The River Line (stylized as River LINE ) is a hybrid rail (light rail with some features similar to commuter rail) line in southern New Jersey that connects the cities of Camden and Trenton , New Jersey's capital. It is so named because its route between the two cities is parallel to the Delaware River .
92-678: Interstate/Rose Quarter station is a light rail station on the MAX Yellow Line in Portland, Oregon . It is the first stop northbound on the Interstate MAX extension. About 200 yards away is the Rose Quarter Transit Center 's MAX station, where transfers to the eastbound MAX Blue and Red lines and the southbound Green Line are possible. Several bus lines also serve the transit center, making stops in
184-724: 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
276-681: A branded "Capitol Connection" bus service, requiring River Line riders to transfer at Trenton Transit Center. A third proposed extension would take the River Line beyond the State House through Trenton, to West Trenton station in Ewing Township, New Jersey , connecting with SEPTA's West Trenton Line service to Center City Philadelphia via Bucks and Montgomery counties. NJ Transit listed this extension on its 2020 Transit wish list map, but has not taken further action. Much of
368-458: 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
460-403: 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
552-1142: 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
644-416: 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
736-435: 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,
828-543: 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
920-734: A modified version of the NORAC Rules, a standard set of railroad operating rules used by mainline railroads operating in the Northeastern U.S., including Amtrak and Conrail. Signals set to stop for the diesel light rail cars are positively enforced via Intermittent Inductive Automatic Train Stop . The system is similar (but not identical) to the German Indusi system, where signal aspects are transmitted to moving trains from wayside devices. The inductive train stop devices are placed by
1012-642: 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
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#17327906830451104-407: 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
1196-534: 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
1288-481: 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
1380-470: 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
1472-575: 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
1564-602: 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
1656-563: 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
1748-426: 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
1840-502: 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
1932-575: 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
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#17327906830452024-559: 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
2116-650: Is no northbound late night service except on Saturdays due to budget cuts; the last northbound train leaves the Walter Rand Transportation Center at 9:38 p.m. Sundays through Fridays and goes only as far as the Pennsauken/Route 73 station. The only option to reach some stations north of the Walter Rand Transportation Center from Camden on these nights is the Route 419 bus which stops at each station as far north as Riverside while
2208-484: 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
2300-691: Is part of larger expansion of public transportation in South Jersey that will include bus rapid transit along the Route 42 and Route 55 , improvements to the Atlantic City Rail Line, and enhanced connections to the Atlantic City International Airport. The New Jersey State House is located approximately 0.8 miles to the northwest of the River Line's northern terminal at Trenton Transit Center. While
2392-408: Is served by the following bus lines, at the adjacent Rose Quarter Transit Center: Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT ) 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
2484-407: 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
2576-481: Is typical of most light rail systems throughout the United States. Passengers can buy tickets at ticket vending machines (TVMs) present at all stations or via the NJ Transit App on Smartphones. Through-ticketing is available for connecting bus routes to Philadelphia. One-way, round-trip, and ten-trip tickets must then be validated, either by the app or with paper tickets, through automated validators located near
2668-809: The Atlantic City Rail Line Archived 2007-11-26 at the Wayback Machine from Philadelphia and Lindenwold connects with the River Line at the Pennsauken Transit Center Station. Currently, there is no service on the line after 10 p.m., except on Saturdays and limited nights when there is a concert at the Entertainment Center at the southern end of the line or another special event. Two stations in Camden, which are double-tracked where
2760-542: 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
2852-586: The Delaware River between Trenton, Camden, and Glassboro. Haines, a native of Moorestown, sought the benefits of rail for Burlington County without the disruption to his hometown. Two special studies were commissioned to supplement the alternatives identified in the MIS. The second of these special studies examined the Bordentown Secondary , another Conrail corridor through Burlington County,
Interstate/Rose Quarter station - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-758: 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
3036-686: The Mount Holly alignment through Burlington County: county freeholders publicly opposed the possibility. Opposition was particularly strong in Moorestown Township , partly because of a potential street-running section. Meanwhile, Gloucester County leaders were largely ambivalent towards the project. Dissatisfied with this analysis, Senator C. William Haines introduced legislation in the New Jersey State Senate requiring NJ Transit to study rail transit service along
3128-637: 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
3220-874: 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
3312-714: The PATCO Speedline began in 1966 and was completed in 1969, re-using the 1936 Bridge Line subway and constructing a grade-separated heavy-rail line within the Atlantic City Line right-of-way. The DRPA's original proposal did not include the alignment that became the River Line corridor, but planned to serve Burlington County via the Mount Holly alignment. NJ Transit's planning for the Burlington–Gloucester Transit System began in
3404-703: 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
3496-530: 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
3588-624: 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
3680-613: The C&;A name between 1830 and 1871, when the line was absorbed into the Pennsylvania Railroad . Ownership proceeded under Penn Central after 1968, and Conrail from 1976 to June 1, 1999, but the original passenger service had been abandoned in 1963. The path to NJ Transit's River Line spanned at least three decades and over multiple planning agencies. An unrelated precursor to the NJ Transit River Line
3772-495: 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
Interstate/Rose Quarter station - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-486: 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 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
3956-601: The NJ Transit Board of Directors on July 13, 2011. NJ Transit opened the station to passenger service on October 14, 2013. Except at each end of the line, the River Line was Conrail's Bordentown Secondary until June 1, 1999, when NJ Transit bought it for $ 67.5 million. NJ Transit has exclusive access to run light rail passenger service on the line from 05:30 to 22:10 Sunday through Friday, and all of Saturday night and Sunday morning. Conrail has exclusive access for freight at other times. Either agency may request to use
4048-616: The River Line and the Atlantic City Line would be constructed in Pennsauken. The new intermodal station would include one low-level platform for River Line trains, two high-level platforms for Atlantic City Line commuter trains, and 280 parking spaces. A ground breaking ceremony was held for the Pennsauken Transit Center on October 19, 2009. The second and final phase of construction was approved by
4140-527: The River Line as "the poster child for how not to plan and make decisions about a transit investment." The lack of a direct transfer between the River Line and NJ Transit's Atlantic City Line , which crosses directly over the River Line in Pennsauken , was highly criticized at the time of the River Line's opening. NJT subsequently reconsidered; in March 2009, NJT announced that an intermodal station linking
4232-439: The River Line uses double track, however, in some places, there is no room for double-track service without narrowing or removing road lanes, such as Burlington (where streets flank the single track on either side), Palmyra and Bordentown. Improving headways from the current peak level of 15 minutes would require either building additional passing sidings or removing one lane of traffic on certain local roads. Other transit in
4324-524: The River Line, either as parts of the initial construction plan which were deferred, or as potential future projects. The Glassboro–Camden Line is a proposed 18-mile (28.97 km) diesel multiple unit (DMU) light rail system . At its northern end in Camden it will converge with the River Line, with which its infrastructure and vehicles will be compatible, and terminate at the Walter Rand Transportation Center . The plan
4416-528: The Southern New Jersey Rail Group (SNJRG), which originally included Bechtel and Bombardier Transportation . Now that the project is in its operational phase, Bombardier is the only member of SNJRG. In 2021, Alstom acquired Bombardier Transportation. The River Line was exceeding final ridership estimates of 5,500 passengers per day, with an average of 9,014 weekday, 5,922 Saturday, and 4,708 Sunday average passenger trips as of
4508-457: The TVMs, which stamp the date and time on the ticket for 75 minutes of use. NJ Transit's fare inspectors randomly check tickets on trains and at stations; fare evasion carries a fine of up to $ 100. Unused Newark City Subway and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail tickets can be used after validation at a River Line station . As of 2004, rider fares only covered 7% of costs (not including debt service). Like
4600-571: The Trenton-Camden corridor. The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was completed in 1998, and the contract with SNJRG was finalized in 1999, permitting the system to open to the public on March 14, 2004. The entire line was 100 percent funded by the State of New Jersey from its Transportation Trust Fund. No federal capital was expended for this diesel light rail project. Former NJ Transit executive director George Warrington has described
4692-662: 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
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#17327906830454784-455: 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
4876-666: 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
4968-590: 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
5060-472: 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
5152-415: 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
5244-423: The alignment of today’s River Line. The parallel NJ Transit local bus on U.S. Route 130 was heavily patronized, and the corridor was ripe for economic development. In November 1996, NJ Transit's board of directors approved a light rail transit alignment from Glassboro to Trenton with diesel-powered cars based on the findings of the special study. The board also established the initial operating corridor (IOC) to be
5336-626: The area between the two MAX stations. The station is located in the median of Interstate Avenue near the Veterans Memorial Coliseum . The station serves the Moda Center , the Memorial Coliseum, and Portland's Rose Quarter district. The station has two side platforms, decorated with the station's signature artwork: Three glass and steel stylized trees on each platform that are illuminated at night. This station
5428-866: 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
5520-421: 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
5612-464: The constraints of the timesharing agreement, with the construction of a mid-line yard in 2005 to permit later Burlington arrivals in the evening, and earlier departures after 6 a.m. However, most of the changes noted to facilitate late night service (after 10 p.m. on nights other than Saturdays) have been reversed, as listed. Since the River Line opened, NJ Transit has made the service enhancements listed below (some of them subsequently reversed): There
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#17327906830455704-415: 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
5796-755: 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
5888-469: The early 1990s. The primary goals of the BGTS were: A Major Investment Study (MIS) published in 1996 concluded that a Gloucester route was more suitable than a Burlington route based on travel demand and citizen support. This study included substantial public participation : fourteen open houses, three advisory committees, and other public outreach. The process found substantial neighborhood opposition to
5980-661: The end of fiscal year 2014. During this time, there were 2,869,707 unlinked passenger trips. In 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic ridership was at 5,350 boardings per weekday, around 61% of pre-pandemic levels. The River Line was constructed on what originally was the Camden- Bordentown section and the Bordentown-Trenton Branch of the Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A). The lines ran under
6072-419: The final southbound trains stop just after 10 p.m., are the only exception. This reduction in service occurred in 2010 to save money. Most of the length of the project, except for street-running portion at the Camden end, is shared between non-FRA compliant light rail DMUs and heavy mainline freight trains. The 34-mile shared-track segment contains a mixture of single and double track sections. The River Line
6164-401: 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
6256-524: 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
6348-399: 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
6440-402: The line at abnormal times in case of a special event or emergency. Within a year of the River Line's launch, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) granted permission to adjust timesharing agreement (more technically, "temporal separation") terms. NJ Transit and Conrail agreed to divide the line into two segments, from Camden to Bordentown (south), and from Bordentown to Trenton (north). In
6532-408: The line was being constructed, NJT studied an extension that would bridge this gap via a shared right-of-way on city streets. Such an extension would provide direct service to the workplaces of state employees and other workers in downtown Trenton. While the project is supported by City of Trenton officials, NJT did not elect to expand the already over-budget construction effort, but instead operates
6624-510: The northern section, the passenger period starts at 5:45 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. Initially, these new periods allowed NJ Transit to deadhead equipment from Trenton to Bordentown and Florence at 5.45 a.m., to form the 6:08 a.m. and 6:23 a.m. northbound departures. These early morning trains provide earlier connections at Trenton for NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor services to Newark and New York City than were available previously. NJ Transit has made some service improvements within
6716-465: 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
6808-695: The peak direction during rush hour. River Line (NJ Transit) The River Line stops at the PATCO Speedline's Broadway station ( Walter Rand Transportation Center ) and the NJ Transit Atlantic City Line 's Pennsauken Transit Center , providing connections to Philadelphia . Its northern terminus is adjacent to the Trenton Transit Center in Trenton . The line is operated for New Jersey Transit by
6900-556: 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
6992-752: The rest of NJ Transit's other transportation modes, it does not accept the SEPTA Key Card , PATCO's Freedom Card , MTA's MetroCard, or OMNY , although it has plans to create a new fare payment system in the future. The River Line fleet comprises 20 articulated Swiss -built Stadler GTW 2/6 DMU ( diesel multiple unit ) cars. The River Line is the first light rail system in the United States to use these instead of more typical electric vehicles. All stations and rolling stock were built after 1990 and are fully ADA-compliant . [REDACTED] NJ Transit Bus : 409 , 413 Camden Loop New Jersey Transit has proposed several possible extensions and stations to
7084-432: 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
7176-415: 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
7268-401: 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
7360-402: The running rails in advance of the absolute signals. Train's emergency brakes are automatically engaged if a stop signal overrun occurs and interlockings are designed with sufficient overlap for trains to come to a complete stop before conflicting with other traffic. The River Line is equivalent to a one-zone bus ride: fares cost $ 1.80. The River Line operates on a proof-of-payment system, as
7452-618: 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
7544-408: 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
7636-551: 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
7728-503: 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
7820-460: 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
7912-434: 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
8004-543: 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
8096-431: Was initially designed for commingled operations (i.e., where freight trains and light rail trains may operate on the same line controlled only by the signal systems) to provide maximum flexibility both for the freight and transit operators. The line, rebuilt under a design-build-operate-maintain (DBOM) contract, features mainline railroad signals with full centralized traffic control (CTC). River Line operating personnel use
8188-677: 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
8280-554: Was the Delaware River Port Authority 's 1960 plan for rail rapid transit service to Moorestown / Mount Holly , Lindenwold , and Woodbury Heights / Glassboro , using three existing railroad corridors. Implementation of the complete plan was considered unrealistically expensive. The DRPA elected to focus its resources on the most promising corridor, the Philadelphia–Lindenwold route. Construction on
8372-632: 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
8464-527: 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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