Industrial railwayAn industrial railway is a type of railway (usually private) that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics, or military site. In regions of the world influenced by British railway culture and management practices, they are often referred to as tramways (which are distinct from trams or streetcars, a passenger technology). Industrial railways may connect the site to public freight networks through sidings, or may be isolated (sometimes very far away from public rail or surface roads) or located entirely within a served property.
Goods stationA goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are loaded onto or unloaded off of ships or road vehicles and/or where goods wagons are transferred to local sidings. A station where goods are not specifically received or dispatched, but simply transferred on their way to their destination between the railway and another means of transport, such as ships or lorries, may be referred to as a transshipment station.
StagecoachA stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are drawn by six horses. Commonly used before steam-powered rail transport was available, a stagecoach made long scheduled trips using stage stations or posts where the stagecoach's horses would be replaced by fresh horses. The business of running stagecoaches or the act of journeying in them was known as staging.
Common carrierA common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems, usually called simply a carrier) is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport. A common carrier offers its services to the general public under license or authority provided by a regulatory body, which has usually been granted "ministerial authority" by the legislation that created it.
OverpassAn overpass (called an overbridge or flyover in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries) is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An overpass and underpass together form a grade separation. Stack interchanges are made up of several overpasses. The world's first railroad flyover was constructed in 1843 by the London and Croydon Railway at Norwood Junction railway station to carry its atmospheric railway vehicles over the Brighton Main Line.
Rail transport operationsRail 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 locomotives, passenger coaches, 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).
Rubber-tyred metroA rubber-tyred metro or rubber-tired metro is a form of rapid transit system that uses a mix of road and rail technology. The vehicles have wheels with rubber tires that run on rolling pads inside guide bars for traction, as well as traditional railway steel wheels with deep flanges on steel tracks for guidance through conventional switches as well as guidance in case a tyre fails. Most rubber-tyred trains are purpose-built and designed for the system on which they operate.
Economy of the United KingdomThe economy of the United Kingdom is a highly developed social market economy. It is the sixth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), tenth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP), and twenty second-highest by nominal GDP per capita, constituting 3.1% of nominal world GDP. By PPP (purchasing power parity) terms, the UK constitutes 2.3% of world GDP. The United Kingdom has one of the most globalised economies, and comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Diesel generatorA diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine generator. A diesel compression-ignition engine is usually designed to run on diesel fuel, but some types are adapted for other liquid fuels or natural gas. Diesel generating sets are used in places without connection to a power grid, or as an emergency power supply if the grid fails, as well as for more complex applications such as peak-lopping, grid support, and export to the power grid.
Freight forwarderA freight forwarder, or forwarding agent, is a person or a company who, for a fee, organizes shipments for the shipper (an individual/party that arranges an item for shipment) by liaising with carriers (an individual/party that transports goods). A forwarder does not move the goods but acts as an agent in the logistics network. The carriers can use a variety of shipping modes, including ships, airplanes, trucks, and railroads, and often use multiple modes for a single shipment.
