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The railway has been one of the most important means of
transportation. In many countries, the long established
railway networks provide high speed transportation
across vast areas of land. This system provides cheap
transportation for both people and goods. Before trains
were invented, people had to rely on horses for journeys
across a country. During those days, the roads were poor
and journeys which now take only a few hours, could
stretch up to several days or even weeks. Moreover,
trains could carry heavier loads as compared to
horse-drawn wagons. Railways contributed a lot to the
growth of many industries. Raw materials could be
delivered quickly and easily to factories. Once the raw
materials are processed, they are immediately
transported by means of railways to other parts of the
country.
Railway tracks have varying gauges. A gauge is the
inside distance between the two parallel rails which
form the track. Railway gauges differ in width. The
gauge varies between 610 mm to 1676 mm. Due to these
variations, it is difficult to link up all railway
networks. As a result, passengers have to change trains
at certain stations.
Most trains are powered by diesel-electric units,
while others are powered by direct current electricity.
Some of the largest and most powerful locomotives have
gas turbine traction-engines. Oil is burned in a
compressed air chamber to produce hot gas of intense
energy. It is this energy which powers the
traction-engine and drives a train along the railway
tracks.
For high-speed travel on land, extra-fast trains have
been developed. The latest development in rail travel is
the Aerotrain. This is a bullet-shaped train powered by
turbo-jet engines. There is a propeller at the rear of
the train. The rail passes through the middle of the
train which glides along on a half inch cushion of air.
Japan's 'bullet train' travels at speeds of up to 240 km
per hour and runs between Tokyo and Osaka.
Today, the world's rail networks total about
1,200,000 km. Two-thirds of it is concentrated in
North America and Europe. North America, which consists
of the United States, Canada and Mexico, has the
greatest amount of railway tracks.
The railways of many countries are controlled by the
state. For example, Britain, France and most European
nations have railways run by the government. In the
United States and Canada however, the railways are run
by powerful private companies.
In recent years, rail transport has suffered stiff
competition from other transport services -- road, air
and water. The investors are attempting to overcome this
situation by two means. Firstly, to get rid of services
which are not profitable, and secondly, to improve on
money-making services. |
