1 Stations[edit]

Main article: Train station

Goods station in Lucerne, Switzerland

A railway station serves as an area where passengers can board and alight from trains. A goods
station is a yard which is exclusively used for loading and unloading cargo. Large passenger
stations have at least one building providing conveniences for passengers, such as purchasing
tickets and food. Smaller stations typically only consist of a platform. Early stations were
sometimes built with both passenger and goods facilities.[58]
Platforms are used to allow easy access to the trains, and are connected to each other
via underpasses, footbridges and level crossings. Some large stations are built as culs-de-sac,
with trains only operating out from one direction. Smaller stations normally serve local residential
areas, and may have connection to feeder bus services. Large stations, in particular central
stations, serve as the main public transport hub for the city, and have transfer available between
rail services, and to rapid transit, tram or bus services.

2 Operations[edit]
3 Ownership[edit]
Since the 1980s, there has been an increasing trend to split up railway companies, with
companies owning the rolling stock separated from those owning the infrastructure. This is
particularly true in Europe, where this arrangement is required by the European Union. This has
allowed open access by any train operator to any portion of the European railway network. In the
UK, the railway track is state owned, with a public controlled body (Network Rail) running,
maintaining and developing the track, while Train Operating Companies have run the trains
since privatization in the 1990s.[59]
In the U.S., virtually all rail networks and infrastructure outside the Northeast corridor are
privately owned by freight lines. Passenger lines, primarily Amtrak, operate as tenants on the
freight lines. Consequently, operations must be closely synchronized and coordinated between
freight and passenger railroads, with passenger trains often being dispatched by the host freight
railroad. Due to this shared system, both are regulated by the Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA) and may follow the AREMA recommended practices for track work
and AAR standards for vehicles.[54]
4 Financing[edit]
The main source of income for railway companies is from ticket revenue (for passenger
transport) and shipment fees for cargo.[60] [61]Discounts and monthly passes are sometimes
available for frequent travellers (e.g. season ticket and rail pass). Freight revenue may be sold
per container slot or for a whole train. Sometimes, the shipper owns the cars and only rents the
haulage. For passenger transport, advertisement income can be significant.
Governments may choose to give subsidies to rail operation, since rail transport has
fewer externalities than other dominant modes of transport. If the railway company is state-
owned, the state may simply provide direct subsidies in exchange for increased production. If
operations have been privatised, several options are available. Some countries have a system
where the infrastructure is owned by a government agency or company – with open access to
the tracks for any company that meets safety requirements. In such cases, the state may choose
to provide the tracks free of charge, or for a fee that does not cover all costs. This is seen as
analogous to the government providing free access to roads. For passenger operations, a direct
subsidy may be paid to a public-owned operator, or public service obligation tender may be held,
and a time-limited contract awarded to the lowest bidder. Total EU rail subsidies amounted to
€73 billion in 2005.[62]
Via Rail Canada and US passenger rail service Amtrak are private railroad companies chartered
by their respective national governments. As private passenger services declined because of
competition from cars and airlines, they became shareholders of Amtrak either with a cash
entrance fee or relinquishing their locomotives and rolling stock. The government subsidises
Amtrak by supplying start-up capital and making up for losses at the end of the fiscal year.[63]
[page needed]

5 Safety[edit]

According to Eurostat and the European

Railway Agency, the fatality risk for passengers and occupants on European railways is 28
times lower when compared with car usage (based on data by EU-27 member nations, 2008–
2010). [64][65]

Some trains travel faster than road vehicles. They are heavy and unable to deviate from the
track, and have longer stopping distances. Possible accidents include derailment (jumping the
track) and collisions with another train or a road vehicle, or with pedestrians at level crossings,
which account for the majority of all rail accidents and casualties. To minimize the risk, the most
important safety measures are strict operating rules, e.g. railway signalling, and gates or grade
separation at crossings. Train whistles, bells, or horns warn of the presence of a train, while
trackside signals maintain the distances between trains. Another method used to increase safety
is the addition of platform screen doors to separate the platform from train tracks. These prevent
unauthorised incursion on to the train tracks which can result in accidents that cause serious
harm or death, as well as providing other benefits such as preventing litter build up on the tracks
which can pose a fire risk.
On many high-speed inter-city networks, such as Japan's Shinkansen, the trains run on
dedicated railway lines without any level crossings. This is an important element in the safety of
the system as it effectively eliminates the potential for collision with automobiles, other vehicles,
or pedestrians, and greatly reduces the probability of collision with other trains. Another benefit is
that services on the inter-city network remain punctual.
6 Maintenance[edit]
As in any infrastructure asset, railways must keep up with periodic inspection and maintenance
to minimise the effect of infrastructure failures that can disrupt freight revenue operations and
passenger services. Because passengers are considered the most crucial cargo and usually
operate at higher speeds, steeper grades, and higher capacity/frequency, their lines are
especially important. Inspection practices include track geometry cars or walking inspection.
Curve maintenance especially for transit services includes gauging, fastener tightening, and rail
replacement.
Rail corrugation is a common issue with transit systems due to the high number of light-axle,
wheel passages which result in grinding of the wheel/rail interface. Since maintenance may
overlap with operations, maintenance windows (nighttime hours, off-peak hours, altering train
schedules or routes) must be closely followed. In addition, passenger safety during maintenance
work (inter-track fencing, proper storage of materials, track work notices, hazards of equipment
near states) must be regarded at all times. At times, maintenance access problems can emerge
due to tunnels, elevated structures, and congested cityscapes. Here, specialised equipment or
smaller versions of conventional maintenance gear are used.[54]
Unlike highways or road networks where capacity is disaggregated into unlinked trips over
individual route segments, railway capacity is fundamentally considered a network system. As a
result, many components are causes and effects of system disruptions. Maintenance must
acknowledge the vast array of a route's performance (type of train service,
origination/destination, seasonal impacts), a line's capacity (length, terrain, number of tracks,
types of train control), trains throughput (max speeds, acceleration/ deceleration rates), and
service features with shared passenger-freight tracks (sidings, terminal capacities, switching
routes, and design type).[54]

7 Social, economical, and energetic aspects[edit]

8 Energy[edit]
Transport by rail is an energy-efficient[66] but capital-intensive[67] means of mechanized land
transport. The tracks provide smooth and hard surfaces on which the wheels of the train can roll
with a relatively low level of friction.
A typical modern wagon can hold up to 113 tonnes (125 short tons) of freight on two four-
wheel bogies. The track distributes the weight of the train evenly, allowing significantly greater
loads per axle and wheel than in road transport, leading to greater energy efficiency. Trains have
a smaller frontal area in relation to the load they are carrying, which reduces air resistance and
thus energy usage.
In addition, the presence of track guiding the wheels allows for very long trains to be pulled by
one or a few engines and driven by a single operator, even around curves, which allows
for economies of scale in both manpower and energy use; by contrast, in road transport, more
than two articulations causes fishtailing and makes the vehicle unsafe.
Energy efficiency[edit]
Main article: Energy efficiency in transportation § Trains
Considering only the energy spent to move the means of transport, and using the example of the
urban area of Lisbon, electric trains seem to be on average 20 times more efficient than
automobiles for transportation of passengers, if we consider energy spent per passenger-
distance with similar occupation ratios.[68] Considering an automobile with a consumption of
around 6 L/100 km (47 mpg-imp; 39 mpg-US) of fuel, the average car in Europe has an occupancy of
around 1.2 passengers per automobile (occupation ratio around 24%) and that one litre of
fuel amounts to about 8.8 kWh (32 MJ), equating to an average of 441 Wh (1,590 kJ) per
passenger-km. This compares to a modern train with an average occupancy of 20% and a
consumption of about 8.5 kW⋅h/km (31 MJ/km; 13.7 kW⋅h/mi), equating to 21.5 Wh (77 kJ) per
passenger-km, 20 times less than the automobile.
9 Usage[edit]
 A Sr1-pulled lumber train crossing the drawbridge along
the Savonia railway in Kuopio, Finland
Due to these benefits, rail transport is a major form of passenger and freight transport in many
countries.[67] It is ubiquitous in Europe, with an integrated network covering virtually the whole
continent. In India, China, South Korea and Japan, many millions use trains as regular transport.
In North America, freight rail transport is widespread and heavily used, but intercity passenger
rail transport is relatively scarce outside the Northeast Corridor, due to increased preference of
other modes, particularly automobiles and airplanes.[63][page needed][69] However, implementing new and
improved ways such as making it easily accessible within neighborhoods can aid in reducing
commuters from using private vehicles and airplanes.[70]
South Africa, northern Africa and Argentina have extensive rail networks, but some railways
elsewhere in Africa and South America are isolated lines. Australia has a generally sparse
network befitting its population density but has some areas with significant networks, especially
in the southeast. In addition to the previously existing east–west transcontinental line in Australia,
a line from north to south has been constructed. The highest railway in the world is the line to
Lhasa, in Tibet,[71] partly running over permafrost territory. Western Europe has the highest
railway density in the world and many individual trains there operate through several countries
despite technical and organizational differences in each national network.
10 Social and economic impact[edit]
Modernization[edit]
Historically, railways have been considered central to modernity and ideas of progress.[72] The
process of modernization in the 19th century involved a transition from a spatially oriented world
to a time-oriented world. Timekeeping became of heightened importance, resulting in clock
towers for railway stations, clocks in public places, and pocket watches for railway workers and
travellers. Trains followed exact schedules and never left early, whereas in the premodern era,
passenger ships left whenever the captain had enough passengers. In the premodern era, local
time was set at noon, when the sun was at its highest; this changed with the introduction of
standard time zones. Printed timetables were a convenience for travellers, but more elaborate
timetables, called train orders, were essential for train crews, the maintenance workers, the
station personnel, and for the repair and maintenance crews. The structure of railway timetables
were later adapted for different uses, such as schedules for buses, ferries, and airplanes, for
radio and television programmes, for school schedules, and for factory time clocks.[73]
The invention of the electrical telegraph in the early 19th century also was crucial for the
development and operation of railroad networks. If bad weather disrupted the system,
telegraphers relayed immediate corrections and updates throughout the system. Additionally,
most railroads were single-track, with sidings and signals to allow lower priority trains to be
sidetracked and have scheduled meets.
Nation-building[edit]
Scholars have linked railroads to successful nation-building efforts by states.[74]
Model of corporate management[edit]
According to historian Henry Adams, a railroad network needed:
the energies of a generation, for it required all the new machinery to be created – capital,
banks, mines, furnaces, shops, power-houses, technical knowledge, mechanical
population, together with a steady remodelling of social and political habits, ideas, and
 institutions to fit the new scale and suit the new conditions. The generation between 1865
and 1895 was already mortgaged to the railways, and no one knew it better than the
generation itself.[75]
The impact can be examined through five aspects: shipping, finance, management, careers,
and popular reaction.
Shipping freight and passengers[edit]
Railroads form an efficient network for shipping freight and passengers across a large
national market; their development thus was beneficial to many aspects of a nation's
economy, including manufacturing, retail and wholesale, agriculture, and finance. By the
1940s, the United States had an integrated national market comparable in size to that of
Europe, but free of internal barriers or tariffs, and supported by a common language,
financial system, and legal system.[76]
Financial system[edit]
Financing of railroads provided the basis for a dramatic expansion of the private (non-
governmental) financial system. Construction of railroads was far more expensive than
factories: in 1860, the combined total of railroad stocks and bonds was $1.8 billion; in 1897, it
reached $10.6 billion (compared to a total national debt of $1.2 billion).[77]
Funding came from financiers in the Northeastern United States and from Europe, especially
Britain.[78] About 10 percent of the funding came from the government, particularly in the form
of land grants that were realized upon completion of a certain amount of trackage.[79] The
emerging American financial system was based on railroad bonds, and by 1860, New York
was the dominant financial market. The British invested heavily in railroads around the world,
but nowhere more than in the United States; the total bond value reached about $3 billion by
1914. However, in 1914–1917, the British liquidated their American assets to pay for war
supplies.[80][81]
Modern management[edit]
Railroad management designed complex systems that could handle far more complicated
simultaneous relationships than those common in other industries at the time. Civil engineers
became the senior management of railroads. The leading American innovators were
the Western Railroad of Massachusetts and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the 1840s,
the Erie Railroad in the 1850s, and the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1860s.[82]
Career paths[edit]
The development of railroads led to the emergence of private-sector careers for both blue-
collar workers and white-collar workers. Railroading became a lifetime career for young men;
women were almost never hired. A typical career path would see a young man hired at age
18 as a shop labourer, be promoted to skilled mechanic at age 24, brakemen at 25, freight
conductor at 27, and passenger conductor at age 57. White-collar career paths likewise were
delineated: educated young men started in clerical or statistical work and moved up to
station agents or bureaucrats at the divisional or central headquarters, acquiring additional
knowledge, experience, and human capital at each level. Being very hard to replace, they
were virtually guaranteed permanent jobs and provided with insurance and medical care.
Hiring, firing, and wage rates were set not by foremen, but by central administrators, to
minimize favouritism and personality conflicts. Everything was done by the book, whereby an
increasingly complex set of rules dictated to everyone exactly what should be done in every
circumstance, and exactly what their rank and pay would be. By the 1880s, career
railroaders began retiring, and pension systems were invented for them.[83]
Transportation[edit]
Railways contribute to social vibrancy and economic competitiveness by transporting
multitudes of customers and workers to city centres and inner suburbs. Hong Kong has
recognized rail as "the backbone of the public transit system" and as such developed their
franchised bus system and road infrastructure in comprehensive alignment with their rail
services.[84] China's large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou recognize rail
transit lines as the framework and bus lines as the main body to their metropolitan
transportation systems.[85] The Japanese Shinkansen was built to meet the growing traffic
demand in the "heart of Japan's industry and economy" situated on the Tokyo-Kobe line.[86]
Military role[edit]

German soldiers in a railway car on the way to the

front in August 1914. The message on the car reads Von München über Metz nach
Paris ("From Munich via Metz to Paris").
Rail transport can be important for military activity. During the 1860s, railways provided a
means for rapid movement of troops and supplies during the American Civil War,[87] as well
as in the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian Wars[88] Throughout the 20th century, rail was
a key element of war plans for rapid military mobilization, allowing for the quick and efficient
transport of large numbers of reservists to their mustering-points, and infantry soldiers to the
front lines.[89] So-called strategic railways were or are constructed for a primarily military
purpose. The Western Front in France during World War I required many trainloads of
munitions a day.[90] Conversely, owing to their strategic value, rail yards and bridges in
Germany and occupied France were major targets of Allied air raids during World War II.
[91]
Rail transport and infrastructure continues to play an important role in present-day conflicts
like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where sabotage of railways in Belarus and in
Russia also influenced the course of the war.
Positive impacts[edit]
Railways channel growth towards dense city agglomerations and along their arteries.[citation
needed]
This contrasts with highway expansion, indicative of the U.S. transportation policy post-
World War II, which instead encourages development of suburbs at the periphery of
metropolitan areas, contributing to increased vehicle miles travelled, carbon emissions,
development of greenfield spaces, and depletion of natural reserves.[dubious – discuss][citation needed] These
arrangements revalue city spaces, local taxes,[92] housing values, and promotion of mixed use
development.[93][94]
Negative impacts[edit]
There has also been some opposition to the development of railway networks. For instance,
the arrival of railways and steam locomotives to Austria during the 1840s angered locals
because of the noise, smell, and pollution caused by the trains and the damage to homes
and the surrounding land caused by the engine's soot and fiery embers; and since most
travel did not occur over long distances, few people utilized the new line.[95]
11Pollution[edit]
A 2018 study found that the opening of the Beijing Metro caused a reduction in "most of the
air pollutants concentrations (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO) but had little effect on ozone
pollution."[96]
12Modern rail as economic development indicator[edit]
European development economists have argued that the existence of modern rail
infrastructure is a significant indicator of a country's economic advancement: this perspective
is illustrated notably through the Basic Rail Transportation Infrastructure Index (known as
BRTI Index).[97]
13Subsidies[edit]
Main article: Rail subsidies
In 2010, annual rail spending in China was ¥840 billion (US$173 billion in 2019), from 2014
to 2017 China had an annual target of ¥800 billion (US$164 billion in 2019) and planned to
spend ¥3.5 trillion (US$30 trillion in 2019) over 2016–2020.[98]
The Indian Railways are subsidized by around ₹260 billion (US$5 billion in 2019), of which
around 60% goes to commuter rail and short-haul trips.[99]

European rail subsidies in euros per

passenger-km for 2008 [100]

According to the 2017 European Railway Performance Index for intensity of use, quality of
service and safety performance, the top tier European national rail systems consists of
Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, and France.[101] Performance
levels reveal a positive correlation between public cost and a given railway system's
performance, and also reveal differences in the value that countries receive in return for their
public cost. Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland
capture relatively high value for their money, while Luxembourg, Belgium, Latvia, Slovakia,
Portugal, Romania, and Bulgaria underperform relative to the average ratio of performance
to cost among European