Concept in Definition ABC

The railway is one of the means of transport most common and important today. It is a means of land transport, which means that it moves over the land. Throughout history, the railway has been launched by different methods and using different energies: the first type of railway ran on coal, while today the most advanced ones run on electrically.

Although there are records of primitive forms of railroad that lead us to the Middle Ages, the reality is that the railway as we understand it today arose at the time of the first industrial Revolution, that is to say in the middle of the 18th century and especially later, in the 19th century. The railway was developed as a freight transport system at first, which means that it served to move large quantities of cargo from one place to another. raw material or items that otherwise, due to their weight or volume, could not be easily transported. The railway thus fulfilled the objective of increasing the production and facilitate the distribution or transfer of elements of different types. Later, as this means of transport became popular, it also became an option for transporting people.

The railway today has lost much importance compared to other options such as air transport. This is so because the latter can cover much wider distances in less time, even across the oceans, something that the railroad cannot achieve as it is only terrestrial. Ships have also managed to win the battle against this weakness of the railroad. On the other hand, it remains a highly expensive means of transport in comparison with the benefits that air transport ensures.

However, proponents of the railroad argue that it has several benefits, including low environmental impact produced when it is an electric railway, the safety involving their transportation (that is, statistically low in accidents), and the possibility of enjoy the scenery (in the case of passenger transport) much more than what can be achieved in the plane.