Can it take the lengths of football fields to stop a train?
Well…they can, but it takes a while.A freight train may take up to a mile or more — the length of 18 football fields — to stop and a light rail train may require about 600 feet — the length of two football fields.
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What can stop a train in real life? The most common way is to use the brakes. The brakes are located on each wheel of the train and are applied by the train engineer. The engineer can apply the brakes manually or automatically.
“There are times when mechanical and operational issues could also result in trains occupying a crossing for extended times,” the email continued, “and when trains stop for mandatory safety inspections or federally regulated crew changes.”
Nearly always it's for operational reasons - a signal at danger (train ahead or converging at a junction on the other route) or if on a single track line, the train may have entered a crossing loop and is scheduled to pass another train heading in the opposite direction.
Amna Nawaz: Freight trains are getting longer and longer in the U.S., some stretching for two or three miles. These longer trains allow for more goods to move more efficiently, which lowers fuel use and costs for the railroads.
One of the reasons trains need to back up is to the couple and decouple the cars that it pulls. Another good reason is that it is sometimes difficult for the train to turn around. There are of course other reasons. A train will go forward and back when it is occupying a crossing and stops on its tracks.