A train is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives or railcars, though some are self-propelled, such as multiple units. Passengers and cargo are carried in railroad cars, also known as wagons. Trains are designed to a certain gauge, or distance between rails. Most trains operate on steel tracks with steel wheels, the low friction of which makes them more efficient than other forms of transport.
A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train control.
In rail transport, distributed power (DP) is a generic term referring to the physical distribution—at intermediate points throughout the length of a train—of separate motive power groups. Such "groups" may be single units or multiple consists, and are remotely controlled from the leading locomotive. The practice allows locomotives to be placed anywhere within the length of a train when standard multiple-unit (MU) operation is impossible or impractical. DP can be achieved by wireless or wired (trainlined) means. Wired systems now provided by various suppliers use the cabling already extant throughout a train equipped with electronically controlled pneumatic brakes (ECP).
Railway signalling (BE), or railroad signaling (AE), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormous weight and inertia of a train, which makes it difficult to quickly stop when encountering an obstacle. In the UK, the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 introduced a series of requirements on matters such as the implementation of interlocked block signalling and other safety measures as a direct result of the Armagh rail disaster in that year.
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so their tenders are necessary to keep them running over long distances. A locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel and water on board the locomotive itself are called tank locomotives or tank engines.
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels. The most common are diesel-electric locomotives and diesel-hydraulic.
A balise is an electronic beacon or transponder placed between the rails of a railway as part of an automatic train protection (ATP) system. The French word balise is used to distinguish these beacons from other kinds of beacons.
Automatic Warning System (AWS) is a railway safety system invented and predominantly used in the United Kingdom. It provides a train driver with an audible indication of whether the next signal they are approaching is clear or at caution. Depending on the upcoming signal state, the AWS will either produce a 'horn' sound, or a 'bell' sound. If the train driver fails to acknowledge a warning indication, an emergency brake application is initiated by the AWS. However if the driver correctly acknowledges the warning indication by pressing an acknowledgement button, then a visual 'sunflower' is displayed to the driver, as a reminder of the warning.
Part of a railway signalling system, a train stop, trip stop or tripcock is a train protection device that automatically stops a train if it attempts to pass a signal when the signal aspect and operating rules prohibit such movement, or if it attempts to pass at an excessive speed.
Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an easy to read display to the train driver or engine driver.
Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver does not react to a signal at danger. ATC systems tend to integrate various cab signalling technologies and they use more granular deceleration patterns in lieu of the rigid stops encountered with the older automatic train stop (ATS) technology. ATC can also be used with automatic train operation (ATO) and is usually considered to be the safety-critical part of a railway system.
Linienzugbeeinflussung is a cab signalling and train protection system used on selected German and Austrian railway lines as well as on the AVE and some commuter rail lines in Spain. The system was mandatory where trains were allowed to exceed speeds of 160 km/h (99 mph) in Germany and 220 km/h (140 mph) in Spain. It is also used on some slower railway and urban rapid transit lines to increase capacity. The German Linienzugbeeinflussung translates to continuous train control, literally: linear train influencing. It is also called linienförmige Zugbeeinflussung.
PZB or Indusi is an intermittent cab signalling system and train protection system used in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Israel, Serbia, on two lines in Hungary, on the Tyne and Wear Metro in the UK, and formerly on the Trillium Line in Canada.
A train protection system is a railway technical installation to ensure safe operation in the event of human error.
Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES) is a positive train control cab signaling system developed by Alstom. The system is designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, protect against overspeed, and protect work crews with temporary speed restrictions. The information about permanent and temporary speed restrictions is transmitted to the train by transponders (Balises) lying in the track, coded track circuits and digital radio. It was installed beginning in 2000 on all of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, and has been fully active since December 2015, a few months after the 2015 Philadelphia train derailment which it would have prevented.
Pulse code cab signaling is a form of cab signaling technology developed in the United States by the Union Switch and Signal corporation for the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1920s. The 4-aspect system widely adopted by the PRR and its successor railroads has become the dominant railroad cab signaling system in North America with versions of the technology also being adopted in Europe and rapid transit systems. In its home territory on former PRR successor Conrail owned lines and on railroads operating under the NORAC Rulebook it is known simply as Cab Signaling System or CSS.
Train automatic stopping/stop-position controller (定位置停止装置) (TASC) is the name of a train protection system/automated stopping aid currently used only in Japan. It allows trains equipped with TASC to stop automatically at stations without the need for the train operator to operate the brakes manually, preventing stopping errors and SPADs. TASC is also compatible with automatic train control (ATC) and automatic train operation (ATO), where in the latter case it acts as its auto-braking function.
Anuncio de Señales y Frenado Automático is an Automatic Train Protection system widely deployed on the Spanish rail network. It consists of a mechanism that stops a train if the driver does not properly heed signals.
The intermittent inductive automatic train stop is a train protection system used in North American mainline railroad and rapid transit systems. It makes use of magnetic reluctance to trigger a passing train to take some sort of action. The system was developed in the 1920s by the General Railway Signal Company as an improvement on existing mechanical train stop systems and saw limited adoption before being overtaken by more advanced cab signaling and automatic train control systems. The system remains in use after having been introduced in the 1920s.
Advanced Train Administration and Communications System (ATACS) is an Automatic Train Control (ATC) system developed by RTRI starting from 1995 and first introduced by JR East on the Senseki Line in 2011. It uses radio communication rather than traditional signals, and works as a moving block system.
