![]() ![]() In the 1880s, electrified trains were introduced, leading to electrification of tramways and rapid transit systems. The world's first underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway (part of the London Underground), opened in 1863. The invention and development of the railway in the United Kingdom was one of the most important technological inventions of the 19th century. Prior to this, major towns and cities varied their local time relative to GMT. The spread of the railway network and the use of railway timetables, led to the standardisation of time (railway time) in Britain based on Greenwich Mean Time. The change from canals to railways allowed for "national markets" in which prices varied very little from city to city. Also, railways reduced the costs of shipping, and allowed for fewer lost goods, compared with water transport, which faced occasional sinking of ships. With steam engines, one could construct mainline railways, which were a key component of the Industrial Revolution. George Stephenson also built the first public inter-city railway line in the world to use only the steam locomotives, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened in 1830. 1 is the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. Built by George Stephenson and his son Robert's company Robert Stephenson and Company, the Locomotion No. Thus the railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world. Modern rail transport commenced with the British development of the steam locomotive in Merthyr Tydfil when Richard Trevithick ran a steam locomotive and loaded wagons between Penydarren Ironworks and Abercynon in 1802. Rail transport then commenced in mid 16th century in Germany in the form of horse-powered funiculars and wagonways. The oldest known, man/animal-hauled railways date back to the 6th century BC in Corinth, Greece. Railway transport is capable of high levels of passenger and cargo utilisation and energy efficiency, but is often less flexible and more capital-intensive than road transport, when lower traffic levels are considered. Railways are a safe land transport system when compared to other forms of transport. Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electric power from a railway electrification system or produce their own power, usually by diesel engines or, historically, steam engines. The operation is carried out by a railway company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilities. Rolling stock in a rail transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than rubber-tyred road vehicles, so passenger and freight cars (carriages and wagons) can be coupled into longer trains. ![]()
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