Rail transport is the transport of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles specially designed to run along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates the international trading and economic growth in most countries.
A typical railway/railroad track consists of two parallel rails, normally made of steel, secured to cross-beams, termed sleepers (U.K.) or 'ties' (U.S.). The sleepers maintain a constant distance between the two rails; a measurement known as the 'gauge' of the track. To maintain the alignment of the track it is either laid on a bed of ballast or else secured to a solid concrete foundation. The whole is referred to as permanent way (UK usage) or right-of-way (North American usage).
Railway rolling stock, which is fitted with metal wheels, moves with low frictional resistance when compared to road vehicles. On the other hand, locomotives and powered cars normally rely solely for traction on the point of contact of the wheel with the rail, whence they obtain adhesion (that is, the part of the transmitted axle load that makes the wheel "adhere" to the smooth rail). Whilst this is usually sufficient under normal dry rail conditions, adhesion can be reduced or even lost through the presence of unwanted material on the rail surface, such as moisture, grease, ice or dead leaves.
Rail transport is an energy-efficient and capital-intensive means of mechanized land transport and is a component of logistics. Rails, which along with various engineered components, are part of the permanent way. They provide very smooth and hard surfaces on which the wheels of the train may roll with a minimum of friction. As an example, a typical modern wagon can hold up to 125 tons of freight on two four-wheel bogies/trucks (100 tons in UK). The contact area between each wheel and the rail is tiny, a strip no more than a few millimetres wide, and hence suffers very little friction. Furthermore, the track distributes the weight of the train evenly, allowing significantly greater loads per axle / wheel than in road transport, leading to less wear and tear on the permanent way. This can save energy compared with other forms of transportation, such as road transport which depends on the friction between rubber tires and the road. Trains also have a small frontal area in relation to the load they are carrying, which cuts down on forward air resistance and thus energy usage, although does not necessarily account for the effect of side winds. In all, under the right circumstances, a train needs 50-70% less energy to transport a given tonnage of freight (or given number of passengers), than does road transport.
Due to these various benefits, 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, China, South Korea and Japan. It is also widespread in European countries. By comparison, intercity rail transport in the United States is relatively scarce outside the Northeast Corridor, although a number of major U.S. cities have heavily-used, local rail-based passenger transport systems or light rail or commuter rail operations.
The vehicles traveling on the rails are arranged in a series of individual powered or unpowered vehicles linked together, called a train; this can include the locomotive where present. A locomotive (or 'engine') is a powered vehicle used to haul a train of unpowered vehicles; calling a locomotive a "train" is a common popular misnomer. A string of unpowered vehicles without the locomotive is also termed a train; in the U.S.A. individual unpowered vehicles are known as cars (a generic term), and are divided according to the role: for a passenger-carrying vehicle the term carriage (or coach) is used, whilst a freight-carrying vehicle is known as a freight car; in Britain, a freight car would be called a wagon (or a truck). An individual powered passenger vehicle is known as a railcar or a power car; when one or more as these are coupled to one or more unpowered trailer cars as an inseparable unit, this is called a railcar set; several sets coupled together make up a multiple unit. Collectively, rail vehicles of all types are known as rolling stock.
The earliest evidence of a railway found thus far was the 6 kilometers (4 mi) Diolkos wagonway, which transported boats across the Corinth isthmus in Greece during the 6th century BC. Trucks pushed by slaves ran in grooves in limestone, which provided the track element, preventing the wagons from leaving the intended route. The Diolkos ran for over 1300 years, until 900 AD. The first horse-drawn wagonways also appeared in ancient Greece, with others to be found on Malta and various parts of the Roman Empire, using cut-stone tracks.
Railways began re-appearing in Europe after a hiatus following the collapse of the Roman Empire from around 1550, usually operating with wooden track. The first railways in Great Britain (also known as wagonways) were constructed in the early 17th century, mainly for transporting coal from mines to canal wharfs where it could be transferred to a boat for onward shipment. The earliest recorded examples of this are the Wollaton Wagonway in Nottinghamshire and the Bourtreehill - Broomlands Wagonway in Irvine, Ayrshire. Other examples can be found in Broseley in Shropshire, where wooden rails and flanged wheels were utilised, as on a modern railway. However, the rails were liable to wear out under the pressure, and had to be replaced. In 1768, the Coalbrookdale Iron Works laid cast iron plates on top of the wooden rails, providing a more durable load-bearing surface. From the late 18th century, iron rails began to appear, with the British civil engineer William Jessop designing smooth iron edge rails, which were to be used in conjunction with flanged iron wheels. Jessop used this innovation on a route between Loughborough and Nanpantan, Leicestershire in 1789. In 1803, Jessop opened the Surrey Iron Railway in south London, arguably the world's first horse-drawn public railway.
The first locomotive to haul a train of wagons on rails was designed by Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick, and was trialled in 1804 on a plateway at Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. Although the locomotive successfully hauled the train, the rail design was not a success, partly because its weight broke a number of the brittle cast-iron plates. Despite this setback, another area of South Wales pioneered rail operations, when, in 1806, a horse-drawn railway was built between Swansea and Mumbles: the Swansea-Mumbles railway started carrying fare-paying passengers in 1807 the first in the world to do so.
In 1811, John Blenkinsop designed the first successful and practical railway locomotive. He patented a system of moving coals by a rack railway worked by a steam locomotive (patent no. 3431), and a line was built connecting the Middleton Colliery to Leeds. The locomotive (The Salamanca) 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. Due to previous experience of broken rails, the locomotive was made very light and this brought concerns about insufficient adhesion, so instead of driving the wheels directly, the cylinders drove a cogwheel through spur gears, the cogwheel providing traction by engaging with a rack cast into the side of the rail.
In Scotland, the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway was the first railway constructed, and was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1808. The civil engineer leading the project was William Jessop, and its 1811 construction meant that it was the first railway in Scotland to utilise a steam locomotive, whilst it was the only line in Scotland for fourteen years. Its representation appeared in the Coat of Arms of the Burgh of Troon. The line was intended to carry coal for the Duke of Portland; and ran services between Kilmarnock and Troon Harbour. The line began life as a 9.5 mile (16 km), double track 4 ft 0 in (1,219 mm) gauge, horse-drawn waggonway. It was built using cast iron plate rails with an inner flange. A George Stephenson built locomotive, his second one from Killingworth colliery, was tried on the main line in 1817, but the weight of the engine broke the cast iron plate rails. It worked better when wooden rails were used; and the locomotive remained in use until 1848.
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. The rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) was used for the early wagonways, and had been adopted for the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The 4 ft 8? in (1,435 mm) width became known as the international "standard gauge", used by about sixty per cent of the world's railways. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, on the other hand, proved the viability of rail transport when, after organising the Rainhill Trials of 1829, Stephenson's Rocket successfully hauled a load of 13 tons at an average speed of 12 miles per hour. The company took the step of working its trains from its opening entirely by steam traction. Railways then soon spread throughout the United Kingdom and 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 first railroad in the United States may have been a gravity railroad in Lewiston, New York in 1764. The 1810 Leiper Railroad in Pennsylvania was intended as the first permanent railroad, and the 1826 Granite Railway in Massachusetts was the first commercial railroad 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. The development of the railroad in the United States helped reduce transportation time and cost, which allowed migration towards the west. Railroads increased the accessibility of goods to consumers, thus allowing individuals and capital to flow westward. Further information: Oldest railroads in North America
The South American experience regarding railways was first achieved in 1854, when a line was laid between the Chilean towns of Caldera and Copiapo. However, the first concerted trans-Andine attempt between Argentina and Chile did not occur until the 1870s, due to the financial risks involved in such a project. It was not until 1887 that the Argentinians began to construct their part of the enterprise, with the Chileans beginning construction in 1889, though by 1893, work had ceased due to financial constraints. In 1896, the Transandine Railway Company was created in London to purchase the existing railways and construct a continuous line between Argentina and Chile that would improve transport and communication links in South America. This was finally completed in 1908, when the Argentine and Chilean stretches of track were joined.
Robert Davidson started to experiment with an electrical railway car in Scotland in 1838. By 1839 he had completed and presented a 16 feet long carriage which weighed a total of six tons, including batteries. It reached a maximum speed of four miles per hour.
Magnus Volk opened his electric railway in Brighton in 1883.
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. Richmond, Virginia 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 April 3, 2007, the French TGV set a new train speed record. The train, with a modified engine and wheels, reached 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph). The record attempt took place on the new LGV Est line between Paris and Strasbourg using a specially equipped TGV Duplex train. The overhead lines had also been modified for the attempt to carry 31,000 V rather than the line's normal 25,000 V. 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 5,072 meters (16,640 ft) above sea level in the Tanggula Mountains, Tibet.
A railway can be broken down into two major components. Firstly, there are the items which "move", also referred to as the rolling stock, which include locomotives, passenger carrying vehicles (coaches), freight carrying vehicles (goods wagons/freight cars). Secondly are the "fixed" components, usually referred to as the railway's infrastructure, including the permanent way and ancillary buildings that are necessary for a railway to function.
Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop within sighting distance of the driver.
Most forms of train control involve movement authority being passed from those responsible for each section of a rail network (e.g., a signalman or stationmaster) to the train crew. The set of rules and the physical equipment used to accomplish this determine what is known as the method of working (UK), method of operation (US) or safeworking (Aus.). Not all these methods require the use of physical signals and some systems are specific to single track railways. The signalling process is traditionally carried out in a signal box or interlocking tower, a small building constructed to house the lever frames required for the signalman to operate switches and signal equipment. These were placed at various strategic intervals along the route of a railway, controlling their own sections of track. More recent technological developments have initiated the redundancy of such operational doctrine, with the centralization of signalling operations to regional control rooms. This has been facilitated by the increased use of computers, allowing vast sections of track to be monitored from a single location.
Railway tracks are laid upon land owned or leased by the railway. Owing to the requirements for large radius turns and modest grades, rails will often be laid in circuitous routes. Public carrier railways are typically granted limited rights of eminent domain (UK:compulsory purchase). In many cases in the 19th century railways were given additional incentives in the form of grants of public land. Route length and grade requirements can be reduced by the use of alternating earthen cut and fill, bridges, and tunnels, all of which can greatly increase the capital expenditures required to develop a right of way, while significantly reducing operating costs and allowing higher speeds on longer radius curves. In densely urbanized areas such as Manhattan, railways are sometimes laid out in tunnels to minimize the effects on existing properties (see condemnation).
Trains can travel at very high speed; however, they are heavy, are unable to deviate from the track and require a great distance to stop. Although rail transport is considered one of the safest forms of travel, there are many possibilities for accidents to take place. These can vary from the minor derailment (jumping the track), a head-on collision with another train coming the opposite way and collision with an automobile at a level crossing/grade crossing. 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/grade crossings. Train whistles warn of the presence of a train, whilst trackside signals maintain the distances between trains. In the United Kingdom, vandalism or negligence is thought responsible for about half of rail accidents. Railway lines are zoned or divided into blocks guarded by combinations of block signals, operating rules, and automatic-control devices so that one train, at most, may be in a block at any time. Compared with road travel, railways remain relatively safe. Annual death rates on roads are over 40,000 in the United States and about 3,000 in the United Kingdom, compared with 1,000 rail-related fatalities in the United States and under 20 in the UK. (These figures do not account for differences in passenger-miles traveled by mode; see e.g. Transportation safety in the United States.)
A typical railway/railroad track consists of two parallel steel (or in older networks, iron) rails, generally anchored perpendicular to beams, termed sleepers or ties, of timber, concrete, or steel to maintain a consistent distance apart, or gauge. The rails and perpendicular beams are usually then placed on a foundation made of concrete or compressed earth and gravel in a bed of ballast to prevent the track from buckling (bending out of its original configuration) as the ground settles over time beneath and under the weight of the vehicles passing above. The vehicles travelling on the rails are arranged in a train; a series of individual powered or unpowered vehicles linked together, displaying markers. These vehicles (referred to, in general, as cars, carriages or wagons) move with much less friction than do vehicles riding on rubber tires on a paved road, and the locomotive that pulls the train tends to use energy far more efficiently as a result.
Trackage, consisting of sleepers/ties and rails, may be prefabricated or assembled in place. Rails may be composed of segments welded or bolted, and may be of a length comparable to that of a railcar or two or may be many hundreds of feet long.
The surface of the ballast is sloped around curves to reduce side forces. This reduces the forces tending to displace the track, reduces the tendency to overturn at high speed, and makes for a more comfortable ride for standing cattle and standing or seated passengers in trains. This will be optimal at only one particular speed, however.
Railways are highly complex feats of engineering, with many hours of planning and forethought required for a successful outcome. The first component of a railway is the route, which is planned to provide the least resistance in terms of gradient and engineering works. As such, the trackbed is heavily engineered to provide, where possible, a level surface. As such, embankments are constructed to support the track, in order to provide a compromise in terms of the route's average elevation. With this in mind, sundry structures such as bridges and viaducts are constructed in an attempt to maintain the railway's elevation, and gradients are kept within manageable constraints. Where such items are not always justified, such as in hilly terrain, where routes may require long detours to avoid such features, a cutting or tunnel is dug or bored through the obstacle. Once the sundry engineering works are completed, a bed of stone (ballast) is laid over the compacted trackbed to ensure drainage around the ties and even distribution of pressure over a wider area, locking the track-work in place. This crushed stone is firmly tamped to prevent further settling and to lock the stones. Minor watercourses are led through pipes (culverts) before the grade is raised
The base of the trackage consists of treated wood or concrete "ties", also known as "sleepers". These ensure the proper distance between the rails (known as "gauge") and anchor the rail structure to the roadbed through the use of Plates. These are attached to the top of the ties in order to provide a secure housing for the rails. After placement of the rail atop the plate, spikes are driven through holes in the plate and into the tie where they are held by friction. The top of the spike has a head that clamps the rail. Alternatively, lag bolts may be used to retain the clamps; this is preferred since screws do not tend to loosen. The spaces between and surrounding the ties are filled with additional ballast to stabilize the rail assembly against movement.
Points (UK) or switches (US), technically known as turnouts, are the means of directing a train onto a diverging section of track, for example, a siding, a branch line, or a parallel running line. Laid similar to normal track, a point typically consists of a frog (common crossing), check rails and two switch rails. The switch rails may be moved left or right, under the control of the signalling system, to determine which path the train will follow.
Spikes in wooden ties can loosen over time, whilst split and rotten ties may be individually replaced with a concrete substitute. Should the rails settle owing to soil subsidence they may be lifted by specialized machinery and additional ballast tamped down to form a level elevation. Periodically, ballast must be removed and replaced with clean ballast to ensure adequate drainage, especially if wooden ties are used. Culverts and other passages for water must be kept clear lest water is impounded by the trackbed, causing landslips. Where trackbeds are placed along rivers, additional protection is usually placed to prevent erosion during times of high water, whilst Bridges are another important item requiring inspection and maintenance.
An industrial railway is a type of private railway used exclusively to serve a particular industrial site, either entirely within a mine or factory compound, or connecting the site to public freight network. Industrial railways were once very common, but with the rise of road transport, their numbers have greatly diminished.
As an example, an industrial railway would transport clay from a quarry to an interchange point with a main line railway, where it would be transported to its final destination. The line would be owned and operated by the quarry company, and would exist solely to serve the quarry.
Most industrial railways are short, usually being only a few kilometres long, but there are notable exceptionsexamples of which include the iron ore-carrying railways in Western Australia which are hundreds of kilometres long to transport iron ore from inland to the coast.
Industrial railways serve many different industries. In Cuba a large number of industrial railways serve the sugarcane industry. In Colorado, the Coors Brewing Company uses its own industrial railway at the brewery both for the delivery of raw materials and for shipping the finished product.
Some industrial railways serve ammunition dumps.
This is a timeline of rail transport history.
See also Timeline of steam power.
428BC - The precursor of the railway, the rutway, existed in ancient Greek and Roman times, The most significant early example being the Greek rutway, the Diolkos of Corinth, recorded as in use to transport shipping overland on 8 occasions between 428BC and 30BC.
1550 - Hand propelled tubs known as "hunds" undoubtedly existed in the provinces surrounding/forming modern day Germany by the mid 16th century having been in proven use since the mid-1400s and possibly earlier. This technology was brought to the UK by German miners working in the Mines Royal at various sites in the English Lake District near Keswick. (Now in Cumbria) An excellent and definitive, but currently out of print, book by Michael Lewis "Early Wooden Railways" should be consulted about pre-17th century railways etc.
1603/4 - Between October 1603 and the end of September 1604 Huntingdon Beaumont, partner of the landowner Sir Percival Willoughby, built the first recorded above ground early railway/wagonway. It was approximately two miles in length running from mines at Strelley to Wollaton in Nottinghamshire, England. It is known as the Wollaton Wagonway. Beaumont built three further waggonways shortly after near Blyth in Northumberland related to the coal and salt trade. Shortly after the Wollaton Wagonway was built other wagonways are recorded at Broseley near Coalbrookdale in Shropshire. Further waggonways emerged in the English North East.
1761 Ralph Allen's Waggonway. First iron rails laid at Bath, England.
1782 Scottish engineer James Watt invents first steam engine able to turn wheels. Although James Watt is generally regarded as significant in the evolution of the modern stationary steam engine the principles of using the expansion/condensing power of hot air and steam by the application of heat were known in antiquity as far back as the Roman Emperor Nero who used the technology to operate temple doors.
1789 English engineer William Jessop uses flanged iron wheels on iron edge rails on a coal railway, part of the Charnwood Forest Canal at Loughborough, Leicestershire.
1794 The Peak Forest Tramway opens, the first non-mine narrow gauge railway
1802 The Carmarthenshire Tramroad, later the Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway, located in south west Wales, was established by Act of Parliament.
1803 The first public railway, the Surrey Iron Railway opens in south London.
1804 First steam locomotive railway - Penydarren - built by Richard Trevithick, used to haul iron from Merthyr Tydfil to Abercynon, Wales.
1807 First fare-paying, passenger railway service in the world established on the Oystermouth Railway in Swansea, Wales. Later this became known as the Swansea and Mumbles Railway and the railway was more affectionately known as "The Mumbles Train" (Welsh: Tren Bach I'r Mwmbwls). The railway survived using various forms of traction until 1960.
1808 Richard Trevithick sets up a circular steam railway (didn't go anywhere) for the public to experience for 1 shilling each.
1812 First commercial use of steam locomotives on the Middleton Railway, Leeds
1814 George Stephenson constructs his first locomotive, Bl?cher.
1825 Stephenson's Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first publicly subscribed, adhesion worked railway using steam locomotives, carrying freight from a Colliery to a river port (Passengers were conveyed by horse-drawn carriages).
1829 George and Robert Stephenson's locomotive, The Rocket, sets a speed record of 47 km/h (29 mph) at the Rainhill Trials held near Liverpool.
1830 The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway opens in Kent, England on the 3 May, Engineered by George Stephenson, 3 months before the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. A 5? mile line running from Canterbury to the small port and fishing town of Whitstable, approx. 55 miles east of London. Traction was provided by three Stationary Winding Engines, and "INVICTA"; Invicta was an 0-4-0 Loco, built by the Stevenson company, but only operated on a level section of track owing to the fact she produced a meagre 9 hp.
1830 The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opens, and the first steam passenger service, primarily locomotive hauled, is started. The line proves the viability of rail transport, and large scale railway construction begins in Britain, and then spreads throughout the world. The Railway age begins.
1831 First Passenger Season tickets issued on the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway.
1832 railway switch patented by Charles Fox
1834 Ireland's first railway, the Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR) opens between Dublin and Kingstown (now D?n Laoghaire), a distance of six miles.
1835 In Belgium a railway was opened on May 5 between Brussels and Mechelen. It was the first railway in continental Europe.
1837 The first Cuban railway line connects Havana with Bejucal, in 1838 the line reaches G?ines. This is also the first railway in Latin America and the Iberian world in general.
1837 The first German railway line connects Leipzig with Althen near Wurzen, in 1839 the line reaches Dresden.
1837 The first Austrian railway line connects Wien with Wagram, in 1839 the line reaches Brno.
1837 The first rail line in Russia connects Tsarskoye Selo and Saint Petersburg.
1837 The first line in France opens between Le Pecq near the former royal town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Embarcad?re des B?tignoles (later to become Gare Saint-Lazare)
1837 Robert Davidson built the first electric locomotive
1839 The first railway in Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Italy, from Naples to Portici.
1843 The first rail line in the Netherlands connects Amsterdam and Arnhem via Utrecht.
1844 The first rail line in Congress Poland is built between Warsaw and Pruszkow.
The first Atmospheric Railway, the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway opened for passenger service between Kingstown & Dalkey in Ireland. The line was 3 km in length & operated for 10 years.
1845 The first Railway line built in Jamaica opened on November 21st. The line ran 15 miles from Kingston to Spanish Town. It was also the first rail line to be built in any of Britain's colonies. The Earl of Elgin, Jamaica's Governor presided over the opening cermonies, by the late 1860s the line extended 105 miles to Montego Bay.
1846 James McConnell met with George Stephenson and Archibald Slate at Bromsgrove. It was at this meeting that the idea of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers came about.
1848 Australia first railway Sydney Railway Company (SRC), Australia's first, in 1848. Capitalised at ?100,000, it aimed to build railways to connect the port and capital of Sydney with the colony's two main inland towns of Bathurst and Goulburn.
1851 First train in British India, built by British invention and administration.
1852 The first railway in Africa, in Alexandria, Egypt.
1853 Passenger train makes in debut in Bombay, India
1853 Indianapolis' Union Station, the first "union station", opened by the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, and Bellefontaine Railroad in the United States.
1854 The first line in South America, from Copiap? to Caldera, in Chile.'
1855 the Panama Railway completed, the first transcontinental railway
1856 The first railway in Papal State, Italy, from Rome to Frascati.
1856 First railway completed in Portugal, linking Lisbon to Carregado.
1857 Steel rails first used in Britain.
1857 First railway completed in Argentina enters regular operations on August 30th.
1858 Henri Giffard invented the injector for steam locomotives
1863 First underground railway opened in London.
1863 Scotsman Robert Francis Fairlie invents the Fairlie locomotive with pivoted driving bogies, allowing trains to negotiate tighter curves in the track. This innovation proves rare for steam locomotives but is the model for most future diesel and electric locomotives.
1865 Pullman sleeping car introduced in the USA.
1869 The First Transcontinental Railroad (North America) completed across the United States.
1869 George Westinghouse establishes the Westinghouse Air Brake Company in the United States.
1875 Midland Railway introduces eight and twelve wheeled bogie coaches.
1877 Vacuum brakes are invented in the United States.
1879 First electric railway demonstrated at the Berlin Trades Fair.
1881 First public electric railway opened in Germany. One of the first railway lines in the Middle East was built between Tehran and Rayy in Iran.
1882 Lavatories introduced on Great Northern Railway coaches in Britain
1888 Frank Sprague installs the "trolleypole" trolley system in Richmond, Virginia, making it the first working electric street railway.
1890 First electric underground railway opened in London.
1891 Construction begins on the 9,313 km (5,787 mile) long Trans-Siberian railway in Russia. Construction completed in 1904. Webb C. Ball establishes first Railway Watch official guidelines for Railroad chronometers.
1895 First mainline electrification on the Baltimore Belt Line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
1899 The first Korean railway line connects Noryangjin (Seoul) with Jemulpo (Incheon).
1913 First diesel powered railcar enters service in Sweden.
1926 First diesel locomotive service introduced in Canada.
1934 First diesel-powered streamlined passenger train in America (the Burlington Zephyr) introduced at the Chicago World's Fair.
1935 First children's railway is opened in Tbilisi, USSR.
1938 In England, the world speed record for steam traction is set by the Mallard which reaches a speed of 203 km/h (126 mph).
1939 In Persia the Trans-Iranian Railway was opened, built entirely by local capital.
1960s-2000s many countries adopt high-speed rail in an attempt to make rail transport competitive with both road transport and air transport.
1964 Bullet Train service introduced in Japan, between Tokyo and Osaka. Trains average speeds of 160 km/h (100 mph).
1970 Penn Central goes bankrupt, the United States' largest corporate bankruptcy up to that time.
1975 British Rail's Advanced Passenger Train achieves 245 km/h (152.3 mph) on 10th. August.
1979 High speed TGV trains introduced in France, TGV trains travel at an average speed of 213 km/h (132 mph). and with a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph).
1987 World speed record for a diesel locomotive is set in Britain by British Rail's High Speed Train, which reaches a speed of 238 km/h (148 mph).
1990 World speed record for an electric train, is set in France by a TGV, which reaches a speed of 515 km/h (320 mph).
1990s Amtrak introduces the Acela Express on the Northeast Corridor in the United States.
2007 High speed trains travelling at 350 km/h (217 mph) is introduced in Spain.
A plateway is an early kind of railway or tramway or wagonway that started to appear in the century prior to 1830.
Plateways were of two kinds, "L" shaped flangeways or smooth topped edgeways, depending on whether the guiding mechanism was on the flanged rail or on the flanged wheel. Either way, the guiding mechanism reduced the loadbearing area that had to be built to support the weight of the vehicles.
Plateways were originally horsedrawn, but cable haulage and locomotives were used later on.
The plates of the plateway were made of iron and later steel, and were made by factories that were often big customers of the very same plateways. This feedback gradually encouraged the improvement in strength of the iron in the rails, so that eventually the iron was strong enough to support locomotive operation.
One edgeway type plateway was the so-called Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway, which was really a tramway.
Plates and rails
The plates of a plateway generally rested on stone blocks or sleepers, which served to spread the load over the ground, and to maintain the gauge (the distance between the rails or plates). The plates were often very short, able to stretch only from one block to the next. The main difference between plates and rails is that the rails were long enough to stretch over several blocks.
Advantages and disadvantages
Flangeways tend to get obstructed by loose stones, although the vehicles that run on them can run on ordinary roads.
Edgeways avoid the stone obstruction problem, but the flanges on the wheels tend to make those wheels unsuitable for ordinary roads.
Stone blocks had an advantage over timber sleepers in that they left the middle of the track unhindered for the hooves of horses.
Timber sleepers had an advantage over stone blocks in that they maintained the gauge more accurately.
Antecedents
Even older than plateways came wagonways which used wooden rails or grooves cut in stone block to guide the wheels and to reduce friction.
Operations
The early plateways were usually operated on a toll basis, with any rolling stock owner able to operate their wagons on the tracks. Sometimes the plateway company was forbidden to operate its own wagons, so as to prevent a monopoly situation arising.
Single Line
Plateways such as the G&C were single track with crossing loops at frequent intervals. Indeed the single track sections were straight so that wagon drivers could see from one loop to the next, to see if any oncoming traffic was approaching.
Magnetic levitation transport, or maglev, is a form of transportation that suspends, guides and propels vehicles (especially trains) using electromagnetic force. This method can be faster than wheeled mass transit systems, potentially reaching velocities comparable to turboprop and jet aircraft (900 km/h, 600 mph). The highest recorded speed of a maglev train is 581 km/h (361 mph), achieved in Japan in 2003, which is 4 mph more than the conventional TGV speed record.
History
Maglev research in the 1960s in the United States was short-lived. In the 1970s, Germany and Japan began research and after some failures both nations developed mature technologies in the 1990s. However, superconductor related costs remain a barrier to acceptance.
Commercial operation
The first commercial Maglev was opened in 1984 in Birmingham, England, covering some 600 meters between its airport and railhub, but was eventually closed in 1995 due to reliability and design problems. It operated at 42 km/h (26 mph). A contractor added an extra layer of fiberglass, and new trains had to be built. Its speedometer was based on radar, and was thrown off by snow.
The only currently commercially operating high-speed maglev line of note is the IOS (initial operating segment) demonstration line of the German built Transrapid train in Shanghai, China that transports people 30 km (18.6 miles) to the airport in just 7 minutes 20 seconds, achieving a top velocity of 431 km/h (268 mph), averaging 250 km/h (150 mph).
Other commercially operating lines exist in Japan, such as the Linimo line. Other maglev projects worldwide are being studied for feasibility. In Japan at the Yamanashi test track, current maglev train technology is mature, but costs and problems remain a barrier to development, alternate technologies are being developed to address those issues.
Technology
All operational implementations of maglev technology have had minimal overlap with wheeled train technology and have not been compatible with conventional rail tracks. Because they cannot share existing infrastructure, maglevs must be designed as complete transportation systems. The term "maglev" refers not only to the vehicles, but to the railway system as well, specifically designed for magnetic levitation and propulsion. See also fundamental technology elements in the JR-Maglev article, Technology in the Transrapid article, Magnetic levitation
There are two primary types of maglev technology: electromagnetic suspension (EMS) uses the attractive magnetic force of a magnet beneath a rail to lift the train up. electrodynamic suspension (EDS) uses a repulsive force between two magnetic fields to push the train away from the rail.
Another experimental technology, which was designed, proven mathematically, peer reviewed, and patented, but is yet to be built, is the magnetodynamic suspension (MDS), which uses the attractive magnetic force of a permanent magnet array near a steel track to lift the train and hold it in place.
Electromagnetic suspension
In current EMS systems, the train levitates above a steel rail while electromagnets, attached to the train, are oriented toward the rail from below. The electromagnets use feedback control to maintain a train at a constant distance from the track, at approximately 15 millimeters (0.6 in).
In Electrodynamic suspension (EDS), both the rail and the train exert a magnetic field, and the train is levitated by the repulsive force between these magnetic fields. The magnetic field in the train is produced by either electromagnets (as in JR-Maglev) or by an array of permanent magnets (as in Inductrack). The repulsive force in the track is created by an induced magnetic field in wires or other conducting strips in the track.
At slow speeds, the current induced in these coils and the resultant magnetic flux is not large enough to support the weight of the train. For this reason the train must have wheels or some other form of landing gear to support the train until it reaches a speed that can sustain levitation.
Propulsion coils on the guideway are used to exert a force on the magnets in the train and make the train move forward. The propulsion coils that exert a force on the train are effectively a linear motor: An alternating current flowing through the coils generates a continuously varying magnetic field that moves forward along the track. The frequency of the alternating current is synchronized to match the speed of the train. The offset between the field exerted by magnets on the train and the applied field create a force moving the train forward.
Magnetodynamic suspension
Magnetodynamic suspension, invented by Dr. Oleg Tozoni, is similar to the EMS system in that it uses attractive forces, but differs in that the magnets used for suspension are permanent, and the stability is built into the system itself using physics/mechanical systems, as opposed to EMS's computer systems. MDS is based on the idea of using a minimum energy point to balance the train. A simple way to explain this is to compare EMS to a hill, with minimum energy points on the sides of it, and MDS to a valley with the minimum point in the center. The center of each would be the vehicle's suspended center point. If you put a ball on the top of the hill and apply any force to it, the ball will try to roll down, and you would need to apply a compensation force in the other direction to keep it centered. Once the ball gets to the top of the hill, it will try to keep rolling down the other side, and an opposite, compensating force is needed. This is what EMS does when it uses stabilising systems to increase or decrease the strength of the electromagnets holding the train suspended, and that system is inherently unstable, requiring a constant outside stabilising force. MDS, on the other hand, is more like a valley with the energy minimum in the center. It takes energy to move the ball away from the bottom, and the ball returns to the bottom on its own. This is possible because steel magnetic permeability is highly dependent on magnetic flux intensity in that steel. Basically, the more you magnetize steel, the more difficult it is to magnetize it even more. Once the steel becomes fully saturated, bringing a magnet closer to it will not increase the strength of the magnetic field between the magnet and the magnetically saturated steel. Dr. Tozoni figured out how to create what is essentially magnetic insulation, which would keep magnetic fields escaping from the steel rails into the surrounding air, thus concentrating the magnetic field in those rails and saturating them. MDS uses a series of magnets constructed in such a way that when the array is suspended within the steel rail, the lateral, side-to-side, forces pulling the train towards the steel rails become much weaker than the horizontal, up-down, force holding the magnets centered between the rails. When two such magnet arrays are arranged perpendicular to each other, the stronger forces cancel out the weaker forces, forcing the train to stay centered between the rails automatically, thus holding it in the minimum energy point; any outside force that moves the train away from the center line of travel is countered by a force wanting to bring the train back to the center minimum. AMLEVTrans
Pros and cons of different technologies
Each implementation of the magnetic levitation principle for train-type travel involves advantages and disadvantages. Time will tell us which principle, and whose implementation, wins out commercially. Technology, EMS (Electromagnetic) Pros
Magnetic fields inside and outside the vehicle are insignificant; proven, commercially available technology that can attain very high speeds (500 km/h); no wheels or secondary propulsion system needed Cons
The separation between the vehicle and the guideway must be constantly monitored and corrected by computer systems to avoid collision due to the unstable nature of electromagnetic attraction; due to the system's inherent instability and the required constant corrections by outside systems, vibration issues may occur. Technology, EDS (Electrodynamic) Pros
Onboard magnets and large margin between rail and train enable highest recorded train speeds (581 km/h) and heavy load capacity; has recently demonstrated (December 2005) successful operations using high temperature superconductors in its onboard magnets, cooled with inexpensive liquid nitrogen Cons
Strong magnetic fields onboard the train would make the train inaccessible to passengers with pacemakers or magnetic data storage media such as hard drives and credit cards, necessitating the use of magnetic shielding; limitations on guideway inductivity limit the maximum speed of the vehicle; vehicle must be wheeled for travel at low speeds; system per mile cost still considered prohibitive; the system is not yet out of prototype phase. Technology, Inductrack System (Permanent Magnet EDS) Pros
Failsafe Suspension - no power required to activate magnets; Magnetic field is localized below the car; can generate enough force at low speeds (around 5 km/h) to levitate maglev train; in case of power failure cars slow down on their own safely; Halbach arrays of permanent magnets may prove more cost-effective than electromagnets Cons
Requires either wheels or track segments that move for when the vehicle is stopped. New technology that is still under development (as of 2007) and has as yet no commercial version or full scale system prototype. Technology, MDS (Magnetodynamic) Pros
Failsafe Suspension - no power required to activate magnets; separation between vehicle and guideway is automatic, requiring no outside control or monitoring; attractive force of permanent magnets is far greater than the repulsive or Halbach array force, thus smaller, cheaper magnets can be used; magnetic fields inside and outside vehicle are insignificant; in case of power failure cars slow down on their own safely; entire system is designed using physics and mathematic calculations, and all aspects of it, including resulting forces, can be calculated, designed, and improved upon on paper or computers before construction, thus not requiring costly experiments with test models; because permanent magnets and steel is used, there is no limit, within the system itself, on the speed the train can achieve while still being able to stay suspended. Cons
Because guideway insulation works via vehicle-generated eddy currents, the vehicle must be wheeled to travel at low speeds; guideway construction requires laminated steel encased in aluminum cores, all of which must be made to exact specifications, and thus may prove costly. Technology exists as only proof on paper, patents, and peer-reviewed IEEE papers. No actual physical constructed models exist yet.
Neither Inductrack nor the Superconducting EDS nor the MDS are able to levitate vehicles at a standstill, although Inductrack provides levitation down to a much lower speed. Wheels are required for these systems. EMS systems are wheel-less.
The German Transrapid, Japanese HSST (Linimo), and Korean Rotem EMS maglevs levitate at a standstill, with electricity extracted from guideway using power rails for the latter two, and wirelessly for Transrapid. If guideway power is lost on the move, the Transrapid is still able to generate levitation down to 10 km/h speed, using the power from onboard batteries. This is not the case with the HSST and Rotem systems.
Propulsion
An EMS system can provide both levitation and propulsion using an onboard linear motor. EDS systems can only levitate the train using the magnets onboard, not propel it forward. As such, vehicles need some other technology for propulsion. A linear motor (propulsion coils) mounted in the track is one solution. Over long distances where the cost of propulsion coils could be prohibitive, a propeller or jet engine could be used.
Stability
Earnshaw's theorem shows that any combination of static magnets cannot be in a stable equilibrium. However, the various levitation systems achieve stable levitation by violating the assumptions of Earnshaw's theorem. Earnshaw's theorem assumes that the magnets are static and unchanging in field strength and that permeability is constant everywhere. EMS systems rely on active electronic stabilization. Such systems constantly measure the bearing distance and adjust the electromagnet current accordingly. All EDS systems are moving systems (no EDS system can levitate the train unless it is in motion). MDS systems use materials with non-uniform permeability.
Pros and cons of maglev vs. conventional trains
Due to the lack of physical contact between the track and the vehicle, there is no rolling friction, leaving only air resistance (although maglev trains also experience electromagnetic drag, this is relatively small at high speeds).
The weight of the large electromagnets in EMS and EDS designs is a major design issue. A very strong magnetic field is required to levitate a massive train. For this reason one research path is using superconductors to improve the efficiency of the electromagnets.
The high speed of some maglev trains translates to more sound due to air displacement, which gets louder as the trains go faster. A study found that high speed maglev trains are 5 dB noisier than traditional trains. At low speeds, however, maglev trains are nearly silent. However, two trains passing at a combined 1,000 km/h has been successfully demonstrated without major problems in Japan.
Braking issues and overhead wire wear are problems for the Fastech 360 railed Shinkansen. Maglev would eliminate these issues, but not the noise pollution issue. One advantage of maglev's higher speed would be extension of the serviceable area (3 hours radius) that can outcompete subsonic commercial aircraft.
Issues relating to magnets are also a factor. See suspension types.
As linear motors must fit within or straddle their track over the full length of the train, track design is challenging for anything other than point-to-point services. Curves must be gentle and avoid camber, while switches are very long and need care to avoid breaks in current.
Maglev needs very fast-responding control systems to maintain a stable height above the track; this needs careful design in the event of a failure in order to avoid crashing into the track during a power fluctuation.
Economics
The Shanghai maglev cost 9.93 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) to build. This total includes infrastructure capital costs such as manufacturing and construction facilities, and operational training. At 50 yuan per passenger and the current 7,000 passengers per day, income from the system is incapable of recouping the capital costs (including interest on financing) over the expected lifetime of the system, even ignoring operating costs.
China aims to limit the cost of future construction extending the maglev line to approximately 200 million yuan (US$24.6 million) per kilometer. These costs compare competitively with airport construction (e.g., Hong Kong Airport cost US$20 billion to build in 1998) and eight-lane Interstate highway systems that cost around US$50 million per mile in the US.
While high-speed maglevs are expensive to build, they are less expensive to operate and maintain than traditional high-speed trains, planes or intercity buses. Data from the Shanghai maglev project indicates that operation and maintenance costs are covered by the current relatively low volume of 7,000 passengers per day. Passenger volumes on the Pudong International Airport line are expected to rise dramatically once the line is extended from Longyang Road metro station all the way to Shanghai's downtown train depot.
The proposed Ch?? Shinkansen maglev in Japan is estimated to cost approximately US$82 billion to build, with a route blasting long tunnels through mountains. A Tokaido maglev route replacing current Shinkansen would cost some 1/10 the cost, as no new tunnel blasting would be needed, but noise pollution issues would make it infeasible.
The only low-speed maglev (100 km/h) currently operational, the Japanese Linimo HSST, cost approximately US$100 million/km to build. Besides offering improved O&M costs over other transit systems, these low-speed maglevs provide ultra-high levels of operational reliability and introduce little noise and zero air pollution into dense urban settings.
As maglev systems are deployed around the world, experts expect construction costs to drop as new construction methods are perfected.
Historical maglev systems
First patents
High speed transportation patents would be granted to various inventors throughout the world. Early United States patents for a linear motor propelled train were awarded to the inventor, Alfred Zehden (German). The inventor would gain U.S. Patent 782,312 (June 21, 1902) and U.S. Patent RE12,700 (August 21, 1907). In 1907, another early electromagnetic transportation system was developed by F. S. Smith. A series of German patents for magnetic levitation trains propelled by linear motors were awarded to Hermann Kemper between 1937 and 1941. An early modern type of maglev train was described in U.S. Patent 3,158,765 , Magnetic system of transportation, by G. R. Polgreen (August 25, 1959). The first use of "maglev" in a United States patent was in "Magnetic levitation guidance" by Canadian Patents and Development Limited.
Hamburg, Germany 1979
Transrapid 05 was the first maglev train with longstator propulsion licensed for passenger transportation. In 1979 a 908 m track was open in Hamburg for the first International Transportation Exhibition (IVA 79). There was so much interest that operation had to be extended three months after exhibition finished, after carrying more than 50,000 passengers. It was reassembled in Kassel in 1980.
Birmingham, England 19841995
The world's first commercial automated system was a low-speed maglev shuttle that ran from the airport terminal of Birmingham International Airport to the nearby Birmingham International railway station from 1984 to 1995. Based on experimental work commissioned by the British government at the British Rail Research Division laboratory at Derby, the length of the track was 600 meters (1,969 ft), and trains "flew" at an altitude of 15 millimeters (0.6 in). It was in operation for nearly eleven years, but obsolescence problems with the electronic systems (lack of spare parts) made it unreliable in its later years and it has now been replaced with a cable-drawn system.
Several favourable conditions existed when the link was built. The BR Research vehicle was 3 tons and extension to the 8 ton vehicle was easy. Electrical power was easily available. Airport and rail buildings were suitable for terminal platforms. Only one crossing over a public road was required and no steep gradients were involved Land was owned by Railway or Airport Local industries and councils were supportive Some Government finance was provided and because of sharing work, the cost per organization was not high.
Japan, 1980s
Maglev speeds on the Miyazaki test track had regularly hit 517 km/h by 1979, but after an accident that destroyed the train, a new design was decided upon. Tests through the 1980s continued in Miyazaki before transferring a far larger and elaborate test track (20 km long) in Yamanashi in the late 1990s.
In Tsukuba, Japan (1985), the HSST-03 (Linimo) wins popularity in spite of being 30km/h and a run of low speed in Tsukuba World Exposition. In Okazaki, Japan (1987), the JR-Maglev took a test ride at holding Okazaki exhibition and runs. In Saitama, Japan (1988), the HSST-04-1 exhibited it at Saitama exhibition performed in Kumagaya, and runs. Best speed per hour 30km/h. In Yokohama, Japan (1989), the HSST-05 acquires a business driver's license at Yokohama exhibition and carries out general test ride driving. Maximum speed 42km/h.
Vancouver, Canada & Hamburg, Germany 1986-1988
In Vancouver, Canada (1986), the JR-Maglev took a test ride at holding Vancouver traffic exhibition and runs. In Hamburg, Germany (1988), the TR-07 in international traffic exhibition (IVA88) performed Hamburg.
Berlin, Germany 19891991 Main article: M-Bahn
In West Berlin, the M-Bahn was built in the late 1980s. It was a driverless maglev system with a 1.6 km track connecting three stations. Testing in passenger traffic started in August 1989, and regular operation started in July 1991. Although the line largely followed a new elevated alignment, it terminated at the U-Bahn station Gleisdreieck, where it took over a platform that was then no longer in use; it was from a line that formerly ran to East Berlin. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, plans were set in motion to reconnect this line (today's U2). Deconstruction of the M-Bahn line began only two months after regular service began and was completed in February 1992.