The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a 393-mile long (632 km) electrified railway between its northern terminus at Edinburgh Waverley and southern terminus at London King's Cross station. The key towns and cities of Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broadly parallel to the A1 road. The main line acts as a 'spine' for several diverging branches, serving destinations such as Cambridge, Leeds, Hull, Sunderland and Lincoln, all with direct services to London. In addition, a few ECML services extend beyond Edinburgh to serve Glasgow Central, although the principal London-Glasgow route is the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
Rail transport terms are a form of technical terminology applied to railways. Although many terms are uniform across different nations and companies, they are by no means universal, with differences often originating from parallel development of rail transport systems in different parts of the world, and in the national origins of the engineers and managers who built the inaugural rail infrastructure. An example is the term railroad, used in North America, and railway, generally used in English-speaking countries outside North America and by the International Union of Railways. In English-speaking countries outside the United Kingdom, a mixture of US and UK terms may exist.
The British Rail Class 104 diesel multiple units were built by Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company from 1957 to 1959.
An adhesion railway relies on adhesion traction to move the train, and is the most widespread and common type of railway in the world. Adhesion traction is the friction between the drive wheels and the steel rail. Since the vast majority of railways are adhesion railways, the term adhesion railway is used only when it is necessary to distinguish adhesion railways from railways moved by other means, such as by a stationary engine pulling on a cable attached to the cars or by a pinion meshing with a rack.
The European Train Control System (ETCS) is a train protection system designed to replace the many incompatible systems used by European railways, and railways outside of Europe. ETCS is the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
This article contains a list of jargon used to varying degrees by railway enthusiasts, trainspotters, and railway employees in the United Kingdom, including nicknames for various locomotives and multiple units. Although not exhaustive, many of the entries in this list appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications. There may be significant regional variation in usage.
A sandbox is a container on most locomotives, multiple units and trams that holds sand, which is dropped on the rail in front of the driving wheels in wet and slippery conditions and on steep grades to improve traction.
Birkenhead North TMD is a traction maintenance depot, which is owned by Network Rail and operated by Stadler. Located opposite Birkenhead North railway station, it is currently responsible for servicing and stabling Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and class 777 electric multiple units and also services and stables Transport for Wales' fleet of 5 Class 230 diesel-battery electric multiple units.
Sleet locomotives were redundant London Underground cars converted to help with the removal of ice that built up on the conductor rails. The main batch of eighteen tube-gauge locomotives were built between 1938 and 1941 from motor cars originally built in 1903. They were refurbished in the 1960s using equipment removed from redundant T-stock vehicles, and were joined by a pair of surface-gauge locomotives in 1961.
Slippery rail, or low railhead adhesion, is a condition of railways (railroads) where contamination of the railhead reduces the traction between the wheel and the rail. This can lead to wheelslip when the train is taking power, and wheelslide when the train is braking. One common cause of contamination is fallen leaves that adhere to the railhead of railway tracks. The condition results in significant reduction in friction between train wheels and rails, and in extreme cases can render the track temporarily unusable. In Britain, the situation is colloquially referred to as "leaves on the line".
Wheel slide protection and wheel slip protection are railway terms used to describe automatic systems used to detect and prevent wheel-slide during braking or wheel-slip during acceleration. This is analogous to ABS and traction control systems used on motor vehicles. It is particularly important in slippery rail conditions.
Locomotive wheelslip is an event that affects railway motive power usually when starting from stationary, but can also affect an engine in motion.
Transmission balise-locomotive is a train protection system used in Belgium and on Hong Kong's East Rail line.
In Great Britain, the Sectional Appendix is a railway document compiled by Network Rail and is the official definition of railway infrastructure, giving a detailed description of all railway lines owned by Network Rail. It has traditionally been published in printed format, originally as a bound book and subsequently in loose-leaf format, for ease of updating.
The South African Railways Class 10E1, Series 1 of 1987 is an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 10E2 of 1989 is an electric locomotive.
A rail adhesion car or rail adhesion train is a modified vehicle used on a rail adhesion system where the standard equipment does not have locomotives' rail sanding ability. In particular, it may involve tanks and dispensing equipment installed in an electric subway or rail car that is run over the rails alone or in a train to dispense sand when needed. Because of space limits under the cars, the sand or gel/sand mix tanks are installed inside the passenger space.
Route knowledge is one of the core skills together with train handling and a full understanding of railway rules, which the operating crew must possess in order to be able to operate a train safely.
The Multi-purpose vehicle is a purpose built departmental derivative of a diesel multiple unit constructed for use as a rail adhesion vehicle by NI Railways in Northern Ireland.
The Salisbury Rail Crash was a railway accident on 31 October 2021, at Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom. Two trains, travelling on converging lines, collided at Salisbury Tunnel Junction, approximately one mile northeast of Salisbury railway station. Fourteen people, including one of the train drivers, were taken to hospital.
