What rides on rails: a complete guide to rail transport

When we hear the question “what runs on rails,” the first thing we think of is a classic passenger train or freight train. However, the world of rail transport is much more diverse: from high-speed Sapsan cars to tiny mine trolleys, from city trams to industrial locomotives in factories. Rails are not just steel guides, but the basis of an entire transport ecosystem that connects cities, transports millions of tons of goods and keeps businesses running.

In this article we will analyze all types of transport moving on rails, from the most obvious to the exotic. You will learn how modern trains work, how trams differ from light rail, where narrow-gauge roads are used, and why some types of rail transport have almost disappeared. And also - what technical nuances make each type unique?, and where they can be found in 2026.

1. Passenger trains: from commuter trains to high-speed express trains

Passenger trains are the most popular type of rail transport, transporting millions of people every day. They are divided into several categories according to route distance, speed and comfort:

• 🚆 Suburban trains — run over distances of up to 200 km, often with frequent stops (example: Estonia2, ED4M).
• 🚄 High speed trains — develop speeds from 160 km/h (for example, "Swallow" or Talgo).
• 💨 High speed express trains — overcome 250+ km/h ("Sapsan", TGV, Shinkansen).
• 🛌 Long distance trains — with sleeping cars for routes 1000+ km (Russian Railways branded trains).

The main difference between modern passenger trains is traction type. Electric trains (for example, ES1 "Swallow") operate from a contact network, and diesel locomotives (as TEP70) - on diesel fuel. The latter are more often used in non-electrified areas, for example, in Siberia or the Far East. Interestingly, in Europe they are actively implementing hybrid trains (for example, Alstom Coradia iLint), powered by hydrogen fuel cells - they are already operating in Germany and the Netherlands.

An important technical nuance: high-speed trains require special infrastructure. For example, for "Peregrine" on the Moscow-St. Petersburg line, rails with seamless way and a reinforced ballast layer, and the turning radii are increased to 4–5 km (versus 1–2 km on conventional railways). This reduces wheel wear and allows you to reach speeds up to 250 km/h.

⚠️ Attention: On high-speed lines it is prohibited to use rolling stock that is not certified for speeds above 200 km/h. For example, an ordinary passenger car of the model 61-4170 will fall apart at such a speed due to insufficient body strength.

2. Freight trains: how they transport coal, oil and containers

Freight trains are the basis of the economy of many countries. In Russia, for example, railways account for about 85% of cargo turnover (Russian Railways data for 2023). Their key features:

• 📦 Universal platforms - for containers, equipment, forests.
• 🛢️ Tanks — transportation of oil, gas, chemicals (for example, model 15-1500).
• 🚂 Hoppers — for bulk cargo (coal, ore, grain).
• ❄️ Refrigerators — ice wagons for perishable products.

Freight locomotives are divided into main (for long-distance transport, like 2ES10 "Granite") and shunting (for forming trains at stations, for example, TEM18DM). Interesting fact: the most powerful freight locomotive in the world is American Union Pacific Big Boy (1941), which could pull a train weighing up to 5,000 tons! Today his record was broken by modern electric locomotives 4ES5K "Ermak" (Russia), capable of carrying up to 7,000 tons.

Car type	Load capacity (t)	Examples of cargo	Features
Platform	70–72	Containers, equipment, metal structures	Open top, often with sides
Gondola car	70–75	Coal, ore, timber	High sides, unloading through hatches
tank	60–120	Oil, gas, chemicals	Sealed housing, often heated
Hopper	65–70	Grain, cement, minerals	Automatic unloading through the bottom

One of the main challenges for freight transport is last mile problem. Large trains can only deliver cargo to railway stations, and then road transport is required. Solve this with container terminals (for example, Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region), where cargo is reloaded onto cars or ships.

3. Metro and trams: urban rail transport

In cities, rail transport is represented by metro, trams and light rail transport (LRT). Their main advantage is high passenger capacity and independence from traffic jams.

• 🚇 Metropolitan — underground (less often surface) lines with electric trains. The deepest metro in the world - Pyongyang (North Korea), with a station at a depth of 110 meters!
• 🚋 Trams - ground transport moving on rails at road level. Modern models (for example, "Vityaz-M" in Moscow) are equipped with batteries for movement without a contact network.
• 🚝 Light rail transport (LRT) - a hybrid of tram and metro (for example, line M1 in Minsk). Often has dedicated paths and partially underground sections.

Technical feature of the metro - track width. In Russia and the CIS countries the standard gauge is 1520 mm (the so-called “broad gauge”), while in Europe and the USA it is used 1435 mm (“Stephenson track”). This complicates connecting international routes. For example, on the border of Poland and Ukraine, trains are forced to stop for rearrangement of carts - a procedure that takes up to 2 hours!

⚠️ Attention: In some cities (for example, Volgograd), tram tracks are laid along narrow gauge railway (track 1000 mm). This means that cars from other cities will not fit there; you will have to order special models from the manufacturer.

Modern trams are equipped with systems priority at traffic lights (as in Kazan), which speeds up their movement by 15–20%. And in Melbourne (Australia) has the world's largest tram network - 250 km of tracks and 1,700 stops!

Why are tram tracks removed in some cities?

The main reasons are the deterioration of the infrastructure (rails and contact networks require constant repair), the growth of automobile traffic and the transition to buses or subways. For example, in Moscow, more than 100 km of tram tracks have been dismantled since 2010, although some lines (like Cheryomushki) were retained as “tourist lines”.

4. Industrial and special rail transport

In addition to passenger and freight transport, rails are used in factories, mines, ports and even amusement parks. Here are the most unusual examples:

• ⛏️ Mining locomotives — small battery or diesel “trains” for moving trolleys in mines. For example, LV-14 (Russia) weighs only 3 tons, but pulls up to 20 trolleys.
• 🏭 Factory carts - move parts between workshops (for example, in car factories GAZ or KAMAZ).
• 🚢 Port cranes on rails — reload containers from ships to trains (for example, Gantry crane in the port of Ust-Luga).
• 🎢 Attractions - roller coasters and children's railways (for example, in Disneyland park has its own narrow-gauge railway).

One of the most exotic species - funiculars and cable cars on rails. For example, funicular in Odessa (Ukraine) has been operating since 1902 and lifts passengers to a height of 32 meters in 2 minutes. And in Switzerland there are mountain railways with toothed rail system (for example, Pilatusbahn), where the locomotives are “hooked” on special teeth to prevent them from rolling down a steep slope.

Often used in industry narrow gauge roads (track 750 mm or 600 mm). They are cheaper to build and allow for tight turns. For example, on Baikal-Amur Mainline During construction, temporary narrow-gauge railways were used to deliver materials to hard-to-reach places.

5. Monorails and maglevs: transport of the future

Rail transport does not stand still - engineers are developing ever faster and more environmentally friendly systems. The two most promising areas:

• 🚝 Monorail — the train moves along one rail beam (for example, monorail in Moscow from Timiryazevskaya station to VDNKh). Advantages: compactness and the ability to lay over highways.
• 🧲 Maglev - Magnetic levitation trains, which do not touch the rails, but “hover” above them due to magnetic repulsion. Speed record - 603 km/h (train LR Maglev in Japan).

Technology maglev has not yet received mass distribution due to the high cost of infrastructure. For example, line Shanghai Maglev (China) 30 km long cost $1.2 billion - this is 3-4 times more expensive than a classic high-speed railway. However, maglev has undeniable advantages:

• No friction → less wear and quiet.
• Ability to reach speeds up to 500+ km/h.
• Environmental friendliness (no emissions if electricity is obtained from renewable energy sources).

In Russia, the maglev project was developed for the Moscow-St. Petersburg line, but was frozen due to sanctions and difficulties with financing. But in Kazan testing from 2022 hybrid maglev tram - it can switch between regular rails and magnetic track.

6. Narrow gauge roads: where else do “small trains” travel?

Narrow gauge railways (gauge less 1435 mm) are rare today, but are still in demand in specific areas:

• 🌲 Logging — in the taiga regions of Siberia and the Far East, narrow-gauge railways are used to export timber.
• 🏔️ Mountain roads - for example, Abrau-Durso (Krasnodar region) or Ratskaya narrow gauge railway (Slovakia).
• 🎪 Children's railways — operate in 25 cities of Russia (for example, in Yekaterinburg or Krasnoyarsk).
• 🏗️ Construction — temporary routes for the delivery of materials (for example, during the construction of a hydroelectric power station).

The most famous narrow gauge railway in Russia is Kudinskaya Children's Railway (Irkutsk), where the track is 750 mm, and the trains are driven by young drivers under the guidance of adult instructors. It's interesting that in Poland still valid Gdynia narrow gauge railway (track 750 mm), which transports tourists to the picturesque places of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

The main problem of narrow gauge roads is incompatibility with the main network. For example, if the factory gauge 900 mm, and on the access roads of Russian Railways - 1520 mm, then to reload cargo you will need a crane or a special reloading platform. Therefore, new narrow-gauge railways are built extremely rarely, only where it is not economically feasible to lay standard tracks.

7. Rail transport that disappeared (or almost disappeared)

Some types of rail transport were once popular, but today are found only in museums or as tourist attractions:

• 🚂 Steam locomotives - until the 1950s the main traction force, today preserved as retro trains (for example, "Golden Eagle" on the Tula narrow-gauge railway).
• 🚠 Horse-drawn - horse-drawn tram (the latter in Russia worked in Kaliningrad until 1973).
• 🛤️ Railcars and motorized railcars - self-propelled carts for track repairs, today replaced by track machines (for example, PMG).
• 🚡 Funiculars with water counterweight - old systems where cars moved due to the overflow of water (preserved in Lisbon).

One of the most unusual extinct species - pneumatic train. In the 1860s, trains were tested in France and England that moved due to the difference in air pressure in the pipe. The project was closed due to high cost and low reliability, but the idea was revived in Hyperloop - futuristic transport being developed Elon Musk.

In the USSR in the 1930–1950s they actively used steam locomotives (series Ov), who worked on wood or coal. Today, several of these locomotives remain in working order - they can be seen on Circular railway in St. Petersburg or in museum in Riga.

Why did the steam locomotives disappear?

The main reasons are low efficiency (only 5–8% of coal's energy was converted into motion), difficulty of maintenance (requires a stoker, water, coal) and environmental damage. The last regular passenger route with steam locomotive traction in Russia (on the line Abakan—Taishet) closed in 1995.

8. How to choose rail transport for business or personal needs

If you plan to use rail transport for freight, tourism or industrial purposes, consider the following criteria:

1. Type of cargo or passenger traffic — hoppers are suitable for bulk materials, retro trains are suitable for tourists.
2. Route length — for short distances (up to 50 km) diesel locomotives are optimal, for long distances — electric locomotives.
3. Infrastructure — check the track width, the condition of the tracks and the presence of electrification.
4. Budget — purchasing a new locomotive costs $500,000–$5 million, and renting from $1,000 per month.

For small businesses it is often more profitable to rent rolling stock from operators (for example, "Transoil" or "Russian Troika"). And if you need a narrow-gauge railway for tourism, you can buy used cars from Europe - after the closure of many lines, there is a lot of equipment left at a price 2-3 times lower than new ones.

⚠️ Attention: When purchasing a used locomotive or carriage, be sure to check rolling stock passport and repair history. For example, cars that have worked for more than 30 years in freight transportation may have fatigue cracks in the frame, which prohibits their operation without major repairs.

Suitable for personal use (for example, a mini-railway in the country) garden engines on a gasoline engine (price from 150,000 rubles) or electric models (from 200,000 rubles). The main thing is to make sure that the track matches the width of the laid rails (usually 381 mm or 508 mm for children's roads).

FAQ: Frequently asked questions about rail transport

❓ Why do the metro and railway have different gauge widths?

Historically, Russia and the CIS countries use “broad gauge” (1520 mm), inherited from the USSR. This allows trains to be more stable on long routes, especially in snowy winters. The track in the metro is already - 1520 mm or 1435 mm (in new lines), since such stability is not needed here, but it is important to save space in the tunnels.

❓ Is it possible to convert tram tracks into a light metro?

Technically yes, but it's expensive. For example, in Volgograd tram tracks were modernized for light rail (line ST-1), adding dedicated lanes and priority traffic lights. A full-fledged metro will require the construction of tunnels, which will cost 10–15 times more (about $100 million per km versus $5–10 million per km for a tram).

❓ Which trains are the most environmentally friendly?

Leaders in environmental friendliness:

1. Electric trains powered by renewable energy sources - if electricity is obtained from solar or wind stations (for example, in the Netherlands All electric trains run on wind energy).
2. Hydrogen trains - how Alstom Coradia iLint (release of water vapor only).
3. Hybrid locomotives - combine diesel and batteries (for example, TEM9H from "Sinara").

The worst option is old diesel locomotives (for example, TE3), which emit up to 50 g of soot per km.

❓ How much does the rail weigh and how is it laid?

Standard rail type P65 (the most common in Russia) weighs 64.72 kg/m, and its length is 12.5 or 25 m. Laying occurs as follows:

1. Preparation of the base (crushed stone “pillow”).
2. Installation of sleepers (wooden or reinforced concrete) in increments of 50–60 cm.
3. Fastening the rails to the sleepers using crutches or anchor bolts.
4. Welding rails in seamless path (length up to 800 m).

Rails are used for high-speed lines P75 (weight 74.41 kg/m) and concrete sleepers, which last longer and maintain track geometry better.

❓ Is it possible to lay rails on your site?

Yes, but with reservations:

• For personal use (for example, a children's railway) permits are not needed if the length of the tracks is less than 100 m and they do not extend beyond the site.
• For commercial use (for example, a tourist narrow-gauge railway) will require approval from Rostransnadzor and local administration.
• If the paths cross highways, you need a project in traffic police.

The cost of laying 1 km of narrow gauge railway (gauge 750 mm) - from 3 million rubles, broad-gauge - from 10 million rubles.