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The history of rail transport in Great Britain to 1830 covers the period up to the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world's first intercity passenger railway operated solely by steam locomotives. The earliest form of railways, horse-drawn wagonways, originated in Germany in the 16th century. Soon wagonways were also built in ...
From the start of 1948, the railways were nationalised to form British Railways (latterly "British Rail") under the control of the British Transport Commission. [51] Though there were few initial changes to the service, usage increased and the network became profitable.
Rail technology was introduced to the Ottoman Empire in 1850s, with the first railway in the empire built in 1854 by the British between Cairo and Alexandria. [111] In the modern boundaries of Turkey the first railway was inaugerated in 188, departing from Smyrna , modern day Izmir . [ 112 ]
The name "Great Western Railway", alone of all the pre-Grouping companies, was retained until the nationalisation of the railways; and one of the post-British Rail train operating companies now bears the name in 2005. Manchester Victoria station, built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR)
However, regular passenger services did not start until 1831. 1828 – Railway (horse-drawn carriage) České Budějovice – Linz, first public railway in continental Europe, with length 120 km and rail gauge 1,106 mm (3 ft 7 1⁄2 in), section České Budějovice – Kerschbaum put into operation on 30 September 1828. [citation needed]
Here, the vast majority of the railway system standardised on the standard gauge of 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (1,435 mm). History of rail transport in Ireland discusses the history of rail transport on the island of Ireland, comprising the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Here a system using a broad gauge of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) developed.
According to the European Railway Agency, in 2013 Britain had the safest railways in Europe based on the number of train safety incidents. [ 21 ] At the end of September 2003, the first part of High Speed 1 , a high-speed link to the Channel Tunnel and onward to France and Belgium, was completed, significantly adding to the rail infrastructure ...
Train wheels rolling over the spikes loosened them, allowing the rail to break free and curve upwards sufficiently that a car wheel could get beneath it and force the end of the rail up through the floor of the car, writhing and twisting, endangering passengers. These broken rails became known as "snake heads". [14]