However, the first use of steam locomotives was in Britain. The invention of wrought iron rails, together with Richard Trevithick's pioneering steam locomotive meant that Britain had the first modern railways in the world.

While the concept of "wagons on tracks" (wagon-ways) dates back to ancient Greece and 16th-century German mines, England is credited with inventing the modern steam-powered railway system. In 1802, British engineer Richard Trevithick built the first high-pressure steam locomotive. This was followed by the first commercially successful steam locomotive, the Salamanca, in 1812. Most importantly, England debuted the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, the world's first public line to use steam locomotives, and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830, which was the first to offer a scheduled passenger service. While other civilizations used ruts and wooden rails for horse-drawn carts, the transition to mechanized, high-speed rail transport was a product of the British Industrial Revolution. Therefore, while England didn't "invent" the wheel or the track, it absolutely invented the "train" as we recognize it today as a powered, interconnected transport system.