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In rail transport, a train is a vehicle or (more frequently) a string of vehicles capable of being moved along a continuous line of rails or other guideway for the purpose of conveying freight or passengers between points on a predetermined route. The train may be hauled or propelled by one or more vehicles designed exclusively for that purpose (locomotives) or may be driven by a number of motors incorporated in all or several of the vehicles (multiple units).

As of 2018^[update], there are approximately 1,052,000 kilometres (654,000 mi) of railway track in use worldwide. (World Bank (via Archive.org))

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Selected article of the week

The 2008 Chatsworth train collision occurred at 16:22 PDT (23:22 UTC) on Friday September 12, 2008, when a Union Pacific freight train and a Metrolink commuter train collided head-on in the Chatsworth district of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. The scene of the accident was a curved section of single track on the Metrolink Ventura County Line just east of Stoney Point. Before the collision, the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal before entering a section of single track where the opposing freight train had been given the right of way by the train dispatcher. The Metrolink train's engineer was near the end of a work week of long split shifts, making fatigue a subject of the investigation, along with distraction from text messages he was sending while on duty. The accident remains under investigation; meanwhile the basic circumstances have been released to the public, but the official report determining probable cause is expected to take up to a year to complete. This mass casualty event brought a massive emergency response by both the city and county of Los Angeles, but the nature and extent of physical trauma taxed the available resources. With 25 deaths, this became the deadliest accident in Metrolink's history. Many survivors remained hospitalized for an extended period. Lawyers quickly began filing claims against Metrolink, and in total, they are expected to exceed a US$200 million liability limit set in 1997, portending the first legal challenges to that law. Issues surrounding this accident have also initiated and reinvigorated public debate on a range of topics including public relations, safety and emergency management, which has also resulted in regulatory and legislative actions.

Recently selected: Flekkefjord Station - Oslo Airport Station - Inverclyde Line

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Selected image of the week

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92220 Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built by British Railways. Now a static exhibit at the National Railway Museum, this locomotive is unlikely to be operated again.

Recently selected: Freight train at Pula - Steam dome - Triple-crossing in Richmond, Virginia

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Did you know...

...that the opening ceremonies of the Galway to Clifden railway were very sparsely attended because the event date was a strict church holiday and was reserved for attending church services?
...that following heavy damage to the Galveston Island Trolley track and cars from Hurricane Ike in 2008, substitute service with replica buses was operated until service resumed in October 2021?
...that although the former Santa Fe Railway's Galesburg station was demolished after regular passenger service to the station ended in 1996, the site is still used if derailments cause trains to use the Chillicothe Subdivision instead of the Mendota Subdivision?
...that the Fuzhou–Xiamen railway, which opened in 2010, was so heavily used that it reached capacity in 2015, spurring construction on the parallel Fuzhou–Xiamen high-speed railway for CRH passenger train services?

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Selected anniversaries

November 21

1925 – Seaboard Air Line Railroad introduces the Orange Blossom Special passenger train.
1980 – The Burlington Northern Railroad acquires the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway (commonly known as the "Frisco").
1986 – The Florida Central Railroad begins operations in Florida.
1996 – Limited freight service in the Channel Tunnel resumes while construction crews make repairs at the location of the fire three days earlier.

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Train News

Santa Fe No. 2926 at Albuquerque, New Mexico
July 24, 2021 – Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe No. 2926, a 4-8-4 steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1944, moves under its own power for the first time since Christmas Eve of 1953, after nearly twenty-two years of being rebuilt by volunteers. The locomotive will be put into mainline excursion service. (NMSL&RHS, Trains Magazine on Facebook)
Big Boy No. 4012 at Steamtown National Historic Site
May 5, 2021 – Steamtown National Historic Site completes thorough cosmetic overhaul on Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4012, which is moved back on static display before National Train Day. (NEPA Scene)
The derailed Taroko Express trainset, as seen from outside the entrance to the tunnel
April 2, 2021 – 2021 Hualien train derailment – A Taroko Express train operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) derails at the north entrance of Qingshui Tunnel in Heren Section, Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan, killing 49 people and injuring at least 200 others. North of Hualien City a construction truck had fallen down a slope onto the tracks. The eight-carriage train derailed after colliding with the truck, and then came to a rest in the tunnel, with severe damage and many casualties. (Bloomberg, CNN, CNA, New York Times, Financial Times)

The preserved C&O 1309 at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in October 2009

December 31, 2020 – Following a complete restoration, Chesapeake and Ohio 1309, a 2-6-6-2 Mallet locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1949, the last steam locomotive built by Baldwin for the North American market, is operated under its own power for test runs. When returned to service on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, it will be the largest steam locomotive in regular scheduled service in the United States and take 2-8-0 No. 734’s place as the largest active steam locomotive in the state of Maryland. (Trains.com Newswire)

An Avelia Liberty train on a test run in Delaware in May 2020

September 28, 2020 – Amtrak operates a test run using one of the 28 new Avelia Liberty trains manufactured by Alstom along the full length of the Northeast Corridor to Boston South Station. Previous test runs had occurred from Washington, D.C., only as far north as New Jersey and Delaware. Barring any problems, the trains are expected to enter regular service on the route in 2021. (Universal Hub)

Berryessa/North San José station on the first day of service

June 13, 2020 – The Bay Area Rapid Transit Silicon Valley BART extension opened its stations in Milpitas and North San Jose. (San Jose Spotlight, SF Gate)

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General images

The following are images from various train-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 2A narrow-gauge battery–electric locomotive used for mining (from Locomotive)
Image 3Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 4A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 5A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 6A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 7Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 8A Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)
Image 9Restored clerestory cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin (from Railroad car)
Image 10Škoda Artic light rail train near the cathedral in Tampere, Finland (from Train)
Image 11A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from Rail yard)
Image 12China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)
Image 13A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 14The "hump" of a hump yard. Railcars travel past retarders, which control their speed, and are directed onto tracks to be assembled into new trains. The control tower operates the retarders. (from Rail yard)
Image 15Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from Train)
Image 16A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 17Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 18A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 19British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
Image 20A London Underground battery–electric locomotive at West Ham station used for hauling engineers' trains (from Locomotive)
Image 21Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both pantograph and contact shoes. (from Locomotive)
Image 22This map of Cedar Hill Yard in Connecticut shows a variety of different facilities, including receiving yards, departure yards, classification yards, and a repair yard. (from Rail yard)
Image 23Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (from Locomotive)
Image 24Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 25The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 26Bombardier ALP-45DP at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 27Variety of rolling stock in rail yard (from Rolling stock)
Image 28Pacific National diesel locomotives in Australia showing three body types, cab unit (front), hood unit (middle) and box cab (rear) (from Locomotive)
Image 29A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 30Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 31A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 32This cab car includes a horn (top), a bell (top right), headlights (above the door), classification lights (red lights on side), and ditch lights (white lights on side). (from Train)
Image 33US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 34A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 35The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)
Image 36World's first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel–electric locomotive) for long distances SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)
Image 37A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 38Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
Image 39The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)
Image 40Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 41The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service. (from Train)
Image 42Trains carrying hazardous materials display information identifying their cargo and hazards. This tank car carrying chlorine displays, among other markings, a U.S. DOT placard showing a UN number that identifies the hazardous substance. (from Train)
Image 43Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 44A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 45Yard for Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)
Image 46Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons. (from Train)
Image 47Second-class compartment of a China Railways CRH1A-A train (from Train)
Image 48A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)
Image 49Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 50A large Amtrak and Metra coach yard just south of Chicago Union Station. About 25 percent of all rail traffic in the United States travels through the Chicago area. (from Rail yard)
Image 51The New Orleans Streetcar System is one of the oldest in the world. (from Train)
Image 52An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)