0_Wizard
Have you ever heard of rail transport? It is also known as train transport.
It is also commonly referred to as train transport.
chosen_Rail_transport_0
Rail transport
chosen_topic_0_Rail_transport
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of transferring of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks. It is also commonly referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a prepared flat surface, rail vehicles (rolling stock) are directionally guided by the tracks on which they run. Tracks usually consist of steel rails, installed on ties (sleepers) and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels, moves. Other variations are also possible, such as slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface.
Transport in the Soviet Union
Transport in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was an important part of the nation's economy. The economic centralisation of the late 1920s and 1930s led to the development of infrastructure at a massive scale and rapid pace. Before the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, there were a wide variety of modes of transport by land, water and air. However, because of government policies before, during and after the Era of Stagnation, investments in transport were low. By the late 1970s and early 1980s Soviet economists were calling for the construction of more roads to alleviate some of the strain from the railways and to improve the state budget.
Rail transport in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was heavily dependent on rail transport, not least during the Russian Civil War and World War II, but also for industrialization according to the five-year plans. During the Soviet era, freight rail traffic increased 55 times (over that of the Russian empire just before World War I), passenger traffic increased almost 10 times, and the length of the rail network almost doubled. The Soviet Union had a railway network of (excluding industrial railways), of which were electrified. After the foundation of the Soviet Union the People's Commissariat of Railways (NKPS) (after 1946 renamed the Ministry of Railways (МПС)), the railway network expanded to a total length of 106,100 km by 1940 (vs. 81,000 km in 1917 which was exceeded in length only by the United States).
Rail transport in Ethiopia
Rail transport in Ethiopia is done within the National Railway Network of Ethiopia, which is mostly in planning and construction stage and currently consists of four electrified standard gauge railway lines: the Addis Ababa Light Rail, the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, the Awash–Hara Gebeya Railway and the Hara Gebeya–Mek'ele Railway. All railways in Ethiopia are owned and operated by an Ethiopian state-owned enterprise, the Ethiopian Railways Corporation (ERC). A planned legislation opens rail transport to the private sector, from the construction of rail infrastructure to the operation of the same infrastructure and on to the operation of privately owned trains.
Alstom
Alstom is a French multinational company operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, and Pendolino high-speed trains, in addition to suburban, regional and metro trains, and Citadis trams. Alstom (originally as Alsthom) was formed from a merger between Compagnie Française Thomson Houston and the Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques in 1928; significant acquisitions included the Constructions Electriques de France (1932), shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique (1976), and parts of ACEC SA (Belgium, late 1980s).
History of rail transport
The history of rail transport began in 6th century BC in Ancient Greece. It can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of track material and motive power used. Evidence indicates that there was 6 to 8.5 km long "Diolkos" paved trackway, which transported boats across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece from around 600 BC. Wheeled vehicles pulled by men and animals ran in grooves in limestone, which provided the track element, preventing the wagons from leaving the intended route. The Diolkos was in use for over 650 years, until at least the 1st century AD. The paved trackways were also later built in Roman Egypt.
Rail transport in Vietnam
The railway system in Vietnam is owned and operated by the state-owned Vietnam Railways (). The principal route, the single track North-South Railway running between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, accounts for of the network's total length of . The national railway network uses mainly metre gauge, although there are several standard gauge and mixed gauge lines in the North of the country. The first railways in Vietnam were established in the 1880s, with construction beginning in 1888; these included a tram running between the ports of Saigon and Cholon, and a regional rail line connecting Saigon with Mỹ Tho.
1_Apprentice
I have! We recently got a new rail service in my town. It's really fascinating. I'll bet there's a lot of history behind rail transport.
0_Wizard
That is extremely fascinating. In contrast to road transportation where the car is in control. On the rail the rail is in control.  
In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a prepared flat surface, rail vehicles (rolling stock) are directionally guided by the tracks on which they run.
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Rail transport
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Lynx Blue Line
The LYNX Blue Line is a light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina. It commenced service on November 24, 2007 as the first rail line of the Charlotte Area Transit System. The line runs from its northern terminus in Uptown, traversing South End and paralleling South Boulevard to its southern terminus just north of Interstate 485 at the Pineville city limits. It is the first major rapid rail service of any kind in North Carolina, and began operating seventy years after a previous Charlotte streetcar system was disbanded in 1938, in favor of motorized bus transit. The system officially opened for service on November 24, 2007, and as part of its opening celebration fares were not collected.
Ivy City
Ivy City is a small neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. About half the neighborhood is industrial or formerly industrial, dominated by warehouses. The Ivy City Yard, a railroad coach yard and maintenance facility for the passenger railroad Amtrak, is situated northwest across New York Avenue NE. Ivy City was laid out as a suburban development for African Americans in 1873. Development was slow. From 1879 to 1901, the neighborhood hosted the Ivy City Racetrack, a major horse racing facility in the District of Columbia. Construction on the rail yard began in 1907 and was complete within a year, although much of the facilities there were demolished in 1953 and 1954 as railroads switched from coal-fired locomotives to diesel-fueled or electric engines.
Transportation in South Florida
The Greater Miami area, composed of the three counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, also known collectively as South Florida, is home to a wide variety of public and private transportation systems. These include heavy rail mass transit (Metrorail), commuter rail (Tri-Rail), automated guideway transit (Metromover), highways, two major airports (Miami International Airport (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport (FLL)) and seaports (Port of Miami and Port Everglades), as well as three county-wide bus networks (Miami-Dade Metrobus, Broward County Transit (BCT), and Palm Tran), which cover the entire urbanized area of South Florida.
High-speed rail in the United States
Plans for high-speed rail in the United States date back to the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965. Various state and federal proposals have followed. Despite being one of the world's first countries to get high-speed trains (the Metroliner service in 1969), it failed to spread. Definitions of what constitutes high-speed rail vary, including a range of speeds over 110 miles per hour and dedicated rail lines. Inter-city rail in the United States with top speeds of or more but below is sometimes referred to as higher-speed rail. The Acela Express (reaching 150 mph) and the Northeast Regional (reaching 125 mph) are currently the only services in the country (the Metroliner was discontinued in 2006).
Light rail
Light rail, light rail transit (LRT), or fast tram is urban public transport using rolling stock similar to a tramway, but operating at a higher capacity, and often on an exclusive right-of-way. There is no standard definition, but in the United States (where the terminology was devised in the 1970s from the engineering term "light railway"), light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled to form a train that is lower capacity and lower speed than a long heavy passenger train or metro system. A few light rail networks tend to have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail; some of these heavier rapid transit-like systems are referred to as light metros.
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of transferring of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks. It is also commonly referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a prepared flat surface, rail vehicles (rolling stock) are directionally guided by the tracks on which they run. Tracks usually consist of steel rails, installed on ties (sleepers) and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels, moves. Other variations are also possible, such as slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface.
Passenger rail terminology
Various terms are used for passenger rail lines and equipment-the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:  A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed and rapid acceleration. It uses passenger railcars operating singly or in multiple unit trains on fixed rails. It operates on separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded (i.e. is fully grade separated from other traffic). It uses sophisticated signaling systems, and high platform loading. Originally, the term rapid transit was used in the 1800s to describe new forms of quick urban public transportation that had a right-of-way separated from street traffic.
1_Apprentice
Well, that certainly makes sense! Do you think most trains are diesel or are some still coal powered?
0_Wizard
I would imagine diesel, In fact, I am pretty sure the LYNX Blue Line is a light rail in Charlotte, NC that is diesel. 
The LYNX Blue Line is a light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina.
self_Lynx_Blue_Line_0
Lynx Blue Line
self_0_Lynx_Blue_Line
Lynx Blue Line
The LYNX Blue Line is a light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina. It commenced service on November 24, 2007 as the first rail line of the Charlotte Area Transit System. The line runs from its northern terminus in Uptown, traversing South End and paralleling South Boulevard to its southern terminus just north of Interstate 485 at the Pineville city limits. It is the first major rapid rail service of any kind in North Carolina, and began operating seventy years after a previous Charlotte streetcar system was disbanded in 1938, in favor of motorized bus transit. The system officially opened for service on November 24, 2007, and as part of its opening celebration fares were not collected.
Charlotte Area Transit System
The Charlotte Area Transit System, commonly referred to as CATS, is the public transit system in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It operates bus and rail service around the Charlotte metropolitan area. This includes a bus rapid transit line called the Sprinter, a light rail line called the LYNX Blue Line, and a streetcar line called CityLYNX Gold Line. John M. Lewis, Jr. was selected as the new CEO of CATS in July 2015. He began this role in mid-August 2015. Lewis replaced Carolyn Flowers, who had served in the role since 2010 and resigned to take a position at the Federal Transit Administration.
San Diego Trolley
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. It is known colloquially as The Trolley. The Trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. (SDTI), is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The Trolley began service on July 26, 1981, making it the oldest of the "second generation" light rail systems in the United States. The entire Trolley network serves 53 stations, and comprises of route, and three primary lines named the Blue Line, the Orange Line, and the Green Line, as well as a supplementary heritage streetcar downtown circulator known as the Silver Line that operates on select weekdays, weekends and holidays.
Charlotte Trolley
The Charlotte Trolley was a heritage streetcar that operated in Charlotte in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The line ran along the former Norfolk Southern right of way between Tremont Avenue in the Historic South End in a northerly direction to its terminus at 9th Street Uptown. It ran on tracks shared with the LYNX Blue Line. The Charlotte Trolley represented the return of streetcar service to the city of Charlotte since the closure of its original network on March 14, 1938, which had been in operation since May 18, 1891. The return of the trolley came on August 30, 1996, running in the evenings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons for an initial six-month trial period.
Charlotte Transportation Center
The Charlotte Transportation Center (CTC), also known as Arena or CTC/Arena, is an multimodal transit station in Center City Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It serves as the central hub for the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) buses and connects with the LYNX Blue Line and CityLYNX Gold Line. It is located on East Trade Street, Fourth Street and Brevard Street. Notable places nearby include the Bank of America Corporate Center, Belk Theater, EpiCentre, Overstreet Mall and the Spectrum Center. The CTC celebrated its grand opening on December 11, 1995, through a partnership with then-NationsBank.
Light rail in North America
Light rail is a commonly used mode of public transit in North America. The term "light rail" was coined in 1972 by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the U.S. Federal Transit Administration) to describe new streetcar transformations which were taking place in Europe and the United States. The Germans used the term "Stadtbahn", which is the predecessor to North American light rail, to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, which is "city rail". However, in its reports, UMTA finally adopted the term "light rail" instead. From the mid-19th century onwards, horse-drawn trams or "horsecars" were used in cities around the world.
9th Street station (Charlotte)
9th Street station is a light rail station for the future LYNX Blue Line in Center City Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The station, which will feature side platforms on either side of the tracks, is located adjacent to 9th Street. Notable places near the station include First Ward Park and the UNC Charlotte Center City Campus. The station is planned to be reopened on March 16, 2018. The station first opened for service on June 28, 2004, for the historic Charlotte Trolley, with one track and one platform, located south adjacent to 9th Street. Operating for little over 19 months, it was soon closed on February 6, 2006 because of LYNX Blue Line construction at neighboring 6th Street Station.
1_Apprentice
Oh neat! I think the new train in my area is diesel as well. I would imagine using trains is very cost efficient for companies, cheaper than truck or air. Do you agree?