Do trains go on the left in the UK?

Since British trains run on the left, the up side of a line is usually on the left when proceeding in the up direction. On most of the network, up is the direction towards London. In most of Scotland, with the exception of the West and East Coast Main Lines , and the Borders Railway, up is towards Edinburgh.



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Since British trains run on the left, the up side of a line is usually on the left when proceeding in the up direction.

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In the US, cars and trains both drive on the right. The drivers seat in a car is on the left, while the engineers seat on a locomotive is on the right.

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Not all trains drive on the left. In the US and Canada, cars and trains drive on the right. (There are other countries as well.) Interestingly enough, where the driver/locomotive engineer sits is traditionally reversed in cars and trains.

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It is possible that the custom of driving on the left dates back to pre-history and may later have been used as an early road safety measure. At a time when the main danger on the roads was mugging, careful travellers would pass on-coming strangers on the left with their sword arm towards the passer-by.

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Railway electrification in Great Britain began in the late 19th century. A range of voltages has been used, employing both overhead lines and conductor rails. The two most common systems are 25 kV AC using overhead lines, and the 750 V DC third rail system used in Southeast England and on Merseyrail.

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British Rail invested heavily in tilting-train technology to overcome the limitations of a rail network located in space-constrained built-up areas. Italy's Trenitalia and the Japan National Railways have used tilting technology to speed express trains on conventional tracks through mountainous terrain.

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The great distances between major cities in the USA favor flying. Planes travel at speeds more than 500 miles an hour while most trains travel at speeds never exceeding 80 miles an hour. At some point upwards of a 600 mile trip, traveling by train starts adding entire days to a person's travel plans.

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The numbers for high-speed rail can vary anywhere from 20 to 80 million per mile. The big reason why America is behind on high-speed rail is primarily money. We don't commit the dollars needed to build these systems, it's really as simple as that.

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America's freight railroads are almost entirely privately owned and operated. Unlike trucks and barges, freight railroads operate overwhelmingly on infrastructure they own, build, maintain and pay for themselves.

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Federal Railroad Administration | US Department of Transportation.

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