Editing Train (section)

=== Dieselization and increased competition ===
[[World War II]] brought great destruction to existing railroads across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Following the war's conclusion in 1945, nations which had suffered extensive damage to their railroad networks took the opportunity provided by [[Marshall Plan]] funds (or economic assistance from the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] and [[Comecon]], for nations behind the [[Iron Curtain]]) and advances in technology to convert their trains to diesel or electric power.{{sfn|Herring|2000|p=22-24}} [[Rail transport in France|France]], [[Rail transport in Russia|Russia]], [[Rail transport in Switzerland|Switzerland]], and [[Rail transport in Japan|Japan]] were leaders in adopting widespread [[railway electrification|electrified railroads]], while other nations focused primarily on [[Dieselisation|dieselization]].{{sfn|Herring|2000|p=23-24}} By 1980, the majority of the world's steam locomotives had been retired, though they continued to be used in parts of Africa and Asia, along with a few holdouts in Europe and South America.{{sfn|Herring|2000|p=22-23}} [[History of rail transport in China|China]] was the last country to fully dieselize, due to its abundant coal reserves; steam locomotives were used to haul mainline trains as late as 2005 in [[Inner Mongolia]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Phillips|first1=Don|last2=French|first2=Howard W.|date=2005-11-06|title=Last great steam railroad nears end of line|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/world/asia/last-great-steam-railroad-nears-end-of-line.html|access-date=2021-11-06|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Trains began to face strong competition from automobiles and freight trucks in the 1930s, which greatly intensified following World War II.{{sfn|Herring|2000|p=23}} After the war, air transport also became a significant competitor for passenger trains. Large amounts of traffic shifted to these new forms of transportation, resulting in a widespread decline in train service, both freight and passenger.{{sfn|Herring|2000|p=23-24}} A new development in the 1960s was [[high-speed rail]], which runs on dedicated rights of way and travels at speeds of {{convert|150|mph|km/h|sp=us|order=flip}} or greater. The first high-speed rail service was the Japanese [[Shinkansen]], which entered service in 1964.{{sfn|Herring|2000|p=23-25}} In the following decades, high speed rail networks were developed across much of [[high-speed rail in Europe|Europe]] and Eastern Asia, providing fast and reliable service competitive with automobiles and airplanes.{{sfn|Herring|2000|p=23-25}} The first high-speed train in the Americas was [[Amtrak]]'s [[Acela]] in the [[high-speed rail in the United States|United States]], which entered service in 2000.{{sfn|Herring|2000|p=25}}
[[File:Fuxinghao CR400 high-speed train front.jpg|thumb|China operates an extensive high speed rail network.]]