High speed trains are generally defined as trains that can operate 125mph or faster. High speed trains generally connect large metropolitan areas (with very few stops in between) and are meant to be competitive with airlines in terms of overall travel time.

Inter-city trains,

Inter-city trains generally mean trains traveling long distances connecting metropolitan areas. Although the distances covered by some of these trains are comparable to airlines, inter-city trains generally operate at highway speed. Long distance inter-city trains may provide amenities not found on most other forms of transportation, including sleeper-cars and cafe/dining cars.

Commuter/regional trains

Caltrain locomotives 

Commuter trains generally mean trains connecting suburban areas with the central city and primarily serves riders to and from work. Commuter trains typically run on weekdays, during rush hours, and only in the peak directions. A prime example would be Altamont Commuter Express, which run from Stockton to San Jose during weekday mornings, and from San Jose to Stockion during weekday afternoons. However, commuter rail systems like Caltrain and Metrolink can run trains all day in both directions.

Rapid transit

Rapid transit, which is also known as metro, subway, and heavy rail, mean trains that generally serve the urban-core, have large passenger capacity, and operate totally separate from road traffic. In order to run separately from road traffic in the city-core, rapid transit trains would run either above or underground.

Light rail

Sacramento LRT

Light rail, which might be also known as trolley and streetcars, mean trains that function as local transit in an urban-core and can operate on the street-level. Compared to rapid transit, light rail costs less, is more pedestrian friendly, but has less passenger capacity. The major advantage with light rail is that it can operate like rapid transit or like local buses, depending on the available infrastructure.

source:http://www.bayrailalliance.org/types_trains

Locomotive 
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A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as multiple units, motor coaches, railcars or power cars; the use of these self-propelled vehicles is increasingly common for passenger trains, but rare for freight.Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push-pull operation has become common, where the train may have a locomotive (or locomotives) at the front, at the rear, or at each end.

High speed trains

High speed trains are generally defined as trains that can operate 125mph or faster. High speed trains generally connect large metropolitan areas (with very few stops in between) and are meant to be competitive with airlines in terms of overall travel time. 

 

Inter-city trains

Inter-city trains generally mean trains traveling long distances connecting metropolitan areas. Although the distances covered by some of these trains are comparable to airlines, inter-city trains generally operate at highway speed. Long distance inter-city trains may provide amenities not found on most other forms of transportation, including sleeper-cars and cafe/dining cars. 

The total length of railways has grown to a worldwide spans of 1,055,263 km – enough steel rails to cover more than 2.7 times the distance to the moon.

Of these many railways across the globe, which are becoming bigger, faster and longer today! Air conditioning is added so we would not feel hot anymore and more types of faster and more durable trains.The carrige of trains can carry now more than thousands of passengers with incredible speeds!

Modern civilization has really changed a lot of thing to make our lives better.We should be grateful!

High speed trains are generally defined as trains that can operate 125mph or faster. High speed trains generally connect large metropolitan areas (with very few stops in between) and are meant to be competitive with airlines in terms of overall travel time.

Inter-city trains

Inter-city trains generally mean trains traveling long distances connecting metropolitan areas. Although the distances covered by some of these trains are comparable to airlines, inter-city trains generally operate at highway speed. Long distance inter-city trains may provide amenities not found on most other forms of transportation, including sleeper-cars and cafe/dining cars.

Graffiti was still rampant and almost every car in the subway system was tagged, forcing the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) to launch a five-year initiative in 1984 to eradicate all graffitied trains. On May 12, 1989, the city announced that all graffiti had been wiped away from the system’s fleet. To this day, trains are not allowed to leave their yards if there is any graffiti on its exterior. 

in the 2000s,  new models featured technology that included an electronic strip map and an improved public address system were added

 

  

 

The bullet train brings passengers from places to places very fast.They ensures safety and speed.

IN THE PAST 

They were steam trains and were very noisy. It chugged along slowly and it’s capacity was not very big. It was also very stuffy inside and the steam produced by the trains made people cover their noses because of the smell. 

NOW 

They do not produce steam and is favoured because they have air-condition. They are also very efficient and fast-moving, thus allowing people to get to one place to another very fast. They are also more comfortable. 

Inter-city trains – Public transportation trains, mostly built for safe travel low speeds at both land based railways and underground subway lines.

Rapid transit – High Speed trains that are specially made with streamlined design that offers as little air resistance as possible. Trains made with this technology can achieve speeds of up to 300 km/h.

Short and Long distance trains – This type of trains is often used for traveling between cities and countries, equipped with sleeping cars, dining cars and all necessary things that are needed to service passengers on their longer journeys.

Trams – Slow public transportation trains, powered by electricity and almost exclusively used in highly congested urban zones.

Mine trains – Special train types that are used for underground excavations of rock and coal. They are durable, small, and capable of hauling goods in very harsh and cramped environment. 

This long, long list goes on and on……

Steam locomotives were first developed in Great Britain during the early 19th century and used for railway transport until the middle of the 20th century. The first steam locomotive, made by Richard Trevithick, first operated on 21 February 1804, three years after the road locomotive he made in 1801. The first commercially successful steam locomotive was created in 1812–13 by John Blenkinsop.^[1] Built by George Stephenson and his son Robert's company Robert Stephenson and Company, the Locomotion No. 1 is the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. George also built the first public inter-city railway line in the world to use locomotives, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which opened in 1830. Stephenson established his company as the pre-eminent builder of steam locomotives for railways in the United Kingdom, the United States, and much of Europe.^[2]

In the 20th century, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Nigel Gresley designed some of the most famous locomotives, including the Flying Scotsman, the first steam locomotive officially recorded over 100 mph in passenger service, and a LNER Class A4, 4468 Mallard, which still holds the record for being the fastest steam locomotive in the world (126 mph).^[3]

From the early 1900s steam locomotives were gradually superseded by electric and diesel locomotives, with railways fully converting to electric and diesel power beginning in the late 1930s. The majority of steam locomotives were retired from regular service by the 1980s, though several continue to run on tourist and heritage lines.
2)--- In the modern times bullet trains carry thousands of passengers with incredible speeds and freight train carry substantial amount of worlds goods, trains enabled us to develop our civilization with unexpected consequences that nobody expected. Distant lands become almost instantly reachable (3000 miles journey from New York to California was cut down from one or two months to few days!), industrial manufacture could be powered with infinite amount of raw materials and outgoing transport of finished goods, and sudden fast travel (far before first airplanes were discovered) caused the need of implementing standardized time zones across entire world. 

High speed trains

High speed trains are generally defined as trains that can operate 125mph or faster. High speed trains generally connect large metropolitan areas (with very few stops in between) and are meant to be competitive with airlines in terms of overall travel time.

Although High Speed Rail trains in general are compatible with regular passenger and freight trains (and often share tracks at major stations in Europe), it requires dedicated tracks to operate at high speed.

High speed trains current operates in Europe (France, Germany, Britain, Spain, Italy, and more), Japan, China, South Korea, and Taiwan. In North America, Amtrak’s Acela (Boston – Washington DC) meets the definition of of high speed rail, but uses heavier trainsets than its European and Asian counterparts.

The proposed high speed rail system in California would use trainsets similar to those in Europe and Asia. 

2)
Inter-city trains

Inter-city trains generally mean trains traveling long distances connecting metropolitan areas. Although the distances covered by some of these trains are comparable to airlines, inter-city trains generally operate at highway speed. Long distance inter-city trains may provide amenities not found on most other forms of transportation, including sleeper-cars and cafe/dining cars.

Amtrak is the operator of inter-city trains in the United States. Although Amtrak is much slower than airlines, inter-city trains serve small cities between metropolitan areas aren’t served by airlines.

Historically, inter-city passenger trains are operated by railroad companies that also haul freight trains. After World War II, ridership on passenger trains steadily declined with competition from automobiles and airlines. At that time, many railroads wanted to abandon passenger train service to cut operating losses. In 1971, Amtrak was established by Congress to nationalize inter-city passenger rail business. Outside the Northeast Corridor (Boston and DC), Amtrak uses tracks owned by various freight railroads.

3)
Commuter/regional trains

Caltrain locomotives (Source)

Commuter trains generally mean trains connecting suburban areas with the central city and primarily serves riders to and from work. Commuter trains typically run on weekdays, during rush hours, and only in the peak directions. A prime example would be Altamont Commuter Express, which run from Stockton to San Jose during weekday mornings, and from San Jose to Stockion during weekday afternoons. However, commuter rail systems like Caltrain and Metrolink can run trains all day in both directions.

In the United States, typical commuter trains are locomotive-haul. The locomotive on one end of the train either pulls the unpowered passenger cars (from the front) or pushes them (from the back) to make them move. Most locomotives are powered by diesel fuel and some (in the East Coast) by electricity.

Many commuter trains in Europe, as well as some in the U.S. use electric multiple units instead of locomotives. In a multiple-unit train, every car (or every other car) in the train has motors which are capable of propelling the vehicle. Multiple unit trains are more reliable (with multiple engine/motors rather than one engine) and more efficient (by easily changing train length for peak and off-peak hours).

Proposed Caltrain EMU

Most commuter trains in the U.S. share tracks with Amtrak and freight trains, therefore they are subject to Federal Railroad Administration regulations. FRA regulations require commuter trains to be heavier (in the belief that heavier trains are safer) and less efficient than commuter trains in Europe.

BayRail Alliance goal is to improve Caltrain service by converting its power source from diesel to electric, and use light weight European style rail cars. Caltrain is currently pursuing these goals under Project 2015.