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90-489: The U-Bahn opened in 1968, and has been expanded several times. It consists of three inner-city tunnels and above-ground lines in the suburbs. About 59% of the track length is underground. The network operates on a variety of right of ways typical of a light rail system, with core sections running underground in the inner city and some above-ground sections operating on street . Like all public transport lines in Frankfurt,

180-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of

270-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system

360-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of

450-1142: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In

540-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on

630-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,

720-543: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail

810-570: A lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail

900-642: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to

990-515: A regular budget of 733 million DM. Under pressure to stabilize the budget deficit, the 1964–65 municipal assembly reduced long-term investment planning from 2.7 billion DM to 1.7 billion DM and even hinted that for some time that Eschersheimer Landstraße would be "impassable desert" after completion of the tunnelling work. The U-Bahn opened on 4 October 1968, with the first route running from Hauptwache to Nordweststadt (now line U1). This first section ended up costing 344 million DM to construct, of which

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1080-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit

1170-534: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only

1260-481: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as

1350-565: Is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in the United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with

1440-470: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail

1530-575: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in

1620-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over

1710-523: Is also equipped with a dashboard in order to facilitate shunting, as well as sliding doors (for closing up the train during shunting movements), and head/tail lights. A total of 100 P/Pt/Ptb Class vehicles were built by Duewag in three batches from 1972-1978 and used until 2016 on the U-Bahn network. While the first batch of 30 vehicles were fitted with folding steps, to facilitate access from street level in tram service or high platforms at U-Bahn stations,

1800-563: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over

1890-561: Is developed from the U3 class, but with an appearance similar to the R type trams. Siemens-Duewag built 39 vehicles between 1994 and 1998, numbered 501–539. They were the first U-Bahn vehicles delivered in the current subaru vista blue livery. Originally the U4 vehicles were deployed on A Line services U1, U2 and U3, and later also on lines U8 and U9. An accident involving the two cars 517 and 532 on 28 February 2007 resulted in their early retirement from

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1980-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to

2070-502: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in

2160-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In

2250-559: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as

2340-595: Is now in the collection of the Frankfurt Transport Museum. The U2 Class were the first production vehicles for the network. Duewag built 104 vehicles of this type in seven batches from 1968 to 1984. The final (seventh) batch of seven units was delivered after a fire at Heddernheim Depot in 1980 destroyed five sets. They were originally painted in a red and white livery, before being repainted in beige, ivory and grey from 1981 and finally from 1996 turquoise (officially known as subaru vista blue ). Unlike

2430-484: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as

2520-422: Is still only partially completed. Central sections of the routes, shared by multiple services, are called "basic route" or "trunk route"; these branch out into several "connecting lines", which are usually used by only one service and are sometimes referred to as "upgraded lines". The terms "basic section" and "connecting section" and their designations are based on the names of the construction sections. Sections of

2610-542: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on

2700-921: The Federal Ministry of Transport based on enabling act through the General Railway Law (" Allgemeinen Eisenbahngesetz ", first issued on 29. March 1951). The supervisory authority is delegated to the Federal Railway Authority of Germany. The BOStrab regulations are not as strict as the EBO main railway regulations ; for example the BOStrab does not specify a strict loading gauge to follow. A third law ESBO ( Eisenbahn-Bau- und Betriebsordnung für Schmalspurbahnen ) covers narrow-gauge railway regulations. The distinctions for these light rail systems are slightly different from in

2790-758: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway

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2880-637: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened

2970-874: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail

3060-703: 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 (for crash safety reasons) 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. Notable exceptions in

3150-473: The SPD faction requested that the city council might commit to a two-line straddle-beam monorail system designed by Alweg . Lord Mayor Werner Bockelmann , however, advocated from the outset the construction of a U-Bahn, which was however considered the most expensive option. On 7 July 1960, the city council therefore commissioned a city planner with the preparation of a general planning overview in order to compare

3240-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in

3330-435: The "boldly begun subway construction" in 1964 in its dimensions with the medieval cathedral building. After just one year, the ambitious mammoth project threatened to fail due to financing problems. Falling tax revenues and a tax policy geared towards federal and state governments drove the municipalities close to ruin in the mid-1960s. Frankfurt was 1.4 billion DM in debt in 1964, the most heavily indebted city in Germany, with

3420-624: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit

3510-457: The A Line and U5 vehicles are now deployed on all lines. The design of the U5 class is similar to the older trains. They are 25   m long, two-section, six-axle vehicles, but there are three subtypes. The U5-ZR ( Zweirichtungswagen , bi-directional vehicle) have driving cabs at each end. The U5-ER ( Einrichtungswagen , uni-directional vehicle) have a driving cab at one end and an open gangway at

3600-495: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with

3690-506: The U7 was extended to Enkheim. In order to accommodate the narrower body of the Pt, the U-Bahn platforms had to be modified and in order to allow mixed operation at the same platforms as the other light rail vehicles, which were 30   cm wider, some Pt vehicles were widened around the door area. The resulting subclass was then named Ptb (b for breit , wide). The aforementioned modifications to

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3780-578: The UK Tramways Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 78) / Light Railways Act 1896 . Some Stadtbahn systems are subject to both BOStrab and EBO regulations as their vehicles use both types of networks. This is common with tram-train systems - apart from a technical switch on the boundary (e.g. EMUs need to change from 750 V to 15 kV ) a different set of safety regulations needs to be followed (e.g. tramways are run on sight while main railways use block control). The § 16 BOStrab defines

3870-662: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers

3960-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition

4050-666: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it

4140-590: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System

4230-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There

4320-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas

4410-415: The above-ground section between Römerstadt and Ginnheim are completely separate from other traffic. Most of the other above-ground sections run on reserved track but have numerous level crossings for road traffic and pedestrians. The section of the U5 between Friedberger Anlage and Marbachweg operates in the largely on street . Tunnels exist at - These are individual routings. As of 2024 extensions of

4500-416: The beginning of the 1950s, the first plans were made to relieve the then already overburdened tram. More than 100,000 motor vehicles were registered in Frankfurt in 1958, and more than 180,000 commuters used the transport infrastructure on a daily basis. Various alternatives to the construction of a modern high-speed traffic system and the separation of above-ground traffic flows were discussed. On 5 April 1960,

4590-866: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in

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4680-537: The city center (line U9 being the exception). In 2023, the U-Bahn carried 123.6 million passengers, an average of approximately 338,600 passengers per day. The most recent expansion of the network was on 12 December 2010 when two new lines were added, the U8 and the U9 (both part of the long-planned but only partially completed fourth route ), which opened up the university campus area and the new development area at Riedberg . At

4770-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in

4860-546: The costs of the three systems: Alweg straddle-beam monorail, U-Bahn and Stadtbahn (premetro). Responsible for the planning was in October 1961 designated to the head of the Traffic Department Walter Möller . The decision was finally made in late 1961 in favour of a U-Bahn system, which was to be built in several sections initially using existing tram infrastructure. In the first construction phase,

4950-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of

5040-755: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in

5130-416: The federal government contributed 56 million DM and the state of Hesse contributed 129 million DM. The route network consists of the four routes "A", "B", "C" and "D" used by a total of nine different services, U1 to U9. The total operating length of is 64.85 kilometres (40.30 mi). The first three routes ("A", "B" and "C") each have a separate tunnelled section under the city centre. The fourth, D, route

5220-406: The fleet and being scrapped for spare parts. Between 2010 and 2017 all remaining U4 cars were refurbished. They were fitted with new yellow handrails and orange entrance areas to help visually impaired passengers orientate themselves in the train, and an air conditioning system for the driver's cab. The trains were also modified so they could run in multiple with the newer U5 Class. The U5 Class,

5310-458: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is

5400-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along

5490-414: The legal types of trackbed: If the tramway is street running or the crossings of the exclusive trackbed do not fit in the scope of § 20 BOStrab then tramways are limited to a maximum length of 75  m (246 ft) and a maximum width of 2.65  m (8 ft 8 in). Current eligibility criteria define that federal funding for railroads is only permitted for sections that have a trackbed that

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5580-520: The legs were designated by the letter of the route and a Roman numerical suffix - sections of the connecting lines with an Arabic numeral. The designation of the connecting lines "A1", "A2", "A3" and "B1" was also used to designate the lines until 1978. Like all light rail vehicles, trams and subways in Germany, the Frankfurt U-Bahn is subject to the BOStrab tram regulations . The tunnels and

5670-462: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with

5760-485: The newest of the U-Bahn fleet, has been produced by Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom ) in Bautzen , and is part of the manufacturer's Flexity Swift range. The first order of 146 vehicles was placed in 2006, another order for 78 vehicles came in 2011. and 22 further vehicles were ordered in 2018, with a 23rd vehicle to be delivered to compensate for delivery delays. The first vehicles were delivered in 2008, for use on

5850-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing

5940-590: The other. Two of these can be connected to form a 50   m long train, called U5-50, in a concept similar to the TW2500 on the Hanover Stadtbahn . The third type are designated U5-MW , ( Mittelwagen , intermediate vehicle). They have no cab and both ends of the unit are outfitted with gangways. One or two of these can be coupled between two U5-ER sets to form a continually walk-through train of either 75 metres (U5-75) or 100 metres (U5-100). Each cabless end

6030-491: The peak direction during rush hour. Verordnung %C3%BCber den Bau und Betrieb der Stra%C3%9Fenbahnen The Verordnung über den Bau und Betrieb der Straßenbahnen ("Ordinance on the Construction and Operation of Street Railways" / light railway regulations), abbreviated as BOStrab , is a German law regulation governing the field of tramway , metro and light rail operations. The orders are enacted by

6120-584: The platforms were reversed as well. Even after no other lines required the folding steps, the Ptb remained indispensable on the U5 service where on certain sections the stations did not have high platforms until 2016. Some Ptb class cars had their widened steps restored to regular width and were repurposed for a time on tram lines 15, 17 and 20 due to a tram stock shortage. [REDACTED] Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT )

6210-480: The prototype vehicles the U2 Class did not have folding steps. Instead there were fixed steps inside the doors, level with the underground station platforms but a step up from the lower platforms at above-ground stations. The U2 cars were all used on the A Line until 1998 when 32 vehicles were transferred to the C Line . This had slightly higher platforms (87   cm) and these vehicles were rebuilt as U2e with

6300-556: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have

6390-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as

6480-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in

6570-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of

6660-618: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both

6750-428: The second and third batches had fixed steps and thus was initially incompatible with the platforms on the U-Bahn lines. To differentiate the two subclasses, the batch with folding steps was designated Pt (t for tunnelgängig , operable in tunnels). Between 1984 and 1986 the third batch was rebuilt with folding steps in order to be operated on the C Line , and the second batch were also rebuilt as Pt Class in 1992 when

6840-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which

6930-544: The steps in the door areas removed. The vehicles remaining on the A Line were also rebuilt from 1999, with the steps raised but not removed, becoming U2h . The last U2 car was withdrawn after a farewell trip on 3 April 2016. Three examples have been preserved. Siemens adapted the U2 design for the North American light rail market and similar vehicles were supplied to Edmonton , Calgary and San Diego . The U3 Class

7020-672: The system has been integrated in the Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund (RMV) since 1995. From 1974 until the founding of the RMV, the Stadtwerke were shareholders in the predecessor group, the Frankfurter Verkehrsverbund (FVV; Frankfurt Transport Association). The network consists of 84 stations on nine lines, with a total length of 64.85 kilometres (40.30 mi). Eight of the nine lines travel through

7110-603: The system in planning or under construction include: There are two depots for U-Bahn trains: The U1 Class consists of two six-axle, two-section prototype vehicles built by Duewag in 1965, derived from the manufacturer's previous tramcars. The original designation was U6 ( U -Bahn vehicle with 6 axles), but this was changed to U1 when the U2 Class were delivered. The first prototype was delivered in cream livery but both were painted red and white from 1968. The U1 Class were removed from service in 1976 because they were incompatible with newer vehicle types. One non-operational U1 Class

7200-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience

7290-503: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power

7380-423: The tunnels of the inner city were to be built for the time being, which were to be connected via provisional ramps to the adjacent tram routes. It was not until the second construction phase that the tunnels were to be extended beyond the inner city and connected to suitable upgraded above-ground routes in the suburbs. In the third construction phase, the change from Stadtbahn to U-Bahn would have been completed, which

7470-460: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath

7560-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be

7650-615: Was based on the U2, but slightly longer (24.49   m), with a body made entirely of steel, and without any steps for access from low platforms. Duewag built 27 vehicles in 1979 and 1980, which were originally deployed on the U4 and transferred to the U6 in 2015. In 2017 the last type U3 train was retired from service. After their withdrawal in Frankfurt 24 trains were refurbished and transferred to Monterrey Metro in Mexico. The other three have remained in Frankfurt as museum vehicles. The U4 class

7740-543: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt

7830-677: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in

7920-632: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of

8010-508: Was to operate completely independently of traffic in tunnels, cuts and dams. On 28 June 1963 the first pile of rubble for the construction of the 3.2-kilometre (2.0 mi)-long tunnel under the Eschersheimer Landstraße. For the first stage of development until 1975 - approximately corresponding to today's main lines A and B - construction costs of 565 million DM were expected. The new Lord Mayor Willi Brundert compared

8100-527: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In

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