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Urban rail transit is a wide term for various types of localrail systems providingpassenger service within and aroundurban orsuburban areas. The set of urban rail systems can be roughly subdivided into the following categories, which sometimes overlap because some systems or lines have aspects of multiple types.
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Atram,streetcar, ortrolley system is a rail-based transit system that runs mainly or completely along streets (withstreet running), with a relatively-low capacity and frequent stops; however, modern trams have a greater passenger capacity than traditional trams. Passengers usually board at the street or curb level, butlow-floor trams may allow level boarding. Longer-distance lines are calledinterurbans orradial railways. Modern trams also operate as self-propelled trains coupled through amultiple unit instead of individual trams and are often included within the broader termlight rail;[1] however, they differ in that trams frequently share the platform withvehicular traffic and do not have signal priority.[2][3]
The term "tram" is used in most parts of the world. In North America, such systems are referred to as "streetcar" or "trolley" systems. In Germany, such systems are calledStraßenbahn, which literally translates as "street train" or "street railway".
A cable car, in the context of mass transit, is a system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable that runs at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping the cable as required. Cable cars are distinct from funiculars (whose cars are permanently attached to the cable) and cable railways (which are similar to funiculars but have rail vehicles that are attached and detached manually).
A light rail system is a rail-based transit system that has higher capacity and speed than a tram, usually by operating in an exclusiveright-of-way separated from road traffic, but it is not, unlike rapid transit, fully grade-separated from it. Light rail also regularly operates withmultiple-unit trains, rather than single tramcars. It emerged as an evolution oftrams. Light rail systems vary significantly in terms of speed and capacity and range from slightly improved tram systems to systems that are essentially rapid transit but with some level crossings.
The term "light rail" is the most common term especially in Americas,[citation needed] but German systems are called[relevant?]Stadtbahn, which translates to "city railway". Additionallytram-train systems are calledRegionalstadtbahn and tram systems with underground sections are calledU-Stadtbahn orU-Strab.
Arapid transit system is arailway, usually in anurban area, with high passenger capacities and frequency of service and (usually) fullgrade separation from other traffic, including other rail traffic. It is sometimes known as "heavy rail" to distinguish it from light rail. Both heavy and light often refer to the capacity and sometimes to investment costs. Rapid transit systems (with full grade separation) with a lower passenger capacity are termedlight rapid transit ormedium capacity system.
In most parts of the world, such systems are known as a "metro", short for "metropolitan", which is itself short for "Metropolitan Railway", the first such system in the world. The term "subway" is used in many American systems, as well as inGlasgow and inToronto. Thesystem in London is named the "Underground" and is commonly nicknamed the "tube". Systems in Germany are called "U-Bahn", which stands forUntergrundbahn ("underground rail"). Many systems in East, Southeast and South Asia likeTaipei,Chennai andSingapore, are called "MRT", which stands for "mass rapid transit". Systems that are predominantly elevated may be referred to as "L", as inChicago, or "Skytrain", as inBangkok andVancouver. Other less common names include "T-bane", which stands for "tunnelbana" (in Scandinavia, literallytunnel track) and "MTR" (mass transit railway).
A commuter rail,regional rail or suburban rail system operates on mainline trackage, which may be shared withintercity rail andfreight trains. Systems tend to operate at lower frequencies than rapid transit or light rail systems but tend to travel at higher speeds, have more widely spaced stations and cover longer overall distances. They have high passenger capacities per single train.
Though many European and East Asian commuter rail systems operate with frequencies and rolling stock similar to that of rapid transit, they do not qualify as such because they share tracks with intercity/freight trains, or they have at grade crossings. For example,S-trains are hybrid systems combining the characteristics of both rapid transit and commuter rail systems. Generally, S-trains share tracks with mainline passenger and freight trains, but the distances between stations and the service headway resemble metro systems.
Hybrid rail, often referred to as "diesel light rail transit" (DLRT) use multiple unit rolling stock originally designed formain line networks.
Automated guideway transit systems tend to operate with medium passenger capacities.
Larger systems span a variety of conceptual designs, from subway-like advanced rapid transit (ART) systems to smaller (typically two to six passengers) vehicles known aspersonal rapid transit (PRT) which offer direct point-to-point travel along a switched network.[4]
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A monorail is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam, as opposed to the traditional track with two parallelrails.
The term possibly comes from 1897,[5] from German engineerEugen Langen, who called an elevated railway system with wagons suspended theEugen Langen One-railed Suspension Tramway (Einschieniges Hängebahnsystem Eugen Langen).[6]
A funicular is a cable-driven inclined railway that uses the weight of descending cars to help pull the ascending cars up the slope.
The termfunicular derives from theLatin wordfuniculus, the diminutive offunis, meaning 'rope'.[7]
Abus shares many characteristics with light rail and trams but does not run on rails.Trolleybuses are buses that are powered fromoverhead wires. Vehicles that can travel both on rails and on roads have been tried experimentally but are not in common use. The termbus rapid transit is used to refer to various methods of providing faster bus services and the systems that use it have similar characteristics tolight rail.Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on adedicated track orroll way that excludes other traffic. Some cities experimenting with guided bus technologies, such asNancy, have chosen to refer to them as 'trams on tires' (rubber-tired trams) and given them tram-like appearances.
Transit agencies' names for lines do not necessarily reflect their technical categorization. For example, theGreen Line inBoston is referred to as asubway although it is mostly made up of above-ground portions. Conversely, theDocklands Light Railway inLondon,C Line inLos Angeles, and some metro lines in China are referred to as "Light Rail" but qualify as rapid transit because they are fully grade-separated and provide a high frequency of service. TheBrisbane Metro is actually aBus Rapid Transit system.
Many cities use names such assubway andelevated railway to describe their entire systems, even if they combine both methods of transportation. Slightly less than half of theLondon Underground's tracks, for example, are actually underground. TheNew York City Subway also combines elevated and subterranean stations, and theChicago "L" and theVancouver SkyTrain use tunnels to run through central areas.
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In a 2006 article, the political scientist Ted Balaker and the urban planner Cecilia Juong Kim stated that public rail transit provides certain benefits for a community but also that the goals of policymakers are not often met. They also note some American economists[who?] claim that contrary to popular belief, rail transit has failed to improve the environment, serve the poor, or reduce highway congestion in the United States. They also claim economists are somewhat more optimistic about rail transit's impact on economic development.[8]
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