distance high speed lines. Electric trains receive their current
via
overhead lines or through a
third rail electric system.
A recent variation of the electric locomotive is the
fuel cell locomotive.
[3][4]
Fuel cell locomotives combine the advantage of not needing an
electrical system in place, with the advantage of emissionless
operation. However, the initial cost of such
fuel cell vehicles is still substantial at the moment.
Passenger trains
Class 323 at Godley
A passenger train is one which includes passenger-carrying vehicles
which can often be very long and fast. It may be a self-powered
multiple unit or
railcar, or else a combination of one or more
locomotives and one or more unpowered trailers known as
coaches, cars or carriages. Passenger trains travel between
stations or
depots, at which passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on a fixed
schedule and have superior track occupancy rights over
freight trains.
Oversight of a passenger train is the responsibility of the
conductor. He or she is usually assisted by other crew members, such as service attendants or
porters. During the heyday of
North American passenger rail travel, long distance trains carried two conductors: the aforementioned train conductor, and a
Pullman conductor, the latter being in charge of
sleeping car personnel.
Many
prestigious passenger train services have been given a
specific name, some of which have become
famous
in literature and fiction. In past years, railroaders often referred to
passenger trains as the "varnish", alluding to the bygone days of
wooden-bodied coaches with their lustrous exterior finishes and fancy
livery. "Blocking the varnish" meant a slow-moving freight train was obstructing a fast passenger train, causing delays.
Some passenger trains, both long distance and short distanced, may use
bi-level (double-decker)
cars to carry more passengers per train. Car design and the general
safety of passenger trains have dramatically evolved over time, making
travel by rail remarkably safe.
High-speed rail
One notable and growing long-distance train category is high-speed
rail. Generally, high speed rail runs at speeds above 200 km/h (124 mph)
and often operates on dedicated track that is surveyed and prepared to
accommodate high speeds.
Japan's
Shinkansen ("bullet-train") commenced operation in 1964, and was the first successful example of a high speed passenger rail system.
The fastest wheeled train running on rails is
France's
TGV
(Train à Grande Vitesse, literally "high speed train"), which achieved a
speed of 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph), twice the takeoff speed of a
Boeing 727 jetliner,
under test conditions in 2007. The highest speed currently attained in
scheduled revenue operation is 350 km/h (217 mph) on the
Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Rail and
Wuhan–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway systems in China. The TGV runs at a maximum revenue speed of 300–320 km/h (186–199 mph), as does
Germany's
Inter-City Express.
In most cases, high-speed rail travel is time- and cost-competitive
with air travel when distances do not exceed 500 to 600 km (311 to 373
mi), as
airport check-in and boarding procedures may add as many as two hours to the actual transit time.
[5] Also, rail operating costs over these distances may be lower when the amount of
fuel consumed by an
airliner during
takeoff and climbout
is considered. As travel distance increases, the latter consideration
becomes less of the total cost of operating an airliner and air travel
becomes more cost-competitive.
Some high speed rail equipment employs
tilting technology to improve stability in curves. Examples of such equipment are the
Advanced Passenger Train (APT), the
Pendolino, the
N700 Series Shinkansen,
Amtrak's
Acela Express and the
Talgo. Tilting is a dynamic form of
superelevation,
allowing both low- and high-speed traffic to use the same trackage
(though not simultaneously, of course), as well as producing a more
comfortable ride for passengers.
Maglev
In order to achieve much faster operation over 500 km/h (310 mph), innovative
Maglev technology has been researched for years. The
Shanghai Maglev Train,
opened in 2003, is the fastest commercial train service of any kind,
operating at speeds of up to 430 km/h (270 mph). Maglev has not yet been
used for inter-city
mass transit routes.
Inter-city trains
Passenger trains can be divided into three major groups:
- Intercity trains: connecting cities in the fastest time possible, bypassing all intermediate stations
- Fast trains: calling at larger intermediate stations between cities, serving large urban communities
- Regional trains: calling at all intermediate stations between cities, serving all lineside communities
The distinction between the types can be thin or even non-existent.
Trains can run as Intercity services between major cities, then revert
to a fast or even regional train service to serve communities at the
extremity of their journey. This practice allows
marginal communities remaining to be served while saving
money at the expense of a longer journey time for those wishing to travel to the
terminus station.
Regional trains
Main article:
Regional rail
Regional trains usually connect between towns and cities, rather than
purely linking major population hubs like inter-city train, and serve
local traffic demand in relatively
rural area.
Short-distance trains
Commuter trains
Interior of a 6-door passenger car in Japan, when the bench seats are folded
For shorter distances many cities have networks of
commuter trains, serving the city and its suburbs. Trains are a very efficient
mode of transportation to cope with large traffic demand in a
metropolis. Compared with road transport, it carries many people with much smaller land area and little air pollution.
Some carriages may be laid out to have more standing room than seats, or to facilitate the carrying of
prams,
cycles or
wheelchairs. Some countries have
double-decked passenger trains for use in conurbations. Double deck high speed and sleeper trains are becoming more common in mainland Europe.
Sometimes extreme congestion of commuter trains becomes a problem.
For example, an estimated 3.5 million passengers ride every day on
Yamanote Line in
Tokyo,
Japan, with its 29 stations. For comparison, the New York City Subway
carries 4.8 million passengers per day on 24 services serving 468
stations. To cope with large traffic, special cars in which the bench
seats fold up to provide standing room only during the morning rush hour
(until 10 a.m.) are operated in Tokyo (
E231 series
train). In the past this train has included 2 cars with six doors on
each side to shorten the time for passengers to get on and off at
station.
Passenger trains usually have
emergency brake handles (or a "communication cord") that the public can operate. Misuse is punished by a heavy
fine.
Long-distance trains
Long-distance trains travel between many cities and/or regions of a
country, and sometimes cross several countries. They often have a
dining car
or restaurant car to allow passengers to have a meal during the course
of their journey. Trains travelling overnight may also have
sleeping cars.
Currently much of travel on these distances of over 500 miles is done
by air on many countries but on many others long-distance travel by rail
is popular or only cheap way to cross vast distances.
Within cities
Rapid transit
Large cities often have a
metro system, also called underground, subway or tube. The trains are electrically powered, usually by
third rail, and their railroads are separate from other traffic, usually without
level crossings.
Usually they run in tunnels in the city centre and sometimes on
elevated structures in the outer parts of the city. They can accelerate
and decelerate faster than heavier, long-distance trains.
The term
rapid transit is used for public transport such as commuter trains, metro and light rail. However, in New York City, services on the
New York City Subway have been referred to as "trains".
Tram
In most countries, such as the United Kingdom, the distinction
between a tramway and a railway is precise and defined in law. In the US
and Canada such street railways are mostly referred to as
trolleys.
The key difference between a railroad and a trolley system is the
latter running primarily on public streets, whereas trains have a
right of way separated from the public. Often the US style
interurban and modern
light rail
are confused with a trolley system, as it too may run on on the street
for short or medium long sections. In some languages the word tram also
refers to interurban and light rail -style networks, in particular
Dutch.
The length of a tram or trolley may be determined by national regulations. Germany has the so-called
Bo-Strab
standard, restricting the length of a tram to 75 metres, while in the
US, vehicle length is normally restricted by local authorities, often
allowing only a single type of vehicle to operate on the network.
Light rail
The term
light rail is sometimes used for a modern tram system, but it may also mean an intermediate form between a tram and a train, similar to a
subway
except that it may have level crossings. These are then usually
protected with crossing gates. In US terminology these systems are often
referred to as
interurban,
as they connect larger urban areas in the vicinity of a major city to
that city. Modern light rail systems often use abandoned heavy rail
rights of way (e.g. former railway lines) to revitalize deprived areas and
redevelopment sites in and around large
agglomerations.
Monorail
Monorail
was developed to meet medium-demand traffic in urban transit, but
represents a relatively small part of the overall railway field.
Named trains
Railway companies often give a name to a train service as a marketing
exercise, to raise the profile of the service and hence attract more
passengers (and also to gain
kudos
for the company). Usually, naming is reserved for the most prestigious
trains: the high-speed express trains between major cities, stopping at
few intermediate stations. The names of services such as the
Orient Express, the
Flying Scotsman, the
Flèche d'Or and the
Royal Scot have passed into popular culture.
Some of the popular specially named trains in India are: Brindavan
Express (Madras - Bangalore), Deccan Queen (Bombay V.T. - Pune) and
Flying Ranee (Bombay Central - Surat).
Certain types of trains also are named in India, such as:
- Rajdhani Express (National Capital, New Delhi, to a State Capital; fully airconditioned))
- Duronto Express (Fully airconditioned Non-stop 'Rajdhani' type trains between any two major cities)
- Garib Rath (Fully airconditioned train with cut-down services and discounted fares for common man)
- Shatabdi Express (Fully airconditioned short-distanace Intercity Superfast; returns to the originating station by night)
- Jan Shatabdi Express (An 'economy' version of the Shatabdi Express, with cut-down services and non-aircondioned coaches)
A somewhat less common practice is the naming of freight trains, for the same commercial reasons. The "Condor" was an overnight
London-
Glasgow express goods train, in the 1960s, hauled by pairs of
"Metrovick" diesel locomotives. In the mid-1960s,
British Rail introduced the
"Freightliner" brand, for the new train services carrying
containers between dedicated terminals around the rail network. The
Rev. W. Awdry also named freight trains, coining the term
The Flying Kipper for the overnight express fish train that appeared in his stories in
The Railway Series books.
Other types
- Heritage trains
Heritage trains are operated by volunteers, often
railfans, as a tourist attraction. Usually trains are formed from historic vehicles retired from national commercial operation.
- Airport trains
Airport trains transport people between terminals within an airport complex.
- Mine trains
Mine trains are operated in large mines and carry both workers and goods.
- Overland trains
Overland trains are used to carry cargo over rough terrain.
Freight trains
British electric container freight train
A
freight train (also known as goods train) uses
freight cars (also known as wagons or trucks) to transport goods or materials (
cargo) –
essentially any train that is not used for carrying passengers. Much of
the world's freight is transported by train, and in the
United States the rail system is used more for transporting freight than passengers.
Under the right circumstances, transporting freight by train is
highly economic, and also more energy efficient than transporting
freight by road. Rail freight is most economic when freight is being
carried in bulk and over long distances, but is less suited to short
distances and small loads. Bulk aggregate movements of a mere twenty
miles (32 km) can be cost effective even allowing for
trans-shipment costs. These trans-shipment costs dominate in many cases and many modern practices such as
Intermodal container freight are aimed at minimizing these.
The main disadvantage of rail freight is its lack of flexibility. For
this reason, rail has lost much of the freight business to
road competition. Many governments are now trying to encourage more freight onto trains, because of the benefits that it would bring.
There are many different types of freight trains, which are used to
carry many different kinds of freight, with many different types of
wagons. One of the most common types on modern railways are container trains, where containers can be lifted on and off the train by
cranes and loaded off or onto
trucks or
ships.
In the U.S. this type of freight train has largely superseded the traditional
boxcar (wagon-load) type of freight train, with which the cargo has to be loaded or unloaded manually. In Europe the
sliding wall wagon has taken over from the ordinary
covered goods wagon.
In some countries "
piggy-back" trains or
rolling highways are used: In the latter case
trucks
can drive straight onto the train and drive off again when the end
destination is reached. A system like this is used through the
Channel Tunnel between
England and
France, and for the trans-Alpine service between France and
Italy (this service uses
Modalohr road trailer carriers). "Piggy-back" trains are the fastest growing type of freight trains in the United States, where they are also known as "
trailer on
flatcar"
or TOFC trains. Piggy-back trains require no special modifications to
the vehicles being carried. An alternative type of "inter-modal"
vehicle, known as a
roadrailer,
is designed to be physically attached to the train. The original
trailers were fitted with two sets of wheels — one set flanged, for the
trailer to run connected to other such trailers as a rail vehicle in a
train; and one set tyred, for use as the
semi-trailer of a road vehicle. More modern trailers have only road wheels and are designed to be carried on specially adapted
bogies (trucks) when moving on rails.
There are also many other types of
wagons, such as "low loader" wagons for transporting road vehicles. There are
refrigerator cars for transporting
foods such as ice cream. There are simple types of
open-topped wagons for transporting
minerals and bulk material such as
coal, and
tankers for transporting liquids and gases. Today, however, most coal and aggregates are moved in
hopper wagons that can be filled and discharged rapidly, to enable efficient handling of the materials.
Freight trains are sometimes illegally boarded by passengers who do
not wish to pay money, or do not have the money to travel by ordinary
means. This is referred to as "
freighthopping" and is considered by some communities
[who?]
to be a viable form of transport. A common way of boarding the train
illegally is by sneaking into a train yard and stowing away in an
unattended boxcar; a more dangerous practice is trying to catch a train
"on the fly", that is, as it is moving, leading to occasional
fatalities. Railroads treat it as trespassing and may prosecute it as
such.
