Train

From top, left to right: An electric locomotive pulling a passenger train in Russia, a rack railway in Switzerland,
diesel locomotives pulling a freight train in New Zealand, a monorail in Germany, a metro train in India, a
restored steam locomotive in the U.S.

A train (from Old French trahiner, from Latin trahere, "to pull, to draw"[1]) 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 (often known simply as "engines"), 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.

Trains have their roots in wagonways, which used railway tracks and were powered by horses or pulled by
cables. Following the invention of the steam locomotive in the United Kingdom in 1804, trains rapidly
spread around the world, allowing freight and passengers to move over land faster and cheaper than ever
possible before. Rapid transit and trams were first built in the late 1800s to transport large numbers of
people in and around cities. Beginning in the 1920s, and accelerating following World War II, diesel and
electric locomotives replaced steam as the means of motive power. Following the development of cars,
trucks, and extensive networks of highways which offered greater mobility, as well as faster airplanes,
trains declined in importance and market share, and many rail lines were abandoned. The spread of buses
led to the closure of many rapid transit and tram systems during this time as well.

Since the 1970s, governments, environmentalists, and train advocates have promoted increased use of trains
due to their greater fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to other modes of land
transport. High-speed rail, first built in the 1960s, has proven competitive with cars and planes over short to