Are they similar or different?

Question

I've always considered a train, subway, and trolley to be similiar. All have tracks to travel on. The train and trolley are on land and the subway is underground. What's the difference between them?

Answer 1

Trains-- heavy, usually carry freight or passengers over long distances

Subways-- designed to carry people rapidly within a region

Trolleys-- Slow, usually on surface streets, many stops, kinda like a bus on tracks

Answer 2

trains are generally continental and international travel modes.  Subway and trolley are inter city sort of travel.  of course one being above ground the othere under as you stated.

Answer 3

trolley and subway way at consider light rail.

commuter trains heavy rail.

They both come under different codes for the Federal Railroad Administration.

Also, there's different traction motors and speeds that the ligh and heavy rail can accomplish.

Answer 4

a train, to me is considered ones  that have two rails and move very fast (freight moves around 60 mph, and commuter train will go about 80 to maybe 100mph). But some electric communter trains use a third rail in the middle of the two, some use a wire ontil, the runs along the tracks. A subways is all electric, they are underground in just be busiest places. A trolly, it's the snail of train, I think. Itt goes slow.. and Only usualy goes between two different places. Unlike trains that go far and all over. I was told trollys are ran by the city, not a train company.

  But you are right, they are alot alike.  But there are some of the things that make it differnt.

Answer 5

A train is a combination of power units and cars that run on steel rails (tracks), used to deliver passengers and/or freight.  They can be just a few cars, or longer than a mile.

The subway is a train that runs underground.  Most of them today run on electricity, provided by a "third rail" or overhead wires.  

A trolley is one individual car that runs above ground on rails laid into city streets.  In most cities, trolleys have been replaced by diesel or electric buses.