train
1 different kinds of train
2 parts of trains
3 travelling on trains
4 the movement of trains
see also TRANSPORT, TRAVEL
1 different kinds of train
- a number of carriages or wagons that are pulled by an engine along a railway line: train
a diesel/electric/steam train ◎ a fast/slow train
- a train that carries people: passenger train
- a train that carries goods: goods train, (especially AmE) freight train
- a slow train that stops at a lot of places: local train, stopping train
- a fast train that only stops at big or important places: intercity (train), express (train)
- a train that has compartments where passengers can sleep: sleeper
2 parts of trains
- one of the separate parts of a train where people sit: carriage, coach
'Which coach are we in?' 'F, I think.'
- one of the separate sections into which some train carriages are divided: compartment
a non-smoking compartment
- a place where you can sit in a train: seat
Hurry up or you won't get a seat!
- a place above the seats where luggage can be put: luggage-rack
- a passage between the rows of seats in a train: aisle
- a long, narrow passage along one side of a carriage: corridor
- a type of carriage where there are places for people to sleep: sleeping car
- a type of carriage where food and drinks can be bought: buffet car
- a type of carriage where meals are served: restaurant car
- a machine that pulls a train: engine, locomotive
- an open truck used for transporting goods: goods truck, goods wagon (AmE freight car)
3 travelling on trains
- using a train or trains to travel: by train, on the train, by rail
Will you go by car or by train? ◎ We came up on the train. ◎ Travel by rail can be cheaper than by car.
- to travel to a place by train: take* a/the train, catch* a/the train, get* a/the train
I don't think I'll fly to London. It's cheaper to take the train. ◎ We drove to Norwich and then caught the train to York.
- a person who travels on a train but does not drive it or work on it: passenger
- to arrange to get a seat on a train: reserve a seat, make* a reservation; a seat that has been reserved is a reserved seat
The train was crowded and unfortunately I hadn't reserved a seat.
- a seat that sb is already using is taken
Excuse me, is this seat taken?
- a seat with nobody in it is empty
All the empty seats were reserved.
- the money you pay to travel from one place to another on a train: fare
How much is the fare to Cambridge?
- a piece of paper that shows that you have paid for your journey: ticket
- a ticket to travel to a place and back again: return (ticket)
a day return (= that allows you to return on the same day)
- a ticket to travel to a place but not back again: single (ticket)
- a ticket that allows you to make a particular journey by train as often as you like and for a fixed period of time: season ticket
a three-month season ticket
- a special card that allows you to buy train tickets more cheaply if you are an old person, a student, etc: railcard
- the best and most expensive type of seat on a train: first-class; the second best type of seat: second-class, (BrE) standard class
a first-class ticket to Glasgow
- to climb onto a train: get* on (sth), (formal) board sth
We only just got on before the train left.
- to succeed in getting onto a train before it leaves the station: catch* sth; opposite: miss sth
'Did they catch their train?' 'No, they just missed it.'
- to leave a train: get* off
Which stop do you get off at?
- to get off one train and get onto another: change (trains)
You can catch a later train if you want, but you'll have to change at Crewe.
- a train on which you can reach your destination without changing to another train: through train
Is the 12.30 a through train or will I have to change somewhere?
- a train that leaves soon after another arrives and that takes you on to the next part of your journey: connection
We arrive at Leeds at ten, and there's a connection to Blackpool fifteen minutes later.
- the person who is in charge of a train: guard, (especially AmE) conductor
- the person who drives a train: train driver (AmE engineer)
- a person who checks and collects tickets on a train: ticket collector
- a person who carries luggage at a railway station: porter
※ stations
- a building where trains stop so that passengers can get on and off: (railway) station, train station
- any place where a train normally stops: stop
The next stop will be Doncaster.
- the place at a station where you buy a ticket to travel by train: ticket office
- a written notice, a book or a computer screen which gives the times when trains arrive and depart from a station: timetable (AmE schedule)
- the place at a station where you can sit and wait for a train: waiting room
- a raised flat surface at a railway station where people get on and off trains: platform
'What platform does the Leeds train leave from?' 'Platform 4.'
- the place where you may have to wait before going onto the platform and where you show your ticket: barrier
- the person you show your ticket to at the barrier: ticket collector
4 the movement of trains
- the metal bars that the wheels of a train go on: rails
The train came off the rails.
- the path which the rails follow: track
- a track which trains go on between one place and another: railway (AmE railroad), (BrE) (railway) line
the trans-Siberian railway ◎ There are engineering works on the line to Plymouth. ◎ a main line ◎ a branch line
- a place where a railway line goes underground, under the sea, etc: tunnel
the Channel Tunnel (= between England and France)
- a place where several railway lines meet: junction
- a place where a railway line and a road cross each other: level crossing (AmE grade crossing)
- a set of lights which give information to train drivers: signals (noun plural)
- the system of railway lines and the system which organizes travel by train: railway (often plural) (AmE railroad)
He used to work on the railways.
- an underground railway system in a town: underground (AmE subway)(noun singular); the London underground is often called the tube
to travel by underground ◎ an underground station/train ◎ We left the car near Paddington and took the tube to Oxford Street.
- the trains which run on a railway: (train) service
The service is quite good on weekdays, but on Sundays there's only one train every two hours.
- if a train keeps to its proper time, it is on time; if it does not do so, it is late, it is running late
The trains are running late today because of an accident near Reading.
- a train crash in which a train comes off the track: derailment; when a train comes off the track, it is derailed
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