Celebrating two centuries of railroading

The Star

31-05-2025

THE INTENT to move wagons or carts on some kind of permanent tracks easily began many centuries ago, with records showing lots of effort to move cargo hauled by animals.
In Europe, wagonways (or tramways) were operated as far back as the 1550s to haul mined materials, though they tend to be horse-drawn, with the carriages or wagons running on wooden planks placed on the ground to provide a smooth platform.
In the mid-1700s, the increasing popularity of steam-powered engines allowed the option of moving away from animal or human powered propulsion for transport.
During the First Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), mainly in Britain, many steam-powered machinery were introduced, fuelling the growth of factories and mass manufacturing.
Improvements in the iron (and later steel) manufacturing process also allowed rail to make further inroads.
In the late 1760s, the Coalbrookdale Company began to fix cast iron plates to the upper surface of wooden rails to increase their service life and strength to take on ever heavier loads.
Many parties tried various ways to improve the stability of the contact point between metal wheel and rail, in the end resulting in the flanged wheel and edge-rail which is now standard for railways all over the world.
Improvements in metallurgy and furnace technology eventually allowed steel rails to completely replace cast iron. In particular, the Bessemer process developed by Henry Bessemer in 1856 lowered the cost for mass production of steel, further fuelling the Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914), which by then had spread to Europe, North America and Japan.
Improvements to the steelmaking process to make more durable (and the same time, cheaper) steel came through the open hearth furnace method, nudging out the Bessemer process towards the end of the 19th century.
Improvements to rail allowed progressively heavier loads to be imposed on the line through heavier locomotives and longer trains, with focus at that time was always on how move cargo efficiently, rather than passengers.
Stephenson steps on
One particular significant moment took place on Sept 27, 1825, when George Stephenson's showed off his steam-powered Locomotion No. 1. The train travelled nearly 42km between Shildon, Darlington and Stockton, an area about 400km from Central London, setting off a movement that transformed mobility forever.
The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) ran from 1825 to 1863, and is recognised as the first public railway to use steam locomotives.
Its first line connected coal mines and associated infrastructure near Shildon with Darlington and Stockton in County Durham.
Using rail to transport coal proved to be a financially viable model, and the line was soon extended to a new port at Middlesbrough. While coal-laden wagons on S&DR were hauled by steam locomotives from the onset, initial passenger service was performed using horse-drawn coaches until the animal brigade was replaced by steam locomotives in 1833.
Much has evolved since then, with rapid advances in internal combustion engines that led to diesel quickly replacing coal and wood to power locomotives.
Electrification, in turn, displaced a good number of diesel locomotives, especially for passenger trains. By the early 20th century, the steam locomotive has been relegated to history as diesel and electric trains reigned supreme until today.
Continuous refinement in engineering and modern industrial requirements led to creation of high-speed rail (HSR), with the first HSR, Japan's Tōkaidō Shinkansen, commencing operations between Tokyo and Osaka in 1964.
HSR is a network that uses trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of highly specialised rolling stock and largely dedicated tracks (none or little mixing with cargo or slower trains) to allow commercial operations of up to 350kph.
While there is no iron-clad definition of HSR worldwide, HSR today generally refers to lines built to handle speeds of at least 250kph, or upgraded lines that allow at least 200kph
The development of HSR systems like those in China, Japan and Europe has further revolutionised low carbon mobility.
Putting aside the ultra-expensive magnetic levitation technology, the best systems utilising wheels on rail now allow for top speeds of up to 350kph, such as the newly built Jakarta to Bandung HSR, as well as the latest generation of HSR in Japan.
Engineers are continuing to push the limits of HSR, with China, for example, now testing HSR trains that can hit 400kph in commercial operations. So far, its CR450 prototype has surpassed 450kph during testing.
Asean-wise, Thailand is currently building its maiden HSR line to connect with China via Laos, while Vietnam recently approved a HSR line to cut the extremely long travel time of its rickety conventional railway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
And while there has been no public announcement, Indonesia is quietly plotting how to extend its maiden HSR line from Bandung to Surabaya via Yogjakarta, even as it looks at improving overall speeds at its existing lines.
Regional rails
All over the world, governments are increasingly persuading commuters to minimise flying and driving to cap global-warming emissions.
More drastic movements include putting social pressure on those who tend to fly, such as the 'flight shaming movement,' also known as flygskam in Swedish, which gained popularity with champions like Greta Thunberg plugging rail travel as a more sustainable transportation option.
Rail has always been promoted as a means social and economic integration, with proposals such as the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) and Pan-Asian Railway floated over the decades.
Promoted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap or Unescap), TAR refers to the network spanning Asia that connects 28 countries (including Malaysia) through 117,500km of railway lines.
Meanwhile, the Pan-Asian Railway (PAR) is the vision that connects South-East Asia with Central Asia, all the way to Europe via Kunming, China.
On April 18, Transport Minister Anthony Loke reiterated Malaysia's readiness to develop PAR, especially to reach China to boost trade, particularly in the halal industry.
To date, Malaysia has launched a pilot project known as the Asean Express, a joint cargo service between KTM Bhd and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), last year.
'This is a collaboration between KTMB, SRT and partners in China to transport cargo from Malaysia to Chongqing, with a transit time of nine days,' he said, adding that some regulatory challenges, even among Asean members, like various customs regulations, must be overcome first before a totally seamless cargo train service can exist.
Much excitement was also generated over chatter about the resumption of direct passenger services from Butterworth to Bangkok. However, the journey is still a long one, time wise, as the lines in the southern part of Thailand as still not electrified.
This means, even if the ETS in Malaysia can move quickly, one still has to contend with the slower diesel trains, which are further constrained by the largely single-track formation from Hat Yai all the way to Bangkok.
Meanwhile, those looking for speedy rail travel using ETS from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Baru will most likely have to wait until next year, as KTMB has not offered any ETS tickets covering the segment from Segamat to Johor Baru for any travel up to end of this November when its advance sales opened on Friday. (May 30).
For mobility observer Wan Agyl Wan Hassan, Malaysia missed a crucial chance to highlight its urban rail network during the recent Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur, which was marked by many road closures to ease the movements of VIPs and delegates.
'We missed a golden opportunity to spotlight rail as a smart, reliable solution for urban mobility; when thousands were forced to reconsider how they move. We failed to nudge the people towards public transport that's already built and waiting. And of course, there is also a glaring absence of integrated communication on mobility options,' he said.
As the largest rail urban public transport operator here, Prasarana only announced increased train frequencies during peak hours, while the police and some highway concessionaires took turns to announce what roads will be closed.
'There needs to be a whole-of-government approach when it comes to things like these. And there should also be some out-of-the-box thinking like providing free train services during the Asean Summit to get more people on rail. So far, the thinking seems to revolve around only on how to allow cars to move smoothly,' said Wan Agyl.
All said, rail will be marking a quiet milestone here tomorrow (June 1) after the first railway in Malaysia opened between Taiping and Port Weld (now Kuala Sepetang) in Perak on June 1, 1885.
According to KTMB, celebrations for the 140th anniversary of rail here will take place beginning July, with details to come soon.
> 'Railway 200'
BRITAIN'S Network Rail is taking the lead in celebrating two centuries of modern rail though a year-long celebration called Railway 200.
'The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened on Sept 27, 1825, connecting places, people, communities and ideas and ultimately transforming the world.
'Railway 200 will be a year-long nationwide partnership-led campaign to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway and inspire a new generation of young pioneering talent to choose a career in rail. It invites community, rail and other groups to get involved,' said the company on the movement's website at railway200.co.uk.
More interesting information on the history of rail can also be found at www.networkrail.co.uk/who-we-are/our-history/