Rail transport
Rail transportis the movement ofpassengersandgoodsusing wheeledvehiclescalledtrains,made to run onrailway tracks.In most countries, this transportation method helps trade andeconomicgrowth. Railways (British English) or railroads (American English) provide anenergy-efficient[2]way totransportmaterial over land. The railway tracks are a large part of the system and provide smooth and hard surfaces on which thewheelsof thetrainroll with a littlefriction.Also, the track spreads the weight of the train which means larger amounts can be carried than withtrucksonroads.
Rail transport started to be important in theIndustrial Revolution.InFrancethe areas that adopted steam-power quicker in the mid-1800s got more jobs (122% more) and higher wages than other areas which were slower.[3]
The first railroads were built in England.
Rolling stock on rails generally encounters lower frictional resistance thanrubber-tyred road vehicles, allowing rail cars to be coupled into longer trains. Power is usually provided bydieselorelectricallocomotives.While railway transport is capital-intensive and less flexible than road transport, it can carry heavy loads ofpassengersandcargowith greaterenergy efficiencyand safety.
Modern rail transport began with the invention of the steam locomotive in Great Britain around 1800. The first passenger railway, theStockton and Darlington Railway,opened in 1825. The quick spread of railways throughout Europe and North America, following the 1830 opening of the firstintercityconnection in England, betweenLiverpoolandManchester,was a key part of the Industrial Revolution. Rail transport lowered shipping costs compared to water transport, leading to "national markets" in which prices varied less from city to city.
In the 1880s, the spread ofbusesled to a railway electrification began with tramways and rapid transit systems. Starting in the 1940s,steam locomotiveswere replaced by diesel locomotives. The firsthigh-speed railwaysystem 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 fromcarsandfixed-wing aircrafts,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 reducingCO2emissions.Attempts to reduceairplanetravel by improving long distance railway in Europe have found problems, especially when crossing borders.[4]
Related pages
[change|change source]References
[change|change source]- ↑"BBC NEWS - South Asia - Indian railways chug into the future".30 July 2007.
- ↑Railroad Fuel Efficiency Sets New RecordArchived2008-06-04 at theWayback Machine- American Association of Railroads
- ↑Ridolfi, Leonardo; Salvo, Carla; Weisdorf, Jacob (October 2023)."The Effect of Mechanisation on Labour: Evidence from the Diffusion of Steam"(PDF).Warwick University.
- ↑"Can Europe's trains compete with low-cost airlines?".ft.Retrieved2024-03-07.
