bushfires

The Associated Press reports from Australia: "Officials said panic and the freight-train speed of the walls of flames probably accounted for the unusually high death toll."

Since when were freight trains a metaphor for speed? What's this AAR propaganda?

Freight trains are loud certainly, but fast?

Bush in most english-speaking countries is low vegetation - the synonyms being shrub, brush or scrub - nothing more than 10 or 15 ft (3 to 5m) in height. So when Americans read of bushfires in Australia they usually think of small stuff burning. Bush, brush. They think of California coast "bRushfires" with the R. Wikipedia obviously written by an American or an Englishman follows this misleading usage.