Quiz of the Day
Trains & Railways
Saturday, 9 May 2026
Transcontinental Railroad completed (1869) — rail history, famous train journeys
1. Where was the 'Golden Spike' driven to complete the US Transcontinental Railroad?
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Promontory Summit, Utah
- Chicago, Illinois
- Sacramento, California
The golden spike was ceremonially driven on May 10, 1869, connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads. The telegraph wired the news instantly — the first 'live broadcast' of a national event in US history.
2. What was the first country to build a public railway?
- France
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- United States
The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825 in northeast England. George Stephenson's locomotive Locomotion No. 1 pulled the first public train. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (1830) was the first to use only steam power.
3. What is the longest railway in the world?
- Indian Pacific
- Trans-Siberian Railway
- Orient Express
- Canadian Pacific
The Trans-Siberian runs 9,289 km from Moscow to Vladivostok, crossing 7 time zones. The full journey takes about 6 days. Construction took 25 years (1891-1916) and involved over 90,000 workers.
4. Which country has the most extensive high-speed rail network?
- China
- France
- Germany
- Japan
China has over 42,000 km of high-speed rail — more than the rest of the world combined. It went from zero high-speed lines in 2007 to the world's largest network in just 15 years.
5. What is the famous luxury train route from Paris to Istanbul called?
- The Blue Train
- The Golden Arrow
- The Royal Scotsman
- The Orient Express
The Orient Express began service in 1883 and inspired Agatha Christie's famous 1934 novel. The original route ended in 2009, but luxury versions still operate. Graham Greene, Mata Hari, and countless kings rode the original.
6. What does the Japanese bullet train's name 'Shinkansen' literally mean?
- Lightning rail
- Speed train
- New trunk line
- Flying arrow
The first Shinkansen ran from Tokyo to Osaka in 1964, timed for the Tokyo Olympics. In over 60 years of operation, there has never been a single passenger fatality due to derailment or collision. Trains are delayed an average of just 54 seconds.
7. What was the 'Underground Railroad' in American history?
- London's first underground line
- A coal mining railway
- The first subway system
- A secret network helping enslaved people escape to freedom
Despite its name, it was neither underground nor a railroad — it was a network of safe houses and secret routes. Harriet Tubman made 13 trips and helped free about 70 people. The network used railway terminology as code.
8. Which city opened the world's first underground railway?
- New York
- Paris
- London
- Berlin
The Metropolitan Railway opened in London on January 10, 1863. On its first day, 38,000 passengers rode steam-powered trains through gas-lit tunnels. Passengers complained about the smoke and heat — a problem not solved until electrification decades later.
9. What is the world's fastest commercial train?
- TGV (France)
- Shanghai Maglev (China)
- ICE (Germany)
- Shinkansen (Japan)
The Shanghai Maglev reaches 431 km/h in regular service and uses magnetic levitation — it literally floats above the track with no friction. The 30 km journey to the airport takes just 7 minutes and 20 seconds.
10. What is the Channel Tunnel?
- A tunnel through the Swiss Alps
- A bridge between England and France
- An underwater road
- A tunnel under the English Channel connecting England and France
The Channel Tunnel (or 'Chunnel') is 50.45 km long, with 37.9 km under the sea — making it the longest underwater tunnel in the world. It took 13,000 workers six years to build and cost £12 billion.
11. Who is George Stephenson often called?
- The Father of Railways
- The Father of Engineering
- The Father of Steam
- The Father of the Computer
Stephenson's 'Rocket' locomotive won the 1829 Rainhill Trials, proving steam trains were commercially viable. He also established the standard rail gauge of 4 feet 8.5 inches — still used by about 55% of the world's railways today.
12. What famous train robbery occurred in England in 1963?
- The Royal Mail Heist
- The Express Robbery
- The Gold Bullion Robbery
- The Great Train Robbery
A gang of 15 robbers stole £2.6 million (about £55 million today) from a Royal Mail train in Buckinghamshire. Ringleader Ronnie Biggs escaped prison and fled to Brazil, becoming one of Britain's most famous fugitives.
13. What is a 'railway gauge'?
- The width of a train carriage
- A type of train whistle
- A device to measure train speed
- The distance between the two rails of a track
Different countries use different gauges — Russia uses a wider gauge than Europe, partly as a defensive measure to prevent easy invasion by rail. India has four different gauges, creating a logistical nightmare that's still being standardised.
14. Which scenic railway journey in Switzerland is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
- The Glacier Express
- The Bernina Express
- The GoldenPass Line
- The Jungfrau Railway
The Bernina Express (part of the Rhaetian Railway) crosses 196 bridges and passes through 55 tunnels between Switzerland and Italy. The Landwasser Viaduct is one of the most photographed railway bridges in the world.
15. What was 'Railway Time' and why was it important?
- The standardisation of time across regions for train schedules
- A type of clock used in stations
- The time allowed for boarding
- The time trains ran
Before railways, every town in Britain set its own local time by the sun. Bristol was 11 minutes behind London. The confusion caused by different local times led to the adoption of Greenwich Mean Time in 1880 — railways literally standardised time.