Railway facts

Wuppertal. The 13.3 kilometres (8.3 mi) long Wuppertal Suspension Railway is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world. It was opened in 1901, and is still in use today as a normal means of local public transport, moving 25 million passengers annually (2008). The system was originally designed by Eugen Langen to sell to the city of Berlin, but never got there.

1964. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen began service on 1 October 1964, in time for the first Tokyo Olympics. The first Shinkansen trains, the 0 series, ran at speeds of up to 210 km/h. Now the maximum operating speed is 320 km/h, with a test run of a world record 603 km/h reached in 2015.

One. Vatican Railway consists of two 300-metre sets of rail tracks and two freight sidings. It is the shortest national railway system in the world, with only one station. Most railway traffic consists of inbound freight goods, although the railway has occasionally carried passengers, usually for symbolic or ceremonial reasons.

In England. In 1825, George Stephenson launched the first public line between Stockton and Darlington. It was about 15 km long, and the first steam locomotive covered the route in 65 minutes.