Rail transportation services

Rail transport is where atrainruns along a set of two parallelsteelrails, known as a railway or railroad. The rails are anchoredperpendiculartoties(or sleepers) of timber, concrete or steel, to maintain a consistent distance apart, orgauge. The rails and perpendicular beams are placed on a foundation made of concrete, or compressedearthandgravelin a bed of ballast. Alternative methods includemonorailandmaglev.

A train consists of one or more connected vehicles that run on the rails. Propulsion is commonly provided by a locomotive, that hauls a series of unpowered cars, that can carry passengers or freight. The locomotive can be powered by steam, diesel or by electricity supplied by trackside systems. Alternatively, some or all the cars can be powered, known as a multiple unit. Also, a train can be powered by horses, cables, gravity, pneumatics andgas turbines. Railed vehicles move with much less friction than rubber tires on paved roads, making trains more energy efficient, though not as efficient as ships.