 The Guadalajara urban L-train system ( SITEUR), at first a trolleybus system, opened in 1980; the second line was opened in 1994, and a third line is in project.
 The O-Train, the diesel light-rail metro service for Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the first diesel-powered light-rail system in North America.
 A Hiawatha Line train near Cedar-Riverside station in Minneapolis.
A Tyne and Wear Metro train heading for South Shields calls at Kingston Park station. Although nominally "light rail" the high platforms and full segregation from roads and pedestrians places this system at the upper end of the transport genre which includes street trams. Light rail or light rail transit (LRT) is of urban rail transit that utilizes equipment and infrastructure that is typically less massive than that used for rapid transit systems, with modern light rail vehicles usually running along the system. Download high resolution version (1635x1200, 750 KB)Photograph by Colin Gregory Palmer in 2005. ...
Download high resolution version (1635x1200, 750 KB)Photograph by Colin Gregory Palmer in 2005. ...
Luas (from the Irish for speed), also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, currently encompasses two unconnected on-street light rail lines in Dublin, Ireland. ...
Dublin (Irish: Baile Ãtha Cliath), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Irelands east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region. ...
This work is copyrighted. ...
This work is copyrighted. ...
A METRORail train approaching Preston Station in Downtown Houston, Texas. ...
Nickname: Space City Motto: Official website: www. ...
Official language(s) None. ...
ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 298 KB) This picture shows a station of the electrical train in Guadalajara, Mexico. ...
ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 298 KB) This picture shows a station of the electrical train in Guadalajara, Mexico. ...
Guadalajara may refer to: Mexico Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco Chivas de Guadalajara, aka Chivas, a Mexican association football team Spain Guadalajara (province), a province in Castile–La Mancha Guadalajara, Spain, the capital of the above province This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages...
Periférico Norte (North Outer Ring) station in the morning. ...
1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...
O-train File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
O-train File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
The O-Train at Carleton University. ...
Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Advance Ottawa/Ottawa en avant City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Ville dOttawa, Ontario, Canadas Location. ...
Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English, French (in some areas) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation - House seat - Senate seats 106 24 Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd 1,076,395...
Download high resolution version (850x554, 88 KB)Hiawatha Line light-rail vehicle #111 near Cedar/Riverside station. ...
Download high resolution version (850x554, 88 KB)Hiawatha Line light-rail vehicle #111 near Cedar/Riverside station. ...
Hiawatha light-rail vehicle #111 near Cedar-Riverside station The Hiawatha Line is a 12 mile (19 kilometer) light rail corridor in Minneapolis, Minnesota that extends to the southern suburb of Bloomington, in Hennepin County connecting downtown Minneapolis to the Minneapolis-St. ...
Nickname: City of Lakes Motto: En Avant Official website: http://www. ...
this photo was taken by me, User:Adam Carr, and is released by me into the public domain File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
this photo was taken by me, User:Adam Carr, and is released by me into the public domain File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
A Citadis tram in Melbourne, Australia The Citadis is a low-floor tram built by Alstom in La Rochelle, France, currently in use around the world, in (among others), the Paris region, Lyon, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Orléans, Rotterdam, Dublin (see Luas), Melbourne (see Trams in Melbourne), and Katowice (see Silesian...
Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of approximately 3. ...
Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 354 KB)HBLR vehicle heading towards Bayonne; on Hudson Street near Exchange Place. ...
Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 354 KB)HBLR vehicle heading towards Bayonne; on Hudson Street near Exchange Place. ...
HBLR train on Hudson Street, near Exchange Place station in Jersey City HBLR train at 2nd Street station in Hoboken Harborside Financial Center station, Jersey City Map of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) is a light rail system, owned by New Jersey Transit...
Nickname: Motto: Official website: http://www. ...
A Manchester Metrolink tram, seen here in central Manchester. ...
A Manchester Metrolink tram, seen here in central Manchester. ...
A Metrolink Tram in Manchester city centre. ...
Manchester is a city in the North West of England, UK. The place is named from the old British name Mamucium plus ceaster, derived from the old Latin Castra. Manchester is a metropolitan borough with city status. ...
Download high resolution version (1016x762, 118 KB)Calgary Transit C-Train Siemens-Duewag U2 car 2043, August 18, 2004. ...
Download high resolution version (1016x762, 118 KB)Calgary Transit C-Train Siemens-Duewag U2 car 2043, August 18, 2004. ...
Calgary Transit is the public transit service which is owned and operated by the city of Calgary, Alberta. ...
Categories: Stub ...
Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Onward City of Calgary, Alberta, Canadas Location. ...
Calgary Transit have recently introduced new SD-160 vehicles to complement their ageing original trains. ...
Nottingham Express Transit tram, taken by me 20/04/2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Nottingham Express Transit tram, taken by me 20/04/2004 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
A tram in downtown Nottingham. ...
Nottingham is a city and county town of Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands of England. ...
A DART Light Rail train in downtown Dallas, My own picture - I hereby release it into the public domain This image has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its creator, RadicalBender. ...
A DART Light Rail train in downtown Dallas, My own picture - I hereby release it into the public domain This image has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its creator, RadicalBender. ...
A DART Bus operating in downtown Dallas A DART Light Rail train operating in downtown Dallas The Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority (or DART) is the transit agency in Dallas, Texas that operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and HOV lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs. ...
Nickname: Big D Motto: Official website: www. ...
Official language(s) None. ...
Image File history File links Personal photograph taken by Mick Knapton on 31st May 2005. ...
Image File history File links Personal photograph taken by Mick Knapton on 31st May 2005. ...
The Sheffield Supertram is a tram network in Sheffield, England. ...
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in the north of England. ...
Image File history File links TriMet MAX train on the MAX Yellow Line to downtown Portland. ...
Image File history File links TriMet MAX train on the MAX Yellow Line to downtown Portland. ...
Siemens AG (FWB: SIE, NYSE: SI) is the worlds largest electronics company. ...
MAX system map. ...
In rail transport, a train consists of a single or several connected rail vehicles that are capable of being moved together along a guideway to transport freight or passengers from one place to another along a planned route. ...
Nickname: City of Roses, Stumptown, Bridgetown Motto: Official website: http://www. ...
Image File history File links Tyne&Wear_Metrotrain_at_Kingston_Park_station. ...
Image File history File links Tyne&Wear_Metrotrain_at_Kingston_Park_station. ...
The Tyne and Wear Metro is a light rail metro system based around Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland, in the Tyne and Wear county of north-east England. ...
South Shields high street and Metro station Map sources for South Shields at grid reference NZ1658 South Shields is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne, with a population of about 90,000. ...
Urban rail transit is an all-encompassing term for various types of local rail systems serving urban or older suburban areas. ...
Metro and Subway redirect here. ...
Light rail is the successor term to streetcar, trolley (both terms used in American English) and tram (used in British English or used to refer to any European or Asian streetcar) in many locales, although the term is most consistently applied to modern or modernised tram or trolley operations employing features more usually associated with metro or subway operations, including exclusive rights-of-way, multiple unit train configuration and signal control of operations. a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ...
This article refers to the mass transit vehicle running on rails. ...
A modern tram in the Töölö district of Helsinki, Finland Map showing the tramway system in Oslo, Norway Volkswagen Cargo-Tram in Dresden. ...
This article describes subways as mass transit lines. ...
A classic Belgian multiple unit of type 74 A modern high speed British diesel multiple unit of type 220 A multiple unit is a passenger train whose carriages have their own motors, either diesel (DMUs) or electric (EMUs), and do not need to be hauled by a locomotive. ...
The term light rail is derived from the British English term light railway long used to distinguish tram operations from steam railway lines, as well as from its usually lighter infrastructure. The term was adopted in the 1970s, particularly in the United States, as a conscious break from the obsolescent image of streetcars. It is sometimes used largely for political reasons; in Toronto, Canada the city Transit Commission had to rename a recent project to build a dedicated right of way for one of its streetcar lines as a "new, modern LRT" in order to obtain the support of local elected officials, and then change it back to a "normal, familiar streetcar" to be accepted by the area's residents (the actual project was the same the entire time). British English (BrE) is a term used to differentiate the form of the English language used in the United Kingdom from other forms of the English language used elsewhere. ...
The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...
Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Diversity Our Strength City of Toronto, Ontario, Canadas Location. ...
The Toronto Transit Commission, or TTC, is a public transport authority that operates buses, streetcars, and rapid transit lines in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...
a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ...
Light rail traces its pedigree to street railways, whereas rapid transit (metro) technology evolved from steam commuter operations, such as were seen in London, New York City, and Chicago. Metro and Subway redirect here. ...
London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ...
Nickname: The Big Apple Motto: Official website: City of New York Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ...
Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Official website: http://egov. ...
Light rail systems are almost universally operated by electricity delivered through overhead lines, although several systems are powered through different means, such as the JFK Airtrain, which uses a standard third rail for its electrical power, and trams in Bordeaux, France which use a special third-rail configuration in which the rail is only powered while a tram is on top of it (making it safe to install third rails even on city streets). A few unusual systems such as the River LINE in New Jersey (opened in 2004), the O-Train in Ottawa (opened in 2001), and the upcoming SPRINTER in northern San Diego County, California (projected to be opened by late 2007) use diesel-powered trains, though this is sometimes intended as an interim measure until the funds to install electric power become available, or as a compromise with communities strongly opposed to an electrical light rail system because of alleged health fears with the overhead wires. Electricity is a property of matter that results from the presence or movement of electric charge. ...
An electric multiple unit pulling into Tile Hill station; Coventry, England. ...
Airtrain at JFK. Note aluminum strip between rails. ...
Third rail at the West Falls Church Metro stop in the Washington, D.C. area, electrified to 750 volts. ...
City motto: Lilia sola regunt lunam undas castra leonem. ...
The New Jersey Transit River LINE is a light rail system in the United States that connects Camden, New Jersey with Trenton, New Jersey. ...
Official language(s) None defined, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 47th 22,608 km² 110 km 240 km 14. ...
The O-Train at Carleton University. ...
This article is about the capital city of Canada. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ...
Diesel or Diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum) that is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel. ...
Attempting to define "light rail"
Most rail technologies, including high-speed, freight, commuter/regional, and metro/subway are considered to be "heavy rail" in comparison. A few systems such as people movers and personal rapid transit could be considered as even "lighter," at least in terms of how many passengers are moved per vehicle and the speed at which they travel. Monorails are also considered to be a separate technology. Light rail systems can handle steeper inclines than heavy rail, and curves sharp enough to fit within street intersections (though this is hardly true for all light-rail lines). They are typically built in urban areas, providing frequent service with small, light trains or single cars. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
A Connex commuter train stands by the platform in Melbourne, Australia Regional rail systems, or commuter rail systems, usually provide a rail service through a central business district area into suburbs or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a daily basis. ...
Metro is: a general term, synonymous with rapid transit, subway or underground, for an urban underground rail public transit system (see list of rapid transit systems); any of several specific public transport systems, including: Bi-State Development Agency in Missouri and Illinois, d/b/a Metro since 2003 Buffalo Metro...
The term heavy rail is often used for regular railways, to distinguish from systems such as trams/light rail and metro. ...
A people mover is a fully-automated light rail or tram system. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
H-Bahn Dortmund Tama-Monorail (Japan) A monorail is a transit system, resembling a metro or railroad with a track nominally consisting of a single rail (actually a beam), as opposed to the traditional track with two parallel rails. ...
Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with full length parallel tracks A funicular, also called funicular railway or inclined railway, inclined plane, or in England a cliff railway, consists of a system of transportation in which cables attach to a tram-like vehicle on rails to move it up and down a...
In mathematics, the concept of a curve tries to capture the intuitive idea of a geometrical one-dimensional and continuous object. ...
The term intersection can mean: a road junction, where two roads intersect each other, such as a roundabout intersection; in mathematics, the set in which two or more other sets intersect each other; see intersection (set theory); a movie; see Intersection (movie). ...
The most difficult distinction to draw is that between light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies, and it is common to classify streetcars/trams as a subtype of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. The two general versions are:
- The traditional type, where the tracks and trains run along the streets and share space with road traffic. Stops tend to be very frequent, but little effort is made to set up special stations. Because space is shared, the tracks are usually visually unobtrusive.
- A more modern variation, where the trains tend to run along their own right-of-way and are often separated from road traffic. Stops are generally less frequent, and the vehicles are often boarded from a platform. Tracks are highly visible, and in some cases significant effort is expended to keep traffic away through the use of special signaling, level crossings with gate arms or even a complete seperation with non-level crossings. At the highest degree of separation, it can be difficult to draw the line between light rail and metros, as in the case of London's Docklands Light Railway or Wuppertal's Schwebebahn hanging rail system, which would likely not be considered "light" were it not for the contrast between it and the London Underground. Increasingly, light rail is being used to describe any rapid transit system with a fairly lower frequency compared to heavier mass rapid systems such as the London Underground or the Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore).
Many light rail systems — even fairly old ones — have a combination of the two, with both on road and off-road sections. In some countries (esp. in Europe), only the latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed right of way are not regarded as light rail, but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite minimal — sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Right-of-way is a legal term which may have any of several meanings: priority at a crossing, or in traffic. ...
A level crossing at Chertsey, England, as the barriers rise The term level crossing (also called: railroad crossing or grade crossing) is a crossing on one level (or at grade) - without recourse to a bridge or tunnel - used to describe the crossing of a railway line by a road, path...
Metro is: a general term, synonymous with rapid transit, subway or underground, for an urban underground rail public transit system (see list of rapid transit systems); any of several specific public transport systems, including: Bi-State Development Agency in Missouri and Illinois, d/b/a Metro since 2003 Buffalo Metro...
London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ...
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is a light-rail public transport metro for the redeveloped Docklands area of eastern London, England. ...
Wuppertal university Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...
Schwebebahn over the river Wupper The Schwebebahn Wuppertal is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. ...
The nickname Tube comes from the almost circular tube-like tunnels through which the small profile trains travel. ...
The nickname Tube comes from the almost circular tube-like tunnels through which the small profile trains travel. ...
Singapore Mass Rapid Transit may refer to: Mass Rapid Transit, the Mass Rapid Transit system in Singapore SMRT Corporation, one of the companies that operate Singapores Mass Rapid Transit system SBS Transit, the company that operates the North East Line of Singapores Mass Rapid Transit system This is...
A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ...
There is a significant difference in cost between these different classes of light rail transit. The traditional style is often less expensive by a factor of two or more. Despite the increased cost, the more modern variation (which can be considered as "heavier" than old streetcar systems, even though it is called "light rail") is the dominant form of urban rail development in the United States. The Federal Transit Administration helps to fund many projects, but as of 2004, the rules to determine which projects will be funded are biased against the simpler streetcar systems (partly because the vehicles tend to be somewhat slower). Some cities in the U.S. (e.g. San Pedro, California) have set about building the less expensive streetcar lines themselves or with only minimal federal support. Most of these lines have been "vintage" or "heritage" railways, using refurbished or replica streetcars harkening back to the first half of the 20th century. However, a few, such as the Portland Streetcar, use modern vehicles. There is a growing desire to push the Federal Transit Administration to help fund these startup lines as well. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) within the U.S. Department of Transportation provides financial and technical assistance to the local transit systems. ...
2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
A scene on a heritage railway. ...
(19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...
A streetcar at the corner of SW 11th and Alder. ...
Light rail is generally powered by electricity, usually by means of overhead wires, but sometimes by a live rail, also called third rail (a high voltage bar alongside the track), requiring safety measures and warnings to the public not to touch it. In some cases, particularly when initial funds are limited, diesel-powered versions have been used, but it is not a preferred option. Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, are automatic, dispensing with the need for a driver; however, such systems are not what is generally thought of as light rail. Automatic operation is more common in smaller "people mover" systems than in light rail systems, where the possibility of grade crossings and street running make driverless operation of the latter inappropriate for safety/security reasons. However this is obviously not true in completely seperated light rail systems such as the Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. An electric multiple unit pulling into Tile Hill station; Coventry, England. ...
Third rail at Bostons South Station A third rail is a method of providing electricity to power a railroad, typically a mass transit system. ...
Diesel or Diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum) that is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel. ...
Airtrain at JFK. Note aluminum strip between rails. ...
An LRT train at Asia Jaya station Kelana Jaya line route map The Kelana Jaya Line is one of three lines in Kuala Lumpurs light rail transit (LRT) network. ...
Mayor Datuk Ruslin Hasan Area - Total (City) 243. ...
History From the mid-19th century onwards, horse-drawn trams (or horsecars) were used in many cities around the world. In the late 1880s electrically-powered street railways became technically feasible following the invention of a trolley system of collecting current by American inventor Frank J. Sprague who installed the first successful system at Richmond, Virginia. They became popular because roads were then poorly-surfaced, and before the invention of the internal combustion engine and the advent of motor-buses, they were the only practical means of public transport around cities. A horsecar was an animal-powered streetcar (or tram). ...
// Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ...
This article refers to the mass transit vehicle running on rails. ...
Frank Julian Sprague (1857-1934) American inventor, Father of Electric Traction Frank Julian Sprague (1857–1934) was an American naval officer and inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. ...
Nickname: River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra Official website: http://www. ...
A typical rural county road in Indiana, USA, where traffic drives on the right. ...
It has been suggested that Car engine be merged into this article or section. ...
TheBus, established by Mayor Frank Fasi, is Honolulus only public transit system. ...
Skytrain Bangkok. ...
The light rail systems constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries typically only ran in single-car setups. Some rail lines experimented with multiple unit configurations, where streetcars were joined together to make short trains, but this did not become common until later. When lines were built over longer distances (typically with a single track) before good roads were common, they were generally called interurban streetcars in North America or radial railways in Ontario. A classic Belgian multiple unit of type 74 A modern high speed British diesel multiple unit of type 220 A multiple unit is a passenger train whose carriages have their own motors, either diesel (DMUs) or electric (EMUs), and do not need to be hauled by a locomotive. ...
An interurban streetcar line or interurban, also called a radial railway in Canada, is a streetcar line running between urban areas. ...
World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...
Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English, French (in some areas) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation - House seat - Senate seats 106 24 Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd 1,076,395...
In North America, many of these original light-rail systems were decommissioned in the 1950s and onward as the popularity of the automobile increased. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems still exist to this day, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system. Beginning in the 1980s, some cities began reintroducing light-rail systems that are more like subway or metro systems that operate at street level. These light-rail systems include modern, multi-car trains that can only be accessed at stations that are spaced anywhere from a couple blocks to a mile or more apart. Some of these systems operate within roadways alongside automobile traffic, and others operate on their own separate right-of-way. // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ...
A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ...
The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ...
Metro is: a general term, synonymous with rapid transit, subway or underground, for an urban underground rail public transit system (see list of rapid transit systems); any of several specific public transport systems, including: Bi-State Development Agency in Missouri and Illinois, d/b/a Metro since 2003 Buffalo Metro...
As with other rail systems, the rail gauge has had considerable variations, but today standard gauge is dominant. Narrow gauge was common in many earlier systems, although as systems merged or died out, old lines were often upgraded, removed, or replaced. Some systems still use other track gauges, however. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails which make up a railway track. ...
As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ...
Narrow-gauge railways are railroads (railways) with track spaced at less than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8 in (1. ...
Advantages of light rail Light rail systems are generally cheaper to build than heavy rail, since the infrastructure does not need to be as substantial, and tunnels are generally not required as is the case with most metro systems. Moreover, the ability to handle sharp curves and steep gradients can reduce the amount of work required. A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ...
Metro is: a general term, synonymous with rapid transit, subway or underground, for an urban underground rail public transit system (see list of rapid transit systems); any of several specific public transport systems, including: Bi-State Development Agency in Missouri and Illinois, d/b/a Metro since 2003 Buffalo Metro...
Traditional streetcar systems as well as newer light rail systems are used in many cities around the world because they typically can carry a larger number of people than any bus-based public transport system. They are also cleaner, quieter, more comfortable, and in many cases faster than buses. In an emergency, light rail trains are easier to evacuate than monorail or elevated rapid rail trains.
Many modern light rail projects re-use parts of old rail networks, such as abandoned industrial rail lines.
A good example of both points above is the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London, which uses a sharp, steep, curve to enable it to transfer from running alongside an existing railway line to a disused railway line which crossed underneath the first line. A direct connection between these lines would not be practical for conventional rail (note that because the DLR has a completely grade-separated right of way, it can also be regarded as a metro). The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is a light-rail public transport metro for the redeveloped Docklands area of eastern London, England. ...
Metro is: a general term, synonymous with rapid transit, subway or underground, for an urban underground rail public transit system (see list of rapid transit systems); any of several specific public transport systems, including: Bi-State Development Agency in Missouri and Illinois, d/b/a Metro since 2003 Buffalo Metro...
Disadvantages of light rail Like all modes of rail transport, light rail tends to be safest when operating in dedicated right-of-way with complete grade separations. However, grade separations are not always financially or physically feasible.
Monorail advocates like to point out (as a way to disparage light rail and promote monorail) that light rail trolleys are heavier per pound of cargo carried than heavy rail cars or monorail cars, because they must be designed to survive collisions with automobiles. H-Bahn Dortmund Tama-Monorail (Japan) A monorail is a transit system, resembling a metro or railroad with a track nominally consisting of a single rail (actually a beam), as opposed to the traditional track with two parallel rails. ...
Criticisms of light rail, and responses to them In many cases there has been considerable opposition to new light rail systems, particularly in the United States. Arguments are generally along three lines: first, that modern spatial arrangements are unsuited for fixed-line transit systems such as light rail; second, that light rail is too slow to compete with the automobile; and three, that light rail does not generate a sufficient return on capital investment to make its construction worthwhile. Driving Forces (1998), by American political scientist and transit opponent James Dunn, provides a good summary of these arguments. James Dunn may refer to: James Dunn (actor), (Bad Girl, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn]]) James Dunn (politician), formerly MP for Liverpool, Kirkdale James Whitney Dunn, U.S. Representative from the state of Michigan James Dunn (theologian), Professor of Divinity at the University of Durham James Hamet Dunn, 1st Baronet...
Spatial mismatch Light rail opponents argue that modern metropolitan areas are far too dispersed in residential and employment locations for any mass transit facility to be able to remove a significant percentage of drivers from automobiles. Only in the New York metropolitan area is transit's share of vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) higher than five percent, and in most metropolitan areas, transit carries less than one percent of travel. These percentages are considerably higher for suburb-to-central business district (CBD) commutes, but these trips have dramatically declined as a percentage of VMT since the 1970s. Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ...
The central business district of Melbourne, Australia. ...
While the spatial mismatch argument is largely correct for the Midwest (excepting Chicagoland) and the South and Southwest, it is increasingly not the case in places such as Los Angeles and San Diego. As West Coast cities, in particular, run into their coastal mountain ranges, many have developed polycentric spatial arrangements with a relatively small number of nodes. For most of its history, transit has best served commuters from suburbs to a single CBD. However, this is no longer necessarily the case; in Sacramento and San Diego, particularly, construction of light rail networks that incorporate both circumferential (suburb-to-suburb) and radial (suburb-to-CBD) lines have produced surprisingly high increases in passenger-miles (Thompson and Matoff, 2003). The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ...
Chicagoland. ...
The U.S. Southern states or The South, known during the American Civil War era as Dixie, is a distinctive region of the United States with its own unique historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ...
The Southwest region of the United States is drier than the adjoining Midwest in weather; the population is less dense and, with strong Spanish-American and Native American components, more ethnically varied than neighboring areas. ...
Polycentrism is the principle of organisation of a region around several political, social or financial centres. ...
Nickname: City of Trees Motto: Official website: http://www. ...
Nickname: Americas Finest City Motto: Official website: http://www. ...
Nevertheless, with such a small market share, even a doubling of transit ridership would have virtually no impact on traffic congestion. Smart growth advocates acknowledge this and call for areas near proposed light rail stations to be developed as relatively high-density "transit villages," minimizing the need for automobile usage while increasing the housing stock. (This is a principal tactic used by New Urbanists.) In many areas, NIMBYism is an obstacle to such development, but is expected to fade as automobile congestion continues to erode quality of life. Traffic jams are common in heavily populated areas. ...
Smart growth is a concept and term used by those who seek to identify a set of policies governing transportation and land use planning policy for urban areas that benefits communities and preserves the natural environment. ...
New urbanism is an urban design movement that became very popular beginning in the 1980s and early 1990s. ...
NIMBY (an initialism for Not In My Back Yard) is a pejorative acronym for the phenomenon in which residents oppose a development as being inappropriate for their local area. ...
Travel time Opponents also point to the fact that light rail has a perceived disadvantage in travel time. On average, during peak travel periods, light rail operates only slightly faster than buses and barely one-half as fast as automobiles. These averaged figures do not account for the degree of congestion, however; light rail on its own right-of-way is considerably less vulnerable to gridlock than automobiles or buses operating in mixed traffic. For example, Los Angeles' heavily ridden Blue Line (the United States' busiest light rail line, with over 70,000 daily passenger boardings) is much slower than automobiles at off-peak times, but is very competitive with automobiles along the horrifyingly-congested Long Beach Freeway (I-710) nearby. (The Harbor Freeway busway nearby is faster than either mode, but construction of its dedicated right-of-way was extremely expensive given its very low ridership.) It is clear, though, that light rail only makes sense in areas that suffer from sufficient congestion to make it competitive with cars, and along routes that are too heavily traveled for even bus rapid transit systems. Metro Blue Line The Metro Blue line of the Los Angeles County Metro Rail is a light rail line connecting Downtown Los Angeles at the 7th St/Metro Center station and Downtown Long Beach. ...
The Long Beach Freeway, signed as Interstate 710 throughout its entire length, is a freeway running for 23 miles in a north-south direction through Los Angeles County, California. ...
JUNCTION POSTMILE SR-1 LA 0. ...
The Harbor Freeway goes under many bridges as it passes through downtown Los Angeles The Harbor Freeway is one of the principal north-south freeways in Los Angeles County, California. ...
Silver Line in Boston Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a broad term given to a variety of different transportation systems which attempt to use buses to provide a quality service through a set of various improvements to the bus line. ...
Return on investment and cost-competitiveness The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see discussion on the talk page. More generally, as the "face" of mass transit investment in the past two decades, light rail has been the target of arguments that mass transit investment is not a good use of public funds. While not as high as all-new subway construction, LRT still often has a high per-mile cost (especially in areas where transit agencies have to acquire right-of-way by means of eminent domain). Light rail projects are often accused by critics/pro-highway proponents of being corruption-prone "money trains," providing wasteful quantities of public money to politically-connected construction firms. However, highway construction projects are no less susceptible to this tendency to engage in gratuitous cost overruns and outright graft. The so-called "Big Dig" project (a 7-8 mile underground freeway tunnel which both replaced the elevated I-93 Central Artery and connected Boston to General Edward Logan International Airport) is a notorious example. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ...
Eminent domain (US), compulsory purchase (United Kingdom, New Zealand), compulsory acquisition (Australia) or expropriation (Canada, South Africa) in common law legal systems is the power of the state to appropriate private property for its own use without the owners consent. ...
The Big Dig is the unofficial name of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), a massive undertaking to route the Central Artery (Interstate 93), the chief controlled-access highway through the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, into a tunnel under the city, replacing a previous elevated roadway. ...
Boston is a town and small port c. ...
While light rail systems' per-mile cost is disturbingly high at first glance, the notion that they are a waste of government money when compared with the ostensibly self-financing highway system is specious and is usually made for ideological/political reasons so as to push the interests of the pro-highway lobby. As has been noted by numerous transit advocates, highway systems have required considerable expenditure out of general funds on pollution control measures, as well as greater numbers of schools and other expensive infrastructure. Light rail is also notably low-impact with regards to hard-to-measure quality of life variables (except noise--q.v.), whereas highway construction has historically wreaked havoc on the social capital of neighborhoods where it occurs and leads to cases of alleged cancer clusters and noise pollution in areas directly adjacent to even moderately-traveled routes. LRT skeptics may also be intentionally ignoring the network effect, whereby the addition of one node to a network increases the utility of all other nodes. The experiences of Sacramento, California and Portland, Oregon have demonstrated this phenomenon to great effect: in those places, light rail became reasonably competitive with highways once a reasonable percentage of the complete network had been put in place. In these and other LRT-heavy cities, greater government sophistication regarding LRT construction has led to a "learning by doing" effect that substantially lowers per-mile construction costs. The well-being or quality of life of a population is an important concern in economics and political science. ...
Social capital is a socio-economic concept with a variety of inter-related definitions, based on the value of social networks. ...
Cancer cluster is a term used by epidemiologists, statisticians, and public health workers to define an occurrence of a greater-than-expected number of cancer cases within a group of people in a geographic area over a period of time1. ...
Noise pollution is unwanted human-created sound that disrupts the environment. ...
The network effect causes a good or service to have a value to a potential customer dependent on the number of customers already owning that good or using that service. ...
However, LRT systems still require large up-front capital expenditures when compared with road widening. This explains why most transit agencies will lobby the state or federal government for more funding of light rail, since they can easily provide it. Moreover, existing arterials and freeways are considered sunk costs (despite the enormous expense of road maintenance). Because of this, political bodies are often skeptical of allocating funds to establish a new travel system, instead choosing to incrementally increase road expenditures via widening despite the enormous social costs of continued highway dependence. This is an example of a phenomenon known in the behavioral economics literature as "improving one's self to death." An arterial road is a high-capacity road which is just below a highway level of service. ...
In economics and in business decision-making, sunk costs are costs that have already been incurred and which cannot be recovered to any significant degree. ...
Nobel Prize in Economics winner Daniel Kahneman, was an important figure in the development of behavioral finance and economics and continues to write extensively in the field. ...
Variations
Trams operating on mainline railways Around Karlsruhe, Saarbrücken, and Kassel in Germany, Bombardier Flexity Link trams partly use heavy-rail tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy-rail trains. In the Netherlands this was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn. This allows commuters to ride directly into the city centre, rather than having to take a mainline train as far as a central station and then change to a tram. In France similar Tram-trains will be realised in Paris, Mulhouse and Strasbourg, further projects exist. Map of Germany showing Karlsruhe Coat of Arms of Karlsruhe Karlsruhe castle at night Karlsruhe (population 282,595 in December 2003) is a city of Germany, in the Bundesland Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border. ...
Saarbrücken [] is the capital of the Saarland Bundesland in Germany. ...
Watershed of the river Weser Kassel (until 1926 officially Cassel) is a city situated along the Fulda River, one of the two sources of the Weser river, in northern Hessen in west-central Germany. ...
Bombardier Inc. ...
The Flexity Link is a low-floor tram-train manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. ...
Light rail train The RijnGouweLijn or RGL is a light rail project in South Holland, Netherlands. ...
Street running of Stadtbahn in Heilbronn Stadtbahn on standard railway A Nordhausen DUO TramTrain on the linking track between the urban tramway (where they are electrically powered via overhead wires) and the rural heavy rail HSB (Harzer Schmalspurbahn / Harz Narrow-Gauge Railway) - where they are powered via an onboard diesel...
The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...
Mulhouse (Mülhausen in German, Milhüsa in Alsatian) is a town and commune in eastern France. ...
City motto: – City proper (commune) Région Alsace Département Bas-Rhin (67) Mayor Fabienne Keller (UMP) (since 2001) Area 78. ...
Some of the issues involved in such schemes are:
- compatibility of the safety systems
- power supply of the track in relation to the power used by the vehicles (frequently different voltages, rarely third rail vs overhead wires)
- width of the vehicles in relation to the position of the platforms
- height of the platforms
There is history of what would now be considered light-rail vehicles operating on heavy-rail rapid transit tracks in the U.S., especially in the case of interurban streetcars. Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on the Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High Speed Line). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. A notable exception is the New Jersey Transit River LINE from Camden, New Jersey to Trenton, New Jersey, which has received an exemption on the provision that light rail operate only during the daytime hours and Conrail freight only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. ...
Metro and Subway redirect here. ...
The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ...
An interurban streetcar line or interurban, also called a radial railway in Canada, is a streetcar line running between urban areas. ...
The Philadelphia and Western Railroad was an interurban streetcar company west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
The Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL), operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority as Route 100 of the Suburban Transit Division, is a hybrid between light rail and rapid transit operating between Norristown Transportation Center and 69th Street Terminal, running entirely on its own right of way, inherited from the...
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) was created in 1966 as a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation to promote safe, environmentally sound, successful railroad transportation. ...
This article describes subways as mass transit lines. ...
New Jersey Transit Arrow III at West Windsor, NJ New Jersey Transit RTS-06 in Newark, NJ New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) is a statewide public transportation system serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
The New Jersey Transit River LINE is a light rail system in the United States that connects Camden, New Jersey with Trenton, New Jersey. ...
Tweeter Center The City of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey in the United States. ...
Motto: Nickname: Founded Incorporated c. ...
Conrail 6114, a GE Dash 8-40CW, leads a train westbound out of Altoona, Pennsylvania. ...
Third-rail power for trams In the French city of Bordeaux, Citadis trams are powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. Safety is ensured by placing the third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) in the middle of the track, and dividing it into eight-metre sections, each of which is only powered while it is completely covered by a tram. There is therefore no risk of a person or animal coming into contact with a live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires. See this LRTA report for more information. City motto: Lilia sola regunt lunam undas castra leonem. ...
A Citadis tram in Melbourne, Australia The Citadis is a low-floor tram built by Alstom in La Rochelle, France, currently in use around the world, in (among others), the Paris region, Lyon, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Orléans, Rotterdam, Dublin (see Luas), Melbourne (see Trams in Melbourne), and Katowice (see Silesian...
Third rail at the West Falls Church Metro stop in the Washington, D.C. area, electrified to 750 volts. ...
The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ...
This third rail technology is being investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia in the Gold Coast Light Rail Feasibility Study. See the present draft report here. Hi-Rises, Beaches, Canals. ...
See also The following is a list of cities that have tram / light-rail systems. ...
Silver Line in Boston Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a broad term given to a variety of different transportation systems which attempt to use buses to provide a quality service through a set of various improvements to the bus line. ...
Cable Car in San Francisco A San Francisco cable car A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are propelled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. ...
A people mover is a fully-automated light rail or tram system. ...
H-Bahn Dortmund Tama-Monorail (Japan) A monorail is a transit system, resembling a metro or railroad with a track nominally consisting of a single rail (actually a beam), as opposed to the traditional track with two parallel rails. ...
An articulated trolleybus in Arnhem A trolleybus (also known as electric bus, trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tram or simply trolley) is a bus powered by two overhead electric wires, from which the bus draws electricity using two trolley poles. ...
Skytrain Bangkok. ...
A modern tram in the Töölö district of Helsinki, Finland Map showing the tramway system in Oslo, Norway Volkswagen Cargo-Tram in Dresden. ...
a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ...
The General Motors streetcar conspiracy refers to a contention that General Motors (GM), acting in conjunction with several other companies and through the National City Lines (NCL) holding company, illegally acquired many streetcar systems in various cities around the United States, dismantled and replaced them with buses for the express...
Metro is: a general term, synonymous with rapid transit, subway or underground, for an urban underground rail public transit system (see list of rapid transit systems); any of several specific public transport systems, including: Bi-State Development Agency in Missouri and Illinois, d/b/a Metro since 2003 Buffalo Metro...
Street running of Stadtbahn in Heilbronn Stadtbahn on standard railway A Nordhausen DUO TramTrain on the linking track between the urban tramway (where they are electrically powered via overhead wires) and the rural heavy rail HSB (Harzer Schmalspurbahn / Harz Narrow-Gauge Railway) - where they are powered via an onboard diesel...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Guided bus. ...
External links
Links to sites advocating light rail
Links to sites opposing light rail Note: the following links are from organizations that oppose light rail out of ideological reasons. - 'Breech of Faith: Light Rail and Smart Growth' highlighting alleged wastefulness and ineffectiveness of light rail projects An argument against utilization of a light rail system in Charlotte, NC
- LightRail POW! - A website documenting the safety hazards of light rail
- RailRoading America Another political anti-rail web site
- The Monorail Society - A pro-monorail web site that promotes grade-separate rather than street-based transit.
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