A Guide to Traction

When trains move they use different types of traction. Traction is the power that pulls the train along.

Some trains are run using diesel power. Diesel is a type of fuel and is a bit like the petrol that people put in their cars. The diesel is pumped into the engine, which turns the generator. The generator is a machine that makes electricity. This electricity powers the motors that make the wheels turn and the train move.

Other trains are powered using overhead cables. These cables carry very high voltage electricity - around 25,000 volts. You should never go near these cables because they are very dangerous and you could be killed. The trains take the electricity from the overhead cables using a special metal arm called a pantograph. This electricity powers the motors and makes the train move.

Another way that trains are powered is by an electric rail on the ground. This runs next to the train tracks and is known as the third rail. The trains wheels run on the two tracks and then a device called a shoe connects to the third rail, picking up electricity and making the train move. Although this electric rail is not as high a voltage as the overhead cables, it is just as dangerous, as it looks just like the tracks.

A Guide to Tracks

Railway tracks guide trains from one place to another. The track is made up of many parts.

The rail is joined to sleepers which keep the two rails the right distance apart. Sleepers may be made of wood, concrete or steel. The rail sits in metal ‘chairs’ which are bolted onto the sleepers. Rail clips are used to fasten the rail to the chairs.

The track is supported by ballast which is broken bits of stone. The ballast holds the track in place and allows water to drain away easily when it rains.

Rails are joined together by fishplates which are bolted onto the rail ends at the rail joints.

Where two railway lines meet, points allow trains to go in different directions. The blades of the points are moved to direct the train along the right track.

A Guide to Signals

Signals tell the train driver when to stop and when to go. Modern colour light signals look a bit like traffic lights and some of the colours mean the same things. Each signal may have up to four lights.

A red light tells the driver to stop.

A green light tells the driver to go.

A yellow light tells the driver to slow down and be ready to stop at the next signal.

Two yellow lights mean  the next signal may be showing one yellow light.

Signals also tell the driver which way the train is going at junctions. (A junction is where two railway lines meet.) A junction route indicator lights up, pointing in the direction that the train will be going.

A Guide to Tickets

If you want to travel on a train, you need to buy a ticket. A ticket says where you are going to and how much you have paid. It might also say which trains you can go on and which places you can go through on the way. For some journeys you can buy First Class tickets, which let you travel in more comfortable carriages.
Single tickets let you go on a one-way journey.

Return tickets let you go on a journey and come back later.

Season tickets let you go on as many journeys as you like during a set time (for example, three months). They are useful for people who go to school or work everyday by train as they save buying lots of tickets, and are often cheaper too.

In some places you can buy tickets that let you go on buses or ships as well as trains.

At stations where there is a ticket office or a ticket machine, you should buy a ticket before you get on the train. In other places you should buy a ticket from the conductor on the train. You must always show your ticket if the conductor asks to see it.