“You need to take the express train.”

Your mother is visiting you from out of town. She wants to go to a museum while you're at work one day. You have to explain how to get there by train, so you start by saying:

You need to take the express train.

take a train

You can "ride" a train, or you can "take" a train. What's the difference?

You use "ride" when you want to talk about the experience of riding, or when you want to describe something that happened while you were riding the train:

I love riding the train in the middle of the day when it's not crowded.

I was riding the train, and this guy next to me started telling me a story about how he had just gotten out of prison.

As I was riding the train home, I realized that I'd left my keys in the closet at work.

You use "take" when you want to talk about how you get somewhere:

Just take the #3 train to 72nd Street and I'll meet you there.

Do you think it'll be faster to take the train or try to catch a bus?

the express train

An "express" train is supposed to go faster than a local train because it doesn't stop as often. The express train stops at more major stops.

"Express" means "fast" in a few other phrases:

• "Express mail" is sent faster than regular mail and is more expensive.
• The "expressway" is a road that you can drive fast on because there are no stop signs or lights on it. It also has more than one lane.