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Rail transport operations

Rail transport operations are the day-to-day operations of a railway. A railway has two major components: the infrastructure (the permanent way, tracks, stations, freight facilities, viaducts, tunnels, etc.) and the rolling stock (the passenger coaches, locomotives, freight cars, etc.)

Ownership and operation of these two components varies by location. In some places (notably, most of North America) private railway companies own and operate both the infrastructure and rolling stock (for example, Union Pacific). In the United Kingdom, the infrastructure is owned and maintained by Network Rail while rolling stock is largely owned and operated by private railway companies. In countries with nationalized rail systems such as China and France, both the infrastructure and rolling stock are owned and operated directly or indirectly by the national government.

Operation[edit]

The operation of the railway is through a system of control, originally by mechanical means, but nowadays more usually electronic and computerized.

the passengers validate the tickets themselves (by perforating it, for instance) which is randomly checked by a . This method is sometimes referred to as Proof-of-payment and is used extensively on one-man operated rail and bus lines, and may be controlled through the use of ticket barriers at entrances, especially in larger stations, or

ticket controller

a checks all persons on the train for valid tickets and devaluate them, so they cannot be used again.

conductor