Trains and Railroads are two excellent modes of transportation. The earliest use of rail roads was done in Germany in the 1550’s. The rails in those days used to be made of wood and the carts and wagons were horse-drawn. Gradually, the wooden rails were replaced by more solid and durable iron.

Invention of the steam engine was a landmark event in the history of trains and railroads. George Stephenson was the person who first invented the steam locomotive. Since then, the Railway industry has been revolutionized tremendously and now we have faster and comfortable trains. Train travel has undergone a sea change and evolved as the cheapest, safest, and best mode of transport for many parts of the world.

Railways used to make carrying cargo to the remotest parts of the world more convenient than roads. Building a rail network was a difficult and expensive task. But once completed it used to carry even heavy loads effortlessly to every location. Before the invention of the airplane, trains were the only mode of transportation to many remote locations of the world. The British had realized the potential of the railroads during its long colonial past. They had set up railroads in most of their colonies to get greater mobility. Indian Railways, one of the largest rail networks in the world, was also started by the British during their colonial days. They had even set up rail roads deep into the jungles of the African continent to facilitate smooth transport of goods. Railroads have also contributed to the rapid growth of the American economy. USA was a vast country and railroads were the only transport for smooth and efficient mobilization of the resources.

Over the years, technology has improved by leaps and bounds. This has been quite evident in the development of the train industry as a whole. Now, electric engines have taken over from the old-fashioned steam engines. Use of electric current has revolutionized the train industry. Train speeds are increasing by the day. There seems to be a healthy competition between the train manufacturers to bring out better and faster trains. Japanese technology can be regarded as the best in the world when it comes to producing high-speed trains. They are innovative and hard working people and they have contributed tremendously in the development of modern day trains.

Faster trains have their disadvantages as well. With the increase in the speed of the trains and the train traffic, the number of accidents too has gone up in recent times. Sometimes the accidents occur due to the human errors and sometimes due to mechanical failures. It is high time that the safety aspect of the trains are given due importance before it is too late.