Railway passenger service

See also Diesel Fuel Mass Transit Railway Passenger Service Steam Engines Transportation, Freight Delivery and Trevithick, Richard. 

The workhorses of most rail passenger systems are ordinary passenger trains operating at 70 to 160 km/hr. Table 1 shows the rail passenger traffic carried by most of the world s railways. The top three railway systems account for more than half of the world s passenger services, and the top six account for over two-thirds. Table 1 demonstrates another important point the entire developed world accounts for only 30 percent of rail passenger transport. North American, European, and Japanese experiences arc not representative of the vast bulk of the world s rail passengers. 

Motor vehicle includes a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semi-trailer, or any combination thereof, propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of passengers or property. It does not include a vehicle, locomotive, or car operated exciusiveiy on a raii or rails, or a trolley bus operated by electric power derived from a fixed overhead wire, furnishing local passenger transportation similar to street-railway service. 

The ETA railway coaches with 440-V lead-acid batteries were in service for decades by the German Railways. (Today they are no longer in use because passenger cars are preferred for low distance traffic.)... 

The providers of such a service need to appreciate what the customer wants, to have resources at their disposal to deliver an appropriate service and to make a reasonable return on their activities. It is not the purpose of this discussion to comment on the ability or otherwise of privatised railways to provide these services rather the focus is on appropriate technology to satisfy passenger needs at a reasonable cost, thus balancing the equation between customer and provider. 

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