railway transport

Society

2022

We explain what rail transport is, its history, advantages, disadvantages and other characteristics. Also, types of railways.

Rail transport revolutionized the movement of people and cargo.

What is rail transport?

When we talk about rail transport, trains or rail, we refer to a type of ground transportation guided on a railway track, that is, a predetermined channel made up of a material support, such as steel rails or, in modern versions, electromagnetic suspension.

Rail transport is, since its appearance in modern times, one of the main solutions built by the human being for him displacement land of both passengers and goods, forever revolutionizing the idea of ​​transport in the society.

It consists of a chain of vehicles that move on wheels on a rail, pulled by a locomotive at the head, in which some type of process of obtaining Energy, thus converted into movement.

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History of rail transport

The first trains derived from the invention of the steam engine.

Like other technologies derived from the steam engine, the train is a consequence of the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century, which meant a turnaround in what was considered science Y technology. In other words, the limits of what could be done to make the world a place more in line with human desires and needs were expanded.

However, there are important antecedents, even in the ancient time. It is known from a three kilometer system of length that, by means of a row of boats on platforms, allowed the transit through the Isthmus of Corinth in the 6th century BC. This system was known as the Diolkos road and operated for 600 years.

Other similar models emerged during the Middle Ages, but they weren't really relevant until the steam train appeared in 1769. The first attempt at a locomotive using this recent technology was the work of Richard Trevithick in 1804, successfully pulling a train at Merthyr Tydfil, UK.

In 1839 the first intercity train line between Liverpool and Manchester, in England, and in the United States the first rail network with individual lines, between Baltimore and Ohio was inaugurated. Since then, railway lines and their modern versions, such as subway lines, have expanded and diversified into numerous regions of the planet.

Characteristics of rail transport

The current railway line is not usually very similar to the initial versions that were expanded, thanks to the burning of fuels organic like diesel, all over the world.

Although tests were already being carried out in the 19th century for the sake of its electrification, current electric trains are considered the fruit of the 20th century, and of the modern versions that since 1970 have been automated and improved, to obtain high-speed trains today. .

Typically, a railway line consists of a set of stations, traveled by a train either passenger, cargo or mixed. In any case, these tracks can be one-way or consist of double track, that is, roundtrip, although trains can move in only one direction at a time.

At the head of the train is always the locomotive, which prints the movement to the convoy of wagons or containers. The latter go then, connected to each other in a long row. Trains can only travel the predetermined path on the tracks.

Advantages of rail transport

Rail transport can carry huge amounts of cargo.

Rail transport has a significant number of comparative advantages over other forms of land transport, such as:

  • They reach high speeds and carry a large amount of cargo. Whether they are materials or passengers, because up to a point, a train can have as many wagons as it can pull. The more they are, however, the less top speed it will reach and the less stability it will have on the road.
  • Generates a minor ecological impact. Especially after electric trains have been developed. The coal or diesel versions, on the other hand, generate harmful gases that they send towards the atmosphere.
  • It allows massive displacements. Since the traction force of the locomotive is facilitated by the permanence of the train on the rails, making it less costly to move large amounts of weight. In addition, it allows to mobilize both passengers and goods.
  • It allows making scales and unifying very distant points. As long as the terrain allows the layout of tracks. Since its inception, the train has been associated with progress and the unification of distant places.

Disadvantages of rail transport

As well as having a good side, rail transport has the following disadvantages:

  • You can only go where there are roads. So you will need a investment prior to open paths. In addition, a failure in the road at any height of the route means the interruption of the transport in its entirety.
  • It has a lower frequency of traffic. Depending on the track and the railway circuit, it is possible that a train takes much longer than other forms of transport to reach a specific point on the network, which is why it is generally necessary to wait for it, and once it is lost, it will not be possible. reach up to a new pass through the station.
  • There is a possibility of serious incidents. Since a failure on the tracks can lead to collisions or derailments, which, given the magnitudes of their cargo, can translate into tragedies (fatal accidents).

Types of railways

The magnetic levitation train does not use conventional wheels but electromagnetism.

There are different ways to classify trains, either by their model, by the way they produce energy (electric, steam, etc.), or simply by the length of their route (long-distance, short-distance, etc. .). For rail transport purposes, it is preferable to distinguish between:

  • Railway. The train itself, made up of a locomotive and a body of cargo or passengers. It can be of three types, depending on its nature:
    • Regional or local train. Those used for short distances at low speeds, such as that used for public transport or the transport of goods, using for this purpose some fossil fuel, such as diesel or diesel.
    • High-speed train. Modern and generally electric versions of conventional trains, which reach high speeds in their journey on rails made of semiconductor materials.
    • Magnetic levitation train. The latest trend in trains points to the use of the forces of the electromagnetism to hold on air, floating, the entire body of the train.
  • Subway or Metro. A kind of city trains that fulfill the exclusive role of passenger transport, crossing the cities along a path of numerous stations.
  • Trolley car. A lucky urban version of the train, which runs on the surface of the city, like a mixture of rail and subway.
  • Cable car. Lucky tram pulled by cables in mountainous or unstable terrain, and whose wagon or container hangs by the wire.
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