Do the locomotion with me
(Part I)

Over the past weeks I have been writing on airplanes and how they relate to the hospitality industry. Today, I’m moving on to trains, another major means to get to one’s destination and enjoy some free time .

Etymology

The word ‘train’ (from Old French trahiner, from Latin trahere) means ‘to draw; to drag’. It originally referred to the part of a gown that trailed behind the wearer. It has been part of the English language since the 14^th century and developed into other meanings over time (such as a group of people who follow behind an important person; a moving line of people, vehicles, or animals), but it wasn’t until the construction of the first railway in 1825 that the word train as we now commonly use it was established.

History

The predecessor of the railway system was built around 600 BC by the Corinthians. This ‘railway’ (Diolkos) was a series of grooves dug into the ground which guided carts over a paved trackway. It provided a shortcut across the Isthmus of Corinth, allowing boats to be transported overland and avoiding the lengthy and treacherous journey around the Peloponnese peninsula.

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