Thursday, April 9, 2009
Anglia Railways
Israel Railways
Bangladesh Railway
Bangladesh Railway was mostly inherited from the British-established Assam Bengal railway system after the partition of India in 1947. Railway acts as an important method of mass transport in Bangladesh. Many districts of the country are connected via railways. At present Bangladesh Railway has got 2855 route kilometers.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Bernese Oberland Railway
The locomotive is always positioned on the uphill side. A control car with a driver’s cab is always positioned on the downhill side to avoid any switching manoeuvres at terminus stations.
The railway began operating 1890, and was electrified in 1914. From the introduction of the 1999 timetable, a newly constructed 2.5km section of dual track between Zweilütschinen and Wilderswil allows trains to pass without one having to wait on a side-line.
Rail transport in Ireland
Rail transport in Great Britain
Passenger train services in Great Britain are, in the main, structured on the basis of regional franchises awarded by the Department for Transport (DfT) to Train Operating Companies. Some slight variations include Merseyrail where the franchise is awarded by Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive and ScotRail where the DfT awards on the advice of the Scottish Government. There were initially twenty-five such franchises, but the number of different operating companies is smaller as some firms, including First Group, National Express Group and Stagecoach Group, have more than one franchise. In addition some franchises have since been combined. There are a number of local or specialised rail services operated on an 'open access' basis outside the franchise arrangements. Examples include the Heathrow Express and Hull Trains.
Serbian Railways
From the 1920s to the dissolution of Yugoslavia it operated under the name Yugoslav Railways. The department responsible for in-train service and catering is called "KSR - Kola za Spavanje i Ručavanje" (in English: "The Dining and Sleeping Wagons)"
Sri Lanka Railways
Rail transport in Australia
The majority of the Australian railway network infrastructure is government-owned, either at the federal or state level, except for a small number of private railways. The majority of railway operators were once state government agencies, but with privatisation in the 1990s, private companies now operate the majority of trains in Australia.
The Australian Federal Government has involvement in the formation of national policies, and provides funding for national projects.
Canadian Pacific Railway
The railway was originally built between eastern Canada and British Columbia between 1881 and 1885 (connecting with Ottawa Valley and Georgian Bay area lines built earlier), fulfilling a promise extended to British Columbia when it entered Confederation in 1871. It was Canada's first transcontinental railway. Now primarily a freight railway, the CPR was for decades the only practical means of long distance passenger transport in most regions of Canada, and was instrumental in the settlement and development of Western Canada. The CP company became one of the largest and most powerful in Canada, a position it held as late as 1975.[1] Its primary passenger services were eliminated in 1986 after being assumed by VIA Rail Canada in 1978. A beaver was chosen as the railway's logo because it is one of the national symbols of Canada and represents the hardworking character of the company. The object of both praise and condemnation for over 120 years, the CPR remains an indisputable icon of Canadian nationalism.
The Canadian Pacific Railway is a public company with over 15,000 employees and market capitalization of 7 billion USD in 2008.[2]
Canadian National Railway
CN is the largest railway in Canada, in terms of both revenue and the physical size of its rail network and is currently Canada's only transcontinental railway company, spanning Canada from the Atlantic coast in Nova Scotia to the Pacific coast in British Columbia. Following CN's purchase of Illinois Central (IC) and a number of smaller US railways it also has extensive trackage in the central United States along the Mississippi River valley from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
The railway was referred to as the Canadian National Railways (CNR) between 1918 and 1960 and as Canadian National/Canadien National (CN) from 1960 to present.
The Canadian National Railway is a public company with 22,000 employees and market capitalization of 21 billion USD in 2008.[1]
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Rail transport in Albania
Armenian Railway
The operating environment has deteriorated since the collapse of the Soviet Union. According to the World Bank, Armenian Railways is in dramatic need of investments, including replacement of rolling stock, rehabilitation of the main line between Yerevan and the Georgian border, renewal of electrification, and bridge reconstruction. Rail transport is slow and unreliable, and traffic remains low compared to European countries with similar network, amounting to only 2.6 million tons of freight and 0.85 million passengers in 2004.[1]
In 2007 the government called tenders for a 30-year concession to modernise and operate Armenian Railways, expecting to award a contract in 2008. RITES and Russian Railways qualified to bid, but the Indian company withdrew. RZD was the only bidder and has set up South Caucasian Railway as a subdiary to run the railway.[2] On the 1st of June 2008 South Caucasus Railways (SCR) has officially started business operations under a concession agreement to manage Armenian Railways. In this connection, by 1 June 2008, SCR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Russian Railways, received property owned by Armenian Railways consisting of 2,000 freight cars, 58 passenger coaches, 85 locomotives and 30 electric trains. All 4,300 employees employed by Armenian Railways have retained their jobs. The concession agreement was concluded for 30 years, with a right of extension for another 20 years after the first 20 years of operation.[3]
German Railways
Hungarian State Railways
The first steam engine railway line was opened on July 15, 1846 between Pest and Vác. This date is regarded as the birth date of Hungarian railways. Romantic poet Sándor Petőfi, who later became the leader of the 1848's national revolution, rode on the first train and wrote a poem on the occasion, predicting that rails would connect Hungary like blood vessels in the human body.
After the lost Revolutional War in 1849 the existing lines were nationalized by the Austrian State and new lines were added. As a result of the Austro–Sardinian War in late 1850s all these lines were sold to Austrian private companies. During this time the company of Ábrahám Ganz invented a method of "crust-casting" to produce cheap, yet sturdy iron railway wheels, which greatly contributed to railway development in Central Europe.
Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 that created the Double Monarchy Austria-Hungary the transport issues became task of the Hungarian Government. It also inherited the duties to support the local railway companies. This was a considerable sum, in the fiscal year of 1874 8% of the annual budget was spent for railway company subsidies. This led the Hungarian Parliament to decide about founding a State Railway in 1868.
Rail transport in Italy
The first high speed train was the Italian ETR 200 that in July 1939 went from Milan to Florence at 165 km/h, with top speed of 203 km/h [1]. With this service they were able to compete with the upcoming airplanes. World War II stopped these services.
After WWII Italy started to repair the damaged railways, and complete it reaching nearly 20,000 km of extension.
Nowadays the rail tracks and infrastructure are currently managed by the Rete Ferroviaria Italiana[2] while the train and the passenger section is managed by Trenitalia, both are Ferrovie dello Stato subsidiaries. Previously Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) was just one company but due to the EU deregulation they were made into an holding company,
Minor railways are also managed by private companies, like in Sardinia and Sicily.
Netherland Railways
Every day, over one million (population of 16 million) people travel by train, in The Netherlands.
The NS was founded in 1938 when the two largest Dutch railway companies, the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM) and the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS), formally merged. These two companies, however, had been intensively cooperating as early as 1917. There were both economic and ideologic reasons for the cooperation.
The old (in the foreground) and new (in the background) corporate headquarters of the NS.
Due to the First World War the economic situation had declined in the Netherlands, and the railway companies started to lose money. The railway companies were considered of great importance and thus letting them slip into bankrupty was not an option. The companies thus started an intensive cooperation in which their operational activities were completely integrated, even though the companies themselves remain independent entities. To financially support the companies, shares were bought by the Dutch government. In 1938 the government merged the HSM and SS into the current company, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen. The government bought the remaining shares, but never nationalized the company. Therefore NS remained (and still is) a private company with the Dutch government as sole shareholder.
Rail transport in Norway
Jernbaneverket is a state owned agency which builds and maintains all railway tracks, while other companies operate them. These companies include Norges Statsbaner, NSB Anbud, CargoNet, Flytoget, Hector Rail, Tågåkeriet and Ofotbanen.
The first railway in Norway was Hovedbanen between Oslo and Eidsvoll and opened in 1854. The main purpose of the railway was to freight lumber from Mjøsa to the capital, but also passenger traffic was offered. In the period between the 1860s and the 1880s Norway saw a boom of smaller railways being built, including isolated railways in Central and Western Norway. The predominant gauge at the time was narrow gauge (1067 mm), but some lines were built in standard gauge (1435 mm). The height of the era came in 1877 when Rørosbanen connected Central Norway to the capital. In 1883 the entire main railway network was taken over by NSB, though a number of industrial railways and branch lines continued to be operated by private companies.
Three urban railways, in Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim, were started as horsecar systems between 1875 and 1893. They were all electrified around the turn of the century.
Polish State Railways
The company was founded when the former Polskie Koleje Państwowe state-owned operator was divided into several units based on the requirements laid down by the European Union. PKP SA is the dominant company in PKP Group collective that resulted from the split, and maintains in 100% share control, being fully responsible for management of all of the other PKP Group component companies. The group's organisations are dependent upon PKP SA, but proposals for privatisation have been made.[citation needed]
In Poland there are 23,429 kilometres (14,558 mi) of railway tracks managed by PKP SA and owned by the state.
Spanish Railways
broad gauge (1,668 mm)
11,829 km (6,950 km electrified at 3 kV DC)
standard gauge (1,435 mm)
998 km (all electrified at 25 kV AC)
narrow gauge (1,000 mm)
1,926 km (815 km electrified)
narrow gauge (914 mm)
28 km (all electrified)
Most railways are operated by RENFE; narrow-gauge lines are operated by FEVE and other carriers in individual autonomous communities. It is proposed to build or convert more standard-gauge lines, including some dual gauging of broad-gauge lines, especially where these lines link to adjacent countries.
Swiss Railways
Sweden Rails
SJ's operations fall broadly into subsidised and unsubsidised services. The unsubsidised services are a monopoly and consist mainly of the X 2000 high-speed train network. The subsidised trains are awarded through competitive bids. However, some trains fall in between these categories, since public transit agencies can pay SJ to allow transit pass holders access to SJ's trains.
SJ received a government bailout a few years after its creation, but has since had profit margins of up to ten per cent. All train operators in Sweden pay low track access charges to the track authority, Banverket.
In co-operation with Tradera (Swedish eBay), SJ auctions surplus tickets on-line.
Turkey Railways
Rail transport in the United States
Railroad companies in the United States are generally separated into three categories based on their annual revenues: Class I for freight railroads with annual operating revenues above $346.8 million (2006 dollars), Class II for freight railroads with revenues between $27.8 million and $346.7 million in 2006 dollars, and Class III for all other freight railroads. These classifications are set by the Surface Transportation Board.
In 1939 there were 132 Class I railroads. Today, as the result of mergers, bankruptcies, and major changes in the regulatory definition of "Class I," there are only seven railroads operating in the United States that meet the criteria for Class I. As of 2006, U.S. freight railroads operated 140,490 route-miles (226,097 km) of standard gauge in the United States.
Although Amtrak qualifies for Class I status under the revenue criteria, it is not considered a Class I railroad because it is not a freight railroad. Today, the sole intercity passenger railroad in the continental United States is Amtrak. Commuter rail systems exist in more than a dozen metropolitan areas, and commuter systems have been proposed in approximately two dozen other cities, but these systems are not extensively interconnected.
The most notable exception to this general rule is New York City, with its extensive subway system, the Long Island Rail Road, the Metro-North rail extending into Connecticut, and links through the New Jersey Transit system to the Philadelphia-based Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority trains to points as far south as Newark, Delaware. About two-thirds of all U.S. passenger rail riders, and one in every three U.S. mass transit users, rides trains in the New York metropolitan area. For more on that phenomenon, see Transportation in New York City. Chicago, along with its subway system, has a similar but smaller Metro system.
China Railways
China is currently redeveloping its entire railway network to produce a modern high-speed network.
Every train route has an identification number of two to four characters. The first character can be alphabetic or numeric, while the second to fourth characters are all numeric.
Trains are classified as up trains or down trains. Since Beijing is seen as the centre of the network, the train from Beijing is the down service, while the train towards Beijing is the up service. Trains that do not go to Beijing are designated up or down based on the railway they are traveling on. Railways that do not go to Beijing are up or down based on whether they are going in the direction that goes towards or away from Beijing. Train routes that change from up service to down service while traveling in a certain direction might use two different route numbers. For example a train from Qingdao to Xian begins as up service as it travels approaching Beijing and changes to down service when it reaches the point where its travel is away from Bejing all the while travelling westerly.
Iran Railways
In the second half of the 19th century, during the time of Nasser-al-Din Shah, a short horse-driven suburban railway was established south of Tehran that was later converted to steam. This line was closed in 1952.
The Tabriz–Jolfa line (146 km) was built in 1914, the Sufiyan–Sharaf Khaneh (53 km) in 1916, and the Mirjaveh–Zahedan (93 km) in 1920.
I
n 1939 the Trans-Iranian Railway was opened. This 1,392 km long connection links Bandar Torkaman on the Caspian Sea and Bandar Imam Khomeyni (formerly Bandar Shahpur) on the Persian Gulf. After the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941, this Persian Corridor became one of the supply routes for war material for the Soviet Union during World War II.
Indian Railways
Indian Railways has one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting over 18 million passengers and more than 2 million tonnes of freight daily.[3][4] It is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.4 million employees.[5][3] The railways traverse the length and breadth of the country, covering 6,909 stations over a total route length of more than 63,327 kilometres (39,350 mi). IR owns over 200,000 wagons, 50,000 coaches and 8,000 locomotives of rolling stock.[3]
Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, the year of India's independence, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. IR operates both long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi-gauge network of broad, metre and narrow gauges. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities.
Pakistan Railways
Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway company of Pakistan. It is a large organization under the administration of the Pakistani Government's Ministry of Railways. Pakistan Railways provides an important mode of transportation in the farthest corners of the country and brings them closer for business, sightseeing, pilgrimage and education. It has been a great integrating force and forms the life line of the country by catering to its needs for large scale movement of people and freight. The current chairman is Mr. Shakil Durrani.
The possibility of Karachi as a sea port was first noticed in the middle of 19th century. Sir Henry Edward Frere was appointed Commissioner of Sindh after its annexation to British India's Bombay Presidency in 1847 and sought permission from Lord Dalhousie to begin a survey for a sea port. He also initiated the survey for a railway line in 1858. It was proposed that a railway line from Karachi City to Kotri, steam navigation up the Indus and Chenab rivers up to Multan and from there another railway to Lahore and beyond be constructed.
It was on 13 May 1861, that the first railway line was opened for public traffic between Karachi City and Kotri, a distance of 105 miles (169 km). The line between Karachi City and Kiamari was opened on 16 June 1889. During 1897 the line from Keamari to Kotri was doubled.
The railway line from Peshawar to Karachi closely follows Alexander’s line of march through the Hindu Kush mountains to the Arabian Sea. Different sections on the existing main line from Peshawar to Lahore and Multan and branch lines were constructed in the last quarter of 19th century and early years of 20th century.
The four sections, i.e., Scinde (Sindh) Railways, Indian Flotilla Company, Punjab Railway and Delhi Railways, working in a single company, were later on amalgamated into the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railways Company and purchased by the Secretary of State for India in 1885, and in January 1886, it was named North Western State Railways, which was later on renamed as North Western Railway.
At the time of independence, 1,947 route miles (3,133 km) of North Western Railways were transferred to India, leaving 5,048 route miles (8,122 km) to Pakistan. In 1954, the railway line was extended to Mardan and Charsada, and in 1956 the Jacobabad-Kashmore 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge line was converted into broad gauge. In 1961, the Pakistani portion of North Western Railways was renamed Pakistan Railways. The Kot Adu-Kashmore line was constructed between 1969 and 1973 providing an alternative route from Karachi up the country.
Railroad switch
Unless the switch is locked, a train coming from either of the converging directs will pass through the points onto the narrow end, regardless of the position of the points, as the vehicle's wheels will force the points to move. Passage through a switch in this direction is known as a trailing-point movement.
A switch generally has a straight "through" track (such as the main-line) and a diverging route. The handedness of the installation is described by the side that the diverging track leaves. Right-hand switches have a diverging path to the right of the straight track, when coming from the narrow end and a left-handed switch has the diverging track leaving to the opposite side.
A straight track is not always present; for example, both tracks may curve, one to the left and one to the right (see Wye switch, below) or both tracks may curve, with differing radii, in the same direction.
Points (turnouts or switches)
Rail spike
Many railways use large wood screws, also called lag screws, to fasten the tie plates (or baseplates) to the railroad ties. Machine screws (or bolts) are also used to hold fishplates on jointed rail.
The presence of the letters HC (high carbon) on a spike's head indicates that the spike contains about 0.40% carbon.
Track ballast
Cutting (transportation)
The word is also used in the same sense in mining, as in open cut mine.
Embankment (transportation)
Embankments should be constructed using suitable materials to provide adequate support to the formation and long-term stability
Track components
The base of the trackage consists of treated wood, concrete or steel ties (sleepers). These ensure the proper distance between the rails (known as the track's "gauge"). Traditional US practice with wood sleepers is to anchor the rail structure to the road bed through the use of baseplates. These are attached to the top of the ties to provide a secure housing for the flat bottomed 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. As an alternative, lag bolts can be used to retain the clamps, which is preferred since screws are less likely to loosen. Traditional practice in the UK was to screw cast iron 'chairs' to wooden sleepers. These chairs loosely hold bullhead rail which is then secured by a wood or steel 'key' wedged between the side of the rail and the chair. With concrete or steel sleepers fixings are built into the sleeper to which flat bottom rail is attached with sprung steel clips.
Trackage
The vehicles traveling on the rails are arranged in a train; a series of individual powered or unpowered linked vehicles, 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.[citation needed]Trackage, consisting of railroad ties (sleepers) and ties and rails, may be prefabricated or assembled in place. Rails may be 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.On curves the outer rail may be at a higher level than the inner rail. This is called superelevation or cant. This reduces the forces tending to displace the track and makes for a more comfortable ride for standing livestock and standing or seated passengers. This will be effective at a limited range of speeds, however.
Safety and railway disasters
Signalling
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 control determine what is known as the method of working (UK), method of operation (U.S.) or safeworking (Aus.). Not all methods require the use of signals, and some systems are specific to single track railways. The signalling process is traditionally carried out in a signal box (or interlocking tower (U.S.)), a small building that houses the lever frame required for the signalman to operate switches and signal equipment. These are placed at various intervals along the route of a railway, controlling specified sections of track. More recent technological developments have made such operational doctrine superfluous, 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.
Freight cars
Freight cars (UK: "wagons" or "trucks") exist in a wide variety of types, adapted to the ideal carriage of a whole host of different things. Originally there were very few types of cars; the boxcar (UK: "van"), a closed box with side doors, was among the first.
Common types of freight cars include:
Aircraft Parts Car
Centerbeam cars
Coil car - a specialized type of rolling stock designed for the transport of coils of sheet metal, particularly steel. They are considered a subtype of the gondola car, though they bear little resemblance to a typical gondola.
Lorry - An open railroad car (gondola) with a tipping trough, often found in mines.
Refrigerator car (or reefer) - a refrigerated subtype of boxcar.
Modalohr Road Trailer Carriers.
Passenger cars
In standard gauge cars, seating is usually between three and five seats across the width of the car, with an aisle in between (resulting in 2+1, 2+2 or 3+2 seats) or at the side. Tables may be present between seats facing one another. Alternatively, seats facing the same direction may have access to a fold-down ledge on the back of the seat in front.
If the aisle is located between seats, seat rows may face the same direction, or be grouped, with twin rows facing each other. Sometimes, for example on a commuter train, seats may face the aisle.
If the aisle is at the side, the car is usually divided in small compartments. These usually contain 6 seats, although sometimes in second class they contain 8, and sometimes in first class they contain 4.
In vehicles intended for commuter services seats are sometimes placed with their backs to the carriage side. This gives a wide accessway and standing room which accommodates standing passengers at peak times and improves loading and unloading speeds.
Passenger cars can take the electricity supply for heating and lighting equipment from two main sources - either directly from a head end power generator on the locomotive via bus cables; or by an axle powered generator which continuously charges batteries whenever the train is in motion.
Modern cars usually have either air-conditioning or windows that can be opened (sometimes, for safety, not so far that one can hang out), or sometimes both. Various types of onboard train toilet facilities may also be provided.
Other types of passenger car exist, especially for long journeys, such as the dining car, parlor car, disco car, and in rare cases theater and movie theater car. In some cases another type of car is temporarily converted to one of these for an event.
Observation cars were built for the rear of many famous trains to allow the passengers to view the scenery. These proved popular, leading to the development of dome cars multiple units of which could be placed mid-train, and featured a glass-enclosed upper level extending above the normal roof to provide passengers with a better view.
Sleeping cars outfitted with (generally) small bedrooms allow passengers to sleep through their night-time trips, while couchette cars provide more basic sleeping accommodation. Long-distance trains often require baggage cars for the passengers' luggage. In European practice it used to be common for day coaches to be formed of compartments seating 6 or 8 passengers, with access from a side corridor. In the UK, Corridor coaches fell into disfavor in the 1960s and 1970s partially because open coaches are considered more secure by women traveling alone.
Another distinction is between single- and double deck train cars. An example of a double decker is the Amtrak superliner.
A "trainset" (or "set") is a semi-permanently arranged formation of cars, rather than one created 'ad hoc' out of whatever cars are available. These are only broken up and reshuffled 'on shed' (in the maintenance depot). Trains are then built of one or more of these 'sets' coupled together as needed for the capacity of that train.
Often, but not always, passenger cars in a train are linked together with enclosed, flexible gangway connections that can be walked through by passengers and crew members. Some designs incorporate semi-permanent connections between cars and may have a full-width connection, making in essence one longer, flexible 'car'. In North America, passenger equipment also employ tightlock couplings to keep a train reasonably intact in the event of a derailment or other accident.
Many multiple unit trains consist of cars which are semi-permanently coupled into sets; these sets may be joined together to form larger trains, but generally passengers can only move around between cars within a set. This "closed" nature allows the separate sets to be easily split to go separate ways. Some multiple-unit trainsets are designed so that corridor connections can be easily opened between coupled sets; this generally requires driving cabs either set off to the side or (as in the Dutch Koploper) above the passenger compartment. These cabs or driving trailers are also useful for quickly reversing the train.