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lways are one of the most essential modes of transportation in the world. They have made it possible for people and goods to move quickly and efficiently over long distances. However, there are many interesting facts about railways that are not widely known. In this article, we will explore 100 cool and unique pieces of information about railways. 1. The first railway in the world was built in England in 1804. 2. The world's oldest railway station is The Mount on the Oystermouth Railway (now known as the Swansea and Mumbles) in Swansea, Wales. 3. The world's first electric train was built in Berlin in 1879. 4. The world's first commercially successful steam locomotive was built in England in 1811. 5. The fastest steam locomotive on record was the LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard, which reached a speed of 126 mph (203 km/h) in 1938. 6. The longest railway tunnel in the world is the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland, which is 57 km long. 7. The world's largest railway station by area is Grand Central Terminal in New York City. 8. The world's busiest railway station by passenger traffic is Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, Japan. 9. The world's longest non-stop railway journey is on the Moscow - Pyongyang route, which covers 10,267 km (6,380 miles). 10 The world's largest model railway is Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany, covering an area of more than 1,490 square meters. 11. The longest non-stop passenger train journey in the world is on the Trans-Siberian Railway, covering a distance of 9,288 km (5,771 miles). 12. The world's first railway bridge constructed entirely of iron was built in 1779 by Abraham Darby III of Coalbrookdale. 13. The world's first railway tunnel was the 4,400-feet (1,340-meter) long Box Tunnel in Bath, England. 14. The British Empire once boasted the world's largest railway network, with more than 42,000 miles of track. 15. Over 1.2 million people work in the railway industry in the United States. 16. The world's first underground railway was the London Underground, which opened in 1863. 17. The longest railway platform in the world is in Gorakhpur, India, measuring 1,366 meters (4,482 ft). 18. The world's first passenger railway service was established in Middleton, near Manchester, England, in 1807. 19. The world's first railway to use a steam locomotive to haul passengers was the Stockton and Darlington Railway in England, which launched in 1825. 20. The world's first railway timetable was introduced in 1839 by the London and Birmingham Railway. 21. The world's first railway line to carry passengers only was between Liverpool and Manchester, England, in 1830. 22. The railway is one of the most energy-efficient modes of transportation, generating up to three times fewer CO2 emissions per passenger-kilometer than cars and planes. 23. The first railway to use iron tracks exclusively was the Llanelli Railway in Wales, which opened in 1815. 24. The world's first railway carriages were horse-drawn, before the introduction of steam engines in the 1820s. 25. The world's first railway accident occurred in 1830, when the boiler of the locomotive exploded on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, killing one person. 26. The highest railway in the world is the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in China, with a highest point of 16,640 feet (5,072 meters) above sea level. 27. The world's first railway to use a standard gauge (distance between the tracks) was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in England. 28. The world's first railway line to carry mail was the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1831. 29. The world's first commercial railway line to use steam locomotives was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. 30. The world's first steam-powered ferry was the Juliana, which operated on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Scotland in 1812. 31. The world's first electric locomotive was built by Werner von Siemens in Germany in 1879. 32. The world's first high-speed rail line was the French TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse), which began service in 1981. 33. The world's first recorded railway fatality was William Huskisson, a British politician, who was hit by an engine during the opening ceremony of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830. 34. The world's first transcontinental railway was completed in the United States in 1869, connecting the east and west coasts of the country. 35. The world's first railway line to use a locomotive built in America was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1829. 36. The custom of using the term "cowcatcher" to describe the protruding front of a locomotive originated in the United States in the 1840s. 37. The term "dinner pail" or "lunch pail" to describe a metal container used to carry a worker's lunch was first used by American railway workers in the late 19th century. 38. The world's first railway line to use a double-track was the steam-powered Stockton and Darlington Railway in England, which opened in 1825. 39. The world's first railway line to use a triple-track was the Grand Trunk Railway's Victoria Bridge in Montreal, Canada. 40. The world's first railway line to use a quadruple-track was the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in the United States. 41. The world's first railway line to use a roundhouse (a building for the storage and maintenance of locomotives) was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1839. 42. The world's first railway line to use track switches was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in England. 43. The first synchronized train stop signal (red and green lights to indicate whether a train should proceed or stop) was invented by American railway engineer Granville Woods in 1887. 44. The first automatic block signaling system (used for controlling train traffic by communicating the location of trains on a track) was introduced on the Pennsylvania Railroad in the United States in 1936. 45. The world's first rail-suspended monorail was developed by American inventor Joseph L. Brennan in the early 20th century. 46. The world's first electric tramway was installed in Berlin in 1881. 47. The world's first electrified railway using overhead wires was the Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tramway in Austria in 1883. 48. The world's first diesel-electric locomotive was built by General Electric in the United States in 1924. 49. The world's first railway line to use air brakes (which allow the engineer to control the brakes on all cars at once) was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in the United States in 1887. 50. The first successful trial of a steam-powered the run on tracks was conducted by Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick in 1804. 51. The first railway to use a steel bridge was the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in the United States in 1907. 52. The world's first railway line to use a pneumatic locomotive (powered by compressed air) was the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales in 1863. 53. The first railway line to use a vacuum brake (which worked by creating a partial vacuum in a tube connected to the brakes) was the Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramroad in England in 1867. 54. The world's first railway bridge to employ a cantilever design (which consists of rigid horizontal beams supported at only one end) was the Forth Bridge in Scotland, completed in 1890. 55. The world's first railway line to be electrified using a third rail (an additional rail carrying power) was the City and South London Railway in England in 1890. 56. The world's first electromagnetic train was developed by the Japanese National Railways in 1972. 57. The world's first train to travel faster than 300 km/h (186 mph) was the French TGV Atlantique in 1990. 58. The world's first railway line to use a solar-powered train was the Byron Bay Railroad Company in Australia, which opened in 2017. 59. The world's first railway line to use a hydrogen-powered train was the Coradia iLint in Germany, which commenced operation in 2018. 60. The world's first railway line to use a fully autonomous (driverless) train was the Rio Tinto Railway in Western Australia, which began operating in 2018. 61. The world's first railway line to use bi-mode (dual-powered) trains was the UK's Hitachi Class 800 and Class 802 trains, which commenced operation in 2017. 62. The world's first railway line to use maglev (magnetic levitation) trains was the Linimo in Japan, which began operation in 2005. 63. The world's first railway to use a floating train systems was the Wuppertal Suspension Railway in Germany, which opened in 1901. 64. The world's first monorail system to operate on a single rail was the Lartigue Monorail in Ireland in 1888. 65. The world's first railway line to use a tilting train (which enables trains to negotiate curves at higher speeds by leaning into the turn) was the Italian Pendolino in 1988. 66. The world's first railway line to use a funicular railway (which employs a cable to pull a pair of trams up a steep incline) was the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in the United States, which opened in 1827. 67. The world's first railway line to be powered entirely by wind energy was the Kintore Wind Farm in Scotland, which opened in 2019. 68. The world's first railway line to carry 1 million tonnes of freight in a single train was the BHP Billiton Iron Ore train in Australia, which did so in 2001. 69. The world's first railway line to use a tunnel boring machine was the Marmaray Tunnel in Istanbul, Turkey, which opened in 2013. 70. The world's first railway line to use a high-speed shuttle train to connect airports (between France's Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris Gare du Nord) was the CDGVAL in 2007. 71. The world's first railway line to use a mobile app to book and board trains was the Swedish MTR Express in 2018. 72. The world's first railway line to use virtual and augmented reality (for immersive onboard entertainment) was the VR Train in Finland in 2017. 73. The world's first underground railway line to use driverless trains was the Paris Metro Line 14, which opened in 1998. 74. The world's first railway line to use a hydrogen fuel cell train (which generates electricity by combining hydrogen with oxygen) for passenger service was the Coradia iLint in Germany in 2018. 75. The world's first railway line to use a methane-powered locomotive was the AnsaldoBreda DMU P3 in Italy in 2010 76. The world's first carbon-neutral railway line was achieved by the West Somerset Railway in England, which offset all carbon emissions from locomotives and premises in 2010 77. The world's first railway line to use an artificial intelligence assistant (for passenger services) was the Moscow Metro in 2017. 78. The world's first railway line to use blockchain technology (for secure and transparent ticketing) was the Australian national rail operator in 2016. 79. The world's first railway line to use a blockchain-based rewards program (for passengers who reduce carbon emissions) was the Swedish MTR Express in 2018. 80. The world's first railway line to use an AI-powered virtual assistant (for maintenance and operations) was the Japan National Railways in 2017. 81. The world's first railway line to use a robot conductor (for sales and customer service) was the Keikyu railway in Japan in 2017. 82. The world's first railway line to offer a fully vegan menu on board was the Virgin Trains West Coast in the United Kingdom in 2018. 83. The world's first railway line to use a biodiesel fuel mixture (for locomotives) was the Southwest Chief Route in the United States in 2007. 84. The world's first railway line to harvest rainwater (for washing trains) was the Nairobi Commuter Rail in Kenya in 2018. 85. The world's first railway line to use a Li-Fi (light fidelity) internet connection (for onboard internet) was the Indian Railways in 2019. 86. The world's first railway line to use a blockchain-based payment system (for ticketing and other payments) was the Thai national rail operator in 2019. 87. The world's first railway line to use a wheelchair-accessible sleeper carriage was the Caledonian Sleeper in the United Kingdom in 2019. 88. The world's first railway line to introduce gender-specific seating (to prevent harassment) was the Delhi Metro in India in 2019. 89. The world's first railway line to use a virtual reality employee training program was the Canadian Pacific Railway in 2019. 90. The world's first railway line to use a spatio-temporal database system (for real-time train tracking) was the Chicago Transit Authority in 2019. 91. The world's first railway line to use a fully electric locomotive (for freight) was the Siemens Vectron locomotive in Germany in 2017. 92. The world's first railway line to use solid-state batteries (for locomotives) was the Coradia iLint in Germany in 2018. 93. The world's first railway line to use a bio-composite material (for train components) was the Dutch Syntus railway in 2017. 94. The world's first railway line to use a hydrogen-powered freight train was French train maker Alstom in 2020. 95. The world's first railway line to use a biometric payment system (for enhanced security) was the Washington Metro in the United States in 2020. 96. The world's first railway line to use augmented reality headsets (for maintenance and training) was the Swiss Federal Railways in 2021. 97. The world's first railway line to use an AI-powered predictive maintenance system was the Finnish VR Group in 2021. 98. The world's first railway line to use a battery-powered train for long-distance travel was the Zephyr in the United States in 2021. 99. The world's first railway line to use a hydrogen fuel cell train for long-distance travel was the Mireo Plus H in Germany in 2021. 100. The world's first railway line to use a carriage powered by solar energy was the Solar Train in Australia in 2021. In conclusion, railways have a long and fascinating history, and they continue to innovate and evolve, as evidenced by these interesting facts about railways. They play a significant role in our daily lives and the global economy, and it's exciting to see where railway technology will go in the future.
