The Shinkansen, colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond long-distance travel, some sections around the largest metropolitan areas are used as a commuter rail network. It is owned by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency and operated by five Japan Railways Group companies.
A railroad car, railcar, railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck, also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a vehicle used for the carrying of cargo or passengers on a rail transport network. Such cars, when coupled together and hauled by one or more locomotives, form a train. Alternatively, some passenger cars are self-propelled in which case they may be either single railcars or make up multiple units.
VR-Group Plc, commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 commuter rail services every day. With 7,500 employees and net sales of €1,251 million in 2017, VR is one of the most significant operators in the Finnish public transport market area.
A bilevel car or double-decker coach is a type of rail car that has two levels of passenger accommodation as opposed to one, increasing passenger capacity.
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and keep clear of platforms, trackside buildings and structures. Classification systems vary between different countries, and gauges may vary across a network, even if the track gauge is uniform.
A passenger railroad car or passenger car, also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach, or passenger bogie is a railroad car that is designed to carry passengers. The term passenger car can also be associated with a sleeping car, a baggage car, a dining car, railway post office and prisoner transport cars.
The 4D was a prototype double deck electric multiple unit built for the Public Transport Corporation in Victoria, Australia, for operation on the Melbourne railway system. It remains the only double deck train to have ever operated in Melbourne. The train's name stood for "Double Deck Development and Demonstration."
The SR Class 4DD was an experimental double-decker electric multiple unit built in 1949 and operated by the Southern Railway until 1971. Conceived by Oliver Bulleid for the Southern Railway's commuter line from London Charing Cross to Dartford, the two trains were the only double-decker trains to be used on the mainline railway network in Britain. Whilst commonly used in continental Europe and North America, the restrictive railway loading gauge in the United Kingdom prohibits normal double-decker trains with two fully separated decks.
The TGV Duplex is a French high-speed train of the TGV family, manufactured by Alstom, and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. They were the first TGV trainsets to use bi-level passenger carriages with a seating capacity of 508 passengers, increasing capacity on busy high-speed lines. While the TGV Duplex started as a small component of the TGV fleet, it has become one of the system's workhorses.
Regional Eurostar was a planned Eurostar train service from Paris and Brussels to locations in the United Kingdom to the north and west of London.
Rail transport in Europe is characterized by the diversity of technological standards, operating concepts, and infrastructures. Common features are the widespread deployment of standard-gauge rail, high operational safety and a high share of electrification. Electrified railway networks operate at a plethora of different voltages AC and DC varying from 750 to 25,000 volts, and signaling systems vary from country to country, complicating cross-border traffic.
Railway platform height is the built height – above top of rail (ATR) – of passenger platforms at stations. A connected term is train floor height, which refers to the ATR height of the floor of rail vehicles. Worldwide, there are many, frequently incompatible, standards for platform heights and train floor heights. Where raised platforms are in use, train widths must also be compatible, in order to avoid both large gaps between platforms and trains and mechanical interference liable to cause equipment damage.
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self propelled passenger trains are known as multiple units or railcars. Passenger trains stop at stations or depots, where passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on a fixed schedule and have priority over freight trains.
The X40 is a series of electric multiple units operated by SJ of Sweden. They are in service from Stockholm to Linköping, Västerås/Örebro, Uppsala and Gävle/Sandviken, and since 2010 to Gothenburg via Västerås. The double decker trains were built by Alstom from 2004–2008, with 43 units being delivered, either in a two-car or three-car configuration. It is based on the Coradia series, very similar to the French SNCF Class Z 26500 double decker trains, and similar to the X60-series.
The minimum railway curve radius is the shortest allowable design radius for the centerline of railway tracks under a particular set of conditions. It has an important bearing on construction costs and operating costs and, in combination with superelevation in the case of train tracks, determines the maximum safe speed of a curve. The minimum radius of a curve is one parameter in the design of railway vehicles as well as trams; monorails and automated guideways are also subject to a minimum radius.
The Stadler KISS is a family of bilevel electric multiple unit commuter trains developed and built since 2008 by Stadler Rail of Switzerland. As of 2016, 242 KISS trainsets comprising 1,145 cars have been sold to operators in eleven countries.
Rail transport is an important mode of long-distance transportation in China. As of 2024, the country had more than 159,000 km (98,798 mi) of railways, the second longest network in the world. By the end of 2023, China had more than 45,000 kilometres of high-speed rail (HSR), the longest HSR network in the world.
Double Decker Express are a series of trains started for shorter routes in order to serve more people than a traditional chair car carriage.
Andreas Vogler Studio is an international and multidisciplinary firm for architecture and innovative design, with headquarters in Munich. The practice is led by its founder, Andreas Vogler and was established in 2014 shortly after he left Architecture and Vision. The practice specializes in novel solutions using technology, art, history and futurist ideas for inspiration.
The Caravaggio is an electric multiple unit (EMU) developed and built by Hitachi Rail Italy. It is named after the Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
