Let's start with freight trains. A freight train carries things. One can carry the freight of 280 or more trucks.

A freight train cannot stop fast. It can take a mile or more to stop.

Here is a big record. The longest freight train on record ran in Western Australia. It ran on 21 June 2001. It was 4.57 miles long. It had 682 ore cars.

Who runs a train? The engineer is the person who runs a train's engine.

Japan has fast Shinkansen trains. People call them the bullet train. It is a nickname.

Japan set up the Shinkansen network in 1964.

Some trains run in a city. New York City's first subway line opened on October 27, 1904.

A maglev train floats above its track. A force called electromagnetism lifts it.

Shanghai has a maglev train. It goes from the airport to the city. The route is 18 miles. The trip takes about 8 minutes.

Words to know

• freight: cargo
• maglev: floating train
• airport: plane place
• engineer: train driver