Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of
transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of
two parallel steel rails.[1] Rail transport is one of the two primary means
of land transport, next to road transport. It is used for about 8% of passenger
and freight transport globally,[2] thanks to its energy efficiency[2] and
potentially high speed.
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Rolling stock on rails generally encounters lower frictional resistance than
rubber-tyred road vehicles, allowing rail cars to be coupled into longer trains.
Power is usually provided by diesel or electric locomotives. While railway
transport is capital-intensive and less flexible than road transport, it can
carry heavy loads of passengers and cargo with greater energy efficiency
and safety.[a]
Precursors of railways driven by human or animal power have existed since
antiquity, but modern rail transport began with the invention of the steam
locomotive in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the 19th century. The
first passenger railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, opened in
1825. The quick spread of railways throughout Europe and North America,
following the 1830 opening of the first intercity connection in England, was a
key component of the Industrial Revolution. The adoption of rail transport
lowered shipping costs compared to water transport, leading to "national
markets" in which prices varied less from city to city. [3]
Railroads not only increased the speed of transport, they also dramatically
lowered its cost. For example, the first transcontinental railroad in the United
States resulted in passengers and freight being able to cross the country in a
matter of days instead of months and at one tenth the cost of stagecoach or
wagon transport. With economical transportation in the West (which had
been referred to as the Great American Desert) now farming, ranching and
mining could be done at a profit. As a result, railroads transformed the
country, particularly the West (which had few navigable rivers). [4][5][6][7][8]
In the 1880s, railway electrification began with tramways and rapid transit
systems. Starting in the 1940s, steam locomotives were replaced by diesel
locomotives. The first high-speed railway system was introduced in Japan in
1964, and high-speed rail lines now connect many cities in Europe, East Asia,
and the eastern United States. Following some decline due to competition
from cars and airplanes, rail transport has had a revival in recent decades
due to road congestion and rising fuel prices, as well as
governments investing in rail as a means of reducing CO2 emissions.
