Carriage is one of several nouns that are used to refer to vehicles pulled by railway engines. In British English, a carriage is one of the separate sections of a train that carries passengers.

Technically, a carriage is not a "train" in its entirety, but rather a single unit that forms part of a train. In railway terminology, a train is defined as a series of connected vehicles (or sometimes a single self-propelled vehicle) moving along a track. A carriage—referred to as a "coach" in the UK or a "passenger car" in the United States—is the specific non-powered vehicle designed to carry passengers. It relies on a locomotive or a power car to provide the traction and movement. In 2026, many modern trains are "Multiple Units," where the motors are distributed under several carriages rather than being in a single engine at the front. Even in these cases, we distinguish between the "train set" (the whole consist) and the "individual carriages" (the rooms on wheels). Colloquially, people often say "I am on the train," which is accurate, whereas saying "I am on a carriage" refers to your specific physical location within that larger mechanical snake. Understanding this distinction is vital for railway operations, safety, and seat reservations.