ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Single-track railway

Okay kiddo, imagine you have a train set. You have a circular track and your train goes round and round. That's a single-track, just one line for the train to follow.

Now, let's say you want to add more trains to your set. But you don't want them to crash into each other, right? So you could add more tracks, right? That's what real trains do too!

A single-track railway is just one line of tracks for the train to follow. This means only one train can travel on it at a time. It's like having one lane on the road. If there's a car driving in the opposite direction, you have to wait until they pass before you can keep going.

This can make things tricky for train operators. They have to make sure trains aren't going to run into each other. They have to schedule the trains very carefully so they don't collide.

But sometimes, single-track railways are the only option. If the terrain is really hilly or rocky, it might be too expensive or difficult to build more tracks. In those cases, the train operators have to be really good at coordinating and timing the trains. It's like a big jigsaw puzzle, making sure everything fits together perfectly.

So that's what a single-track railway is, buddy. Just one line for the train to follow. It might be tricky for the train operators, but it can still get the job done!