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78-663: The North Warwickshire Line (also known as the Shakespeare Line ) is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom . It runs from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon , Warwickshire , now the southern terminus of the line, although until 1976 the line continued to Cheltenham as part of the Great Western Railway route from Birmingham to Bristol . The line

156-522: A railmotor , consisting of a self-contained passenger vehicle with its own steam power unit, on its Southsea Railway , and the Great Western Railway arranged to borrow one unit for trials on its Golden Valley Line in Gloucestershire. On this rural route with a scattered population along the rail corridor, the new vehicles enabled a more frequent service to be operated at lower cost. Stops were made at new locations, and passengers joined and left

234-651: A city's central business district, and often share right-of-way with intercity or freight trains. Some services operate only during peak hours and others use fewer departures during off peak hours and weekends. Average speeds are high, often 50 km/h (30 mph) or higher. These higher speeds better serve the longer distances involved. Some services include express services which skip some stations in order to run faster and separate longer distance riders from short-distance ones. The general range of commuter trains' travel distance varies between 15 and 200 km (10 and 125 miles), but longer distances can be covered when

312-413: A headway rather than a published timetable and use dedicated tracks (underground or elevated), whereas commuter rail often shares tracks, technology and the legal framework within mainline railway systems, and uses rolling stocks with more seating and higher speed for comfort on longer city-suburban journeys. However, the classification as a metro or rapid rail can be difficult as both may typically cover

390-581: A metropolitan area exclusively, run on separate tracks in the centre, and often feature purpose-built rolling stock. The fact that the terminology is not standardised across countries (even across English-speaking countries) further complicates matters. This distinction is most easily made when there are two (or more) systems such as New York's subway and the LIRR and Metro-North Railroad , Paris' Métro and RER along with Transilien , Washington D.C.'s Metro along with its MARC and VRE , London's tube lines of

468-595: A new fleet of Class 172 diesel multiple units was introduced to operate the line (along with the other Snow Hill Lines ) replacing the older Class 150s which had operated the line since 1990. In May 2013 Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway station was opened north of Stratford. This allows commuters to use the train without driving into Stratford. The current daytime service level, is two trains per hour between Birmingham Snow Hill and Whitlocks End, one of which continues to Stratford. A second hourly service between Birmingham and Stratford runs via Solihull , joining or leaving

546-473: A separate steam locomotive, and the original power units were scrapped. Autotrains offered many of the benefits of rail motors but, because they were operated by separate locomotives, were much more flexible in operation and easier to maintain. The first of the original rail motors was withdrawn in 1914, but sixty-five survived until 1922. Three of the units were then sold to the London and Blackwall Railway and

624-495: A serious freight train derailment led to British Rail deciding to close the line entirely. The track was lifted in 1979, ending the North Warwickshire Line's role as a through main line. Since the 1990s, the line has been marketed as the 'Shakespeare Line'. The line was resignalled by Network Rail in 2009/2011, replacing the semaphore signals in place, and improving platform access at Stratford; it also saw

702-486: A small luggage compartment was added. The later rail motors were designated "branch". Most of the rail motors were built at Swindon Works , but 14 (GWR Nos. 15, 16, and 61–72) were built by Kerr, Stuart and Company , and 8 (GWR Nos. 73–80) were built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (GRC&W). The GRC&W were primarily carriage builders and seem to have contracted out

780-624: A start on returning it to original condition as a steam rail motor. The frame of the new power bogie was erected in November 2000 at the Tyseley Locomotive Works and was then mounted on wheels and fitted with a boiler. In March 2008 the power bogie was put on display at Didcot. In January 2009 it was moved to the Llangollen Railway where the carriage portion was restored and the two portions brought together. Work

858-673: A steam rail motor was designed by the Chief Mechanical Engineer George Jackson Churchward . Two units were manufactured, and they entered service on the same route on 12 October 1903. A further 44 were built during 1904 and 1905, and by the time production finished in 1908 the fleet numbered 99 carriage units. There were 112 power units which could be changed between carriages to suit maintenance needs. The rail motors were also deployed in cities such as Plymouth , where they operated frequent services calling at new stopping places, competing with

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936-430: A three car train consisting of a standard carriage sandwiched between two railcars. Two such trains ran to and from Cardiff daily at this period, and a stop at Stratford was introduced. The line passed into the ownership of British Railways in 1948, following nationalisation. The North Warwickshire Line has survived two attempts at closure. The line between Tyseley and Bearley junctions was listed for closure as part of

1014-935: Is especially the case for lines operated by Korail , such as the Gyeongui-Jungang Line , the Gyeongchun Line , the Suin-Bundang Line , or the Gyeonggang Line . Even some lines not operated by Korail, such as the AREX Line, the Seohae Line or the Shinbundang Line mostly function as commuter rail. Lastly, even for the "numbered lines" (1–9) of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway which mostly travel in

1092-603: Is heavily used by commuters in the Greater Tokyo Area , who commute between 100 and 200 km (62 and 124 mi) by Shinkansen . To meet the demand of commuters, JR sells commuter discount passes. Before 2021, they operated 16-car bilevel E4 Series Shinkansen trains at rush hour, providing a capacity of 1,600 seats. Several lines in China, such as the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway and

1170-417: Is often a case of asset sweating , by using a single large combined fleet for intercity and regional services. Loco hauled services are usually run in push-pull formation, that is, the train can run with the locomotive at the "front" or "rear" of the train (pushing or pulling). Trains are often equipped with a control cab at the other end of the train from the locomotive, allowing the train operator to operate

1248-469: Is one of the Snow Hill lines . It is not electrified and is operated by West Midlands Trains using Class 172 diesel multiple units . The northern part of the line is suburban in nature, and has a regular and busy commuter service into central Birmingham. The southern part (south of Whitlocks End ) is rural in nature, and has a less frequent service, with a number of rural request stops . Despite

1326-1963: Is one suburban rail called the Chittagong Circular Railway . Another suburban railway called the Dhaka Circular Railway is currently proposed. Karachi in Pakistan has a circular railway since 1969. Tehran Metro currently operates the Line 5 commuter line between Tehran and Karaj . Turkey has lines connecting Başkentray , İZBAN , Marmaray and Gaziray . Major metropolitan areas in most European countries are usually served by extensive commuter/suburban rail systems. Well-known examples include BG Voz in Belgrade (Serbia), S-Bahn in Germany, Austria and German-speaking areas of Switzerland, Proastiakos in Greece, RER in France and Belgium, Servizio ferroviario suburbano in Italy, Cercanías and Rodalies ( Catalonia ) in Spain, CP Urban Services in Portugal, Esko in Prague and Ostrava (Czech Republic), HÉV in Budapest (Hungary) and DART in Dublin (Ireland). London has multiple commuter rail routes: The Merseyrail network in Liverpool consists of two commuter rail routes powered by third rail, both of which branch out at one end. At

1404-470: Is operationally more like a typical metro system (frequent trains, an emphasis on standing passengers , short station spacings) than it is like commuter rail in other countries. Japanese commuter rail commonly interline with city center subway lines, with commuter rail trains continuing into the subway network, and then out onto different commuter rail systems on the other side of the city. Many Japanese commuter systems operate various stopping patterns to reduce

1482-623: Is promoting a scheme to reopen the 9 miles (14 km) of line south of Stratford to Honeybourne where it would link to the Cotswold Line . Called the "Avon Rail Link", the scheme (supported as a freight diversionary route by DB Schenker) would make Stratford-upon-Avon station a through station once again with improved connections to the South, and would open up the possibility of direct services to Oxford and Worcester via Evesham . The scheme faces local opposition. A plan asserted that there

1560-526: Is still possible to tell them apart. Some operators, for example Thameslink , focus solely on commuter services. Others, such as Avanti West Coast and LNER , run solely intercity services. Others still, such as GWR and EMR , run a mixture of commuter, regional and intercity services. Some of these operators use different branding for different types of service (for example EMR brands its trains as either "InterCity", "Connect" for London commuter services, and "Regional") but even for those operators that do not,

1638-579: Is used in Australia (Sydney for example) to describe the regional trains operating beyond the boundaries of the suburban services, even though some of these "inter-city" services stop all stations similar to German regional services. In this regard, the German service delineations and naming conventions are clearer and better used for academic purposes. Sometimes high-speed rail can serve daily use of commuters. The Japanese Shinkansen high speed rail system

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1716-426: Is widely used in many commuter rail trains to increase capacity in rush hours. Carriages are usually not organized to increase seating capacity (although in some trains at least one carriage would feature more doors to facilitate easier boarding and alighting and bench seats so that they can be folded up during rush hour to provide more standing room) even in the case of commuting longer than 50 km and commuters in

1794-566: The Beeching Axe closures in the 1960s. This would have left Stratford connected to the rail network only by the branch to Hatton, reverting to the pre-1908 situation. The closure proposals provoked a strong local campaign to save the line, which eventually went to the High Court , resulting in a court injunction preventing closure of the line in 1969. However British Rail made another attempt at closure in 1984, when they appealed to have

1872-919: The Brisbane ( Queensland Rail 's City network ) and Perth ( Transperth ) systems in Australia, in some systems in Sweden, and on the Genoa-Casella line in Italy. Some countries and regions, including Finland , India, Pakistan, Russia , Brazil and Sri Lanka, as well as San Francisco ( BART ) in the US and Melbourne and Adelaide in Australia, use broad gauge track. Metro rail and rapid transit usually cover smaller inner-urban areas within 12 to 20 km (7 to 12 mi) of city centers, with shorter stop spacing, use rolling stocks with larger standing spaces, lower top speed and higher acceleration, designed for short-distance travel. They also run more frequently, to

1950-769: The Chennai MRTS , also covers over 300 stations and carries more than 2.5 million people daily to different areas in Chennai and its surroundings. Other commuter railways in India include the Hyderabad MMTS , Delhi Suburban Railway , Pune Suburban Railway and Lucknow-Kanpur Suburban Railway . In 2020, Government of India approved Bengaluru Suburban Railway to connect Bengaluru and its suburbs. It will be unique and first of its kind in India as it will have metro like facilities and rolling stock. In Bangladesh, there

2028-528: The Greater Tokyo Area , Seoul metropolitan area , and Jabodetabek area have to stand in the train for more than an hour. Currently there are not many examples of commuter rail in Africa . Metrorail operates in the major cities of South Africa , and there are some commuter rail services in Algeria , Botswana , Kenya , Morocco , Egypt and Tunisia . In Algeria, SNTF operates commuter rail lines between

2106-845: The Guangshen Railway have more frequent metro-like service. The two MTR lines which are owned and formerly operated by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ( East Rail line and Tuen Ma line which is integrated from the former West Rail line and Ma On Shan line in 2021), then the "KCR" ), and MTR's own Tung Chung line connect the new towns in New Territories and the city centre Kowloon together with frequent intervals, and some New Territories-bound trains terminate at intermediate stations, providing more frequent services in Kowloon and

2184-585: The Jakarta city center with surrounding cities and sub-urbans in Banten and West Java provinces, including Depok , Bogor , Tangerang , Serpong , Rangkasbitung , Bekasi and Cikarang . In July 2015, KRL Commuterline served more than 850,000 passengers per day, which is almost triple of the 2011 figures, but still less than 3.5% of all Jabodetabek commutes. Other commuter rail systems in Indonesia include

2262-1023: The Metro Surabaya Commuter Line , Commuter Line Bandung , KAI Commuter Yogyakarta–Solo Line , Kedung Sepur , and the Sri Lelawangsa . In the Philippines, the Philippine National Railways has two commuter rail systems currently operational; the PNR Metro Commuter Line in the Greater Manila Area and the PNR Bicol Commuter in the Bicol Region . A new commuter rail line in Metro Manila,

2340-614: The North–South Commuter Railway , is currently under construction. Its North section is set to be partially opened by 2021. In Malaysia, there are two commuter services operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu . They are the KTM Komuter that serves Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding Klang Valley area , and the KTM Komuter Northern Sector that serves Greater Penang , Perak , Kedah and Perlis in

2418-723: The Réseau Express Régional (RER) in Paris, the S Lines in Milan, many Japanese commuter systems, the East Rail line in Hong Kong, and some Australasian suburban networks, such as Sydney Trains . Many commuter rail systems share tracks with other passenger services and freight . In North America, commuter rail sometimes refers only to systems that primarily operate during rush hour and offer little to no service for

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2496-767: The Shanghai–Nanjing High-Speed Railway , serve a similar role with many more under construction or planned. In South Korea, some sections of the high-speed rail network are also heavily used by commuters, such as the section between Gwangmyeong Station and Seoul Station on the KTX network ( Gyeongbu HSR Line ), or the section between Dongtan Station and Suseo station on the SRT Line. The high-speed services linking Zürich , Bern and Basel in Switzerland (200 km/h (120 mph)) have brought

2574-588: The Underground and the Overground , Elizabeth line , Thameslink along with other commuter rail operators , Madrid's Metro and Cercanías , Barcelona's Metro and Rodalies , and Tokyo's subway and the JR lines along with various privately owned and operated commuter rail systems. Regional rail usually provides rail services between towns and cities, rather than purely linking major population hubs in

2652-618: The Wrington Vale Light Railway it was frequently necessary for the rail motor to stop on the 1 in 50 gradient to raise enough steam to continue. Steam engines need frequent servicing, and while this was being undertaken the coach unit was not available for use; steam engine maintenance is also exceptionally dirty, and keeping the passenger sections in an acceptable state of cleanliness was an issue. Most rail motors were converted into driving trailers for push-and-pull trains (sometimes referred to as autocoaches ) serving

2730-605: The Yamanote Line , Keihin Tohoku Line , Chūō–Sōbu Line services arguably are more akin to rapid transit with frequent stops, simple stopping patterns (relative to other JR East lines) no branching services and largely serving the inner suburbs; other services along the Chūō Rapid Line , Sōbu Rapid Line / Yokosuka Line , Ueno–Tokyo Line , Shōnan–Shinjuku Line etc. are mid-distance services from suburban lines in

2808-447: The new electric tramways . The relatively limited accommodation led to problems at busy periods, and driving trailers were constructed with a mechanical facility to control the main unit, so that the train could be driven from the driving trailer, maintaining the avoidance of running round at terminals. However, the available power in the small steam engine was a limitation, especially on routes with steep gradients. Maggs records that on

2886-502: The 300 km/h (186 mph) Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed railway . The regional trains Stockholm – Uppsala , Stockholm– Västerås , Stockholm– Eskilstuna and Gothenburg – Trollhättan in Sweden reach 200 km/h (120 mph) and have many daily commuters. In Great Britain , the HS1 domestic services between London and Ashford runs at a top speed of 225 km/h, and in peak hours

2964-489: The Birmingham terminus of most local services on the line, as well local services from Leamington Spa. Moor Street was opened to take these local services and so, relieve congestion at Birmingham Snow Hill which handled the long-distance services. Local services were operated initially by railmotors ; which were self-propelled steam carriages. These were later superseded by autotrains ; a form of push-pull train . From

3042-528: The Central Business Districts (CBDs) of these three cities within 1 hour of each other. This has resulted in unexpectedly high demand for new commuter trips between the three cities and a corresponding increase in suburban rail passengers accessing the high-speed services at the main city-centre stations ( Hauptbahnhof ). The Regional-Express commuter service between Munich and Nuremberg in Germany runs at 200 km/h (120 mph) on

3120-570: The East Rail Line share tracks with intercity trains to mainland China . The three KCR lines are integrated into the MTR network since 2008 and most passengers do not need to exit and re-enter the system through separate fare gates and purchase separate tickets to transfer between such lines and the rest of the network (the exceptions are between the Tuen Ma line's East Tsim Sha Tsui station and

3198-707: The GWR a new main line between the West Midlands and the South West of England and South Wales , providing a shorter link than existing routes via Oxford and Hereford. It thus placed the Great Western in a position to compete with the Birmingham to Bristol route of the Midland Railway . Moor Street station in Birmingham, was opened soon after the opening of the North Warwickshire Line, and served as

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3276-433: The Netherlands carry many commuters, while their equipment, range, and speeds are similar to those of commuter trains in some larger countries. The United Kingdom has a privatised rail system, with different routes and services covered by different private operators. The distinction between commuter and intercity rail is not as clear as it was before privatisation (when InterCity existed as a brand of its own), but usually it

3354-403: The North Warwickshire Line at Bearley Junction, meaning a half-hourly service exists between Birmingham and Stratford. Most Birmingham trains continue beyond Snow Hill to either Stourbridge Junction , Kidderminster or Worcester . On summer Sundays, a steam service, the "Shakespeare Express" is operated by Vintage Trains between Birmingham and Stratford. The Shakespeare Line Promotion Group

3432-411: The Tsuen Wan line's Tsim Sha Tsui station . In Taiwan, the Western line in the Taipei - Taoyuan Metropolitan Area, Taichung Metropolitan Area and Tainan - Kaohsiung Metropolitan Area as well as the Neiwan - Liujia line in the Hsinchu Area are considered commuter rail. In South Korea, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway includes a total of 22 lines, and some of its lines are suburban lines. This

3510-467: The capital Algiers and its southern and eastern suburbs. They also serve to connect Algiers ' main universities to each other. The Dar es Salaam commuter rail offers intracity services in Dar es Salaam , Tanzania. In Botswana, the ( Botswana Railways ) "BR Express" has a commuter train between Lobatse and Gaborone . In Japan, commuter rail systems have extensive network and frequent service and are heavily used. In many cases, Japanese commuter rail

3588-478: The construction of the engine to another Gloucester firm, Summers and Scott. Kerr Stuart later sold an engine for a similar rail motor to Victorian Railways in Australia. In February 1908, a steam rail motor was turned out from Swindon railway works and given the number 93. It was one of sixteen built to Diagram R, the last batch of steam rail motors. These were 70 feet (21 m) long and 9 feet (2.7 m) wide. After running 479,006 miles (770,885 km) it

3666-417: The dense parts of Seoul, some track sections extend far outside of the city, and operate large sections at ground level, such as on the Line 1 , Line 3 and Line 4 . In Busan, the Donghae Line , while part of the Busan Metro system, mostly functions as a commuter rail line. In Indonesia , the KRL Commuterline is the largest commuter rail system in the country, serving the Greater Jakarta . It connects

3744-410: The existing branch line to Henley-in-Arden from Lapworth , which later closed in 1915. The NWL formed the final stage of a new main line route, which also incorporated most of the branch south of Stratford to Honeybourne , opened in 1859, which was also doubled at the same time, and joined to a new line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham (the Honeybourne Line ), which had been completed in 1906. This gave

3822-506: The existing main line into Birmingham at Tyseley , and ran south to Bearley , where it connected to the pre-existing single track Hatton to Stratford-upon-Avon branch line, which had been opened in 1860 by the Stratford on Avon Railway . Part of this branch between Bearley and Stratford was doubled as part of the work, to incorporate it into the new main line, providing a more direct link between Birmingham and Stratford, connecting Henley-in-Arden and Shirley en route. This made redundant

3900-507: The first years of the twentieth century, railway managements turned their attention to the need to provide better local passenger services and to reduce costs, in the face of increasing demand for convenient travel and the competitive threat posed by urban tramways. The original strengths of railways—a fixed track, multiple vehicle passenger trains, highly structured and staffed stations—had limitations in responding to changing needs. The London and South Western Railway had successfully operated

3978-416: The former BR 's Regional Railways , France's TER ( Transport express régional ), Germany's Regionalexpress and Regionalbahn , and South Korea's Tonggeun and Mugunghwa-ho services. In some European countries, the distinction between commuter trains and long-distance/intercity trains is subtle, due to the relatively short distances involved. For example, so-called " intercity " trains in Belgium and

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4056-633: The injunction lifted. This time the proposal was to close the line between Henley-in-Arden and Bearley junction, and to divert Stratford trains via Solihull. This again provoked a strong local response, and BR withdrew the closure proposal in 1987. However many cutbacks were made. Long-distance services were cut back from September 1962, when the "Cornishman" and the Birmingham-Cardiff expresses were re-routed. A few passenger services remained south of Stratford to Gloucester until 1968, and to Worcester via Honeybourne until 1969. The line south of Stratford remained open for freight until 1976, when damage caused by

4134-845: The last was withdrawn in 1935. Rail motors Nos. 42 and 49, along with ex- Port Talbot Railway No. 1 (which had been acquired by the GWR in 1908) were sold to the Port of London Authority. All of the fleet were built with four-wheel vertical-boiler power units and a four-wheel trailing bogie under the carriage. Driving wheels were from 3 ft 5 in (1,041 mm) to 4 ft 0 in (1,219 mm); cylinders were from 9 in × 15 in (229 mm × 381 mm) to 12 in × 16 in (305 mm × 406 mm). Some dimensions were 3 ⁄ 4 inch (19 mm) larger than shown in this table where figures have been rounded down to nearest one inch (25 mm). The first sixteen rail motors did not provide luggage space and were designated "suburban", but from No. 17 on,

4212-537: The name, the line does not pass through the area commonly known as North Warwickshire , instead, the name of the line was believed to be derived from that of the local hunt . The original plans for the line were promoted by an independent company; the Birmingham, North Warwickshire and Stratford Railway , which received royal assent for its authorising act of Parliament, the Birmingham, North Warwickshire and Stratford-upon-Avon Railway Act 1894 ( 57 & 58 Vict. c. ccxi) in August 1894. The company failed to raise

4290-403: The necessary funds to build the line, and the powers to build it were taken over by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in July 1900. The GWR incorporated the line into their own scheme to build a new Birmingham to Cheltenham via Stratford main line. Construction began in September 1905, the line was opened to goods traffic on 9 December 1907, and to passengers on 1 July 1908 . The NWL connected to

4368-502: The northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. In Thailand, the Greater Bangkok Commuter rail and the Airport Rail Link serve the Bangkok Metropolitan Region . The SRT Red Lines , a new commuter line in Bangkok, started construction in 2009. It opened in 2021. Another commuter rail system in Southeast Asia is the Yangon Circular Railway in Myanmar . In India, commuter rail systems are present in major cities and form an important part of people's daily lives. Mumbai Suburban Railway ,

4446-889: The number expected to rise even higher upon full completion of the Acharnes Railway Center . Eskişehir-Ankara and Konya-Ankara high speed train routes serve as high speed commuter trains in Turkey. Commuter/suburban trains are usually optimized for maximum passenger volume, in most cases without sacrificing too much comfort and luggage space, though they seldom have all the amenities of long-distance trains. Cars may be single- or double-level , and aim to provide seating for all. Compared to intercity trains, they have less space, fewer amenities and limited baggage areas. Commuter rail trains are usually composed of multiple units , which are self-propelled, bidirectional, articulated passenger rail cars with driving motors on each (or every other) bogie . Depending on local circumstances and tradition they may be powered either by diesel engines located below

4524-417: The oldest suburban rail system in Asia, carries more than 7.24 million commuters on a daily basis which constitutes more than half of the total daily passenger capacity of the Indian Railways itself. Kolkata Suburban Railway , one of the largest suburban railway networks in the world, consists of more than 450 stations and carries more than 3.5 million commuters per day. The Chennai Suburban Railway along with

4602-400: The other, the Northern line continues out of the city centre to a mainline rail interchange, while the Wirral line has a city-centre loop. GWR steam rail motors The steam rail motors (SRM) were self-propelled carriages operated by the Great Western Railway in England and Wales from 1903 to 1935. They incorporated a steam locomotive within the body of the carriage. In

4680-581: The outer reaches of Greater Tokyo through operating into these lines to form a high frequency corridor though central Tokyo. Other commuter rail routes in Japan include: Commuter rail systems have been inaugurated in several cities in China such as Beijing , Shanghai , Zhengzhou , Wuhan , Changsha and the Pearl River Delta . With plans for large systems in northeastern Zhejiang , Jingjinji , and Yangtze River Delta areas. The level of service varies considerably from line to line ranging high to near high speeds. More developed and established lines such as

4758-423: The passenger compartment ( diesel multiple units ) or by electricity picked up from third rails or overhead lines ( electric multiple units ). Multiple units are almost invariably equipped with control cabs at both ends, which is why such units are so frequently used to provide commuter services, due to the associated short turn-around time. Locomotive hauled services are used in some countries or locations. This

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4836-433: The removal of the three remaining signal boxes at Shirley, Henley-in-Arden and Bearley Junction. As part of this scheme, terminating services from Birmingham were extended from Shirley to the next station, Whitlocks End , by the addition of a new turnback facility. Park and ride facilities were added at Whitlocks End to encourage commuters to drive there, in order to reduce traffic congestion at Shirley station. In 2011

4914-552: The rest of the day, with regional rail being used to refer to systems that offer all-day service. Most commuter (or suburban) trains are built to main line rail standards, differing from light rail or rapid transit (metro rail) systems by: Compared to rapid transit (or metro rail), commuter/suburban rail often has lower frequency , following a schedule rather than fixed intervals, and fewer stations spaced further apart. They primarily serve lower density suburban areas (non inner-city), generally only having one or two stops in

4992-488: The same right-of-way can drastically reduce system construction costs. However, frequently they are built with dedicated tracks within that right-of-way to prevent delays, especially where service densities have converged in the inner parts of the network. Most such trains run on the local standard gauge track. Some systems may run on a narrower or broader gauge. Examples of narrow gauge systems are found in Japan, Indonesia , Malaysia , Thailand , Taiwan, Switzerland, in

5070-403: The start, the line carried long-distance services from the West Midlands to Bristol, South Wales, and the South West of England. These were suspended during the First World War, then developed in the 1920s and '30s, were suspended again in the Second World War, finally reaching their peak in the 1950s, at which time up to six such trains traversed the line each weekday. The doyen of these services

5148-461: The towns closer to Kowloon. They use rolling stocks with a faster maximum speed and have longer stop spacing compared to other lines which only run in the inner urban area, but in order to maximise capacity and throughput, these rolling stocks have longitudinal seatings, 5 pairs of doors in each carriage with large standing spaces like the urban lines, and run as frequent as well. Most of the sections of these four lines are overground and some sections of

5226-454: The train at cheap and simple ground-level platforms using power operated steps on the vehicles. Six new stopping places were provided between Chalford and Gloucester for this service. The guard issued tickets on the train, avoiding the need for staffing at the halts. The vehicles could be driven from either end, so time was not lost in running round at terminals, as would be the case in locomotive hauled trains. The trial proved successful and

5304-515: The train from either end. The motive power for locomotive-hauled commuter trains may be either electric or diesel–electric , although some countries, such as Germany and some of the former Soviet-bloc countries, also use diesel–hydraulic locomotives. In the US and some other countries, a three-and-two seat plan is used. Middle seats on these trains are often less popular because passengers feel crowded and uncomfortable. In Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, longitudinal (sideways window-lining) seating

5382-450: The trains can be full with commuters standing. The Athens Suburban Railway in Greece consists of five lines, 4 of which are electrified. The Kiato – Piraeus line and the Aigio – Airport lines reach speeds of up to 180 km/h (112 mph). The Athens – Chalcis line is also expected to attain speeds of up to 200 km/h (124 mph) upon upgrading of the SKA–Oinoi railway sector. These lines also have many daily commuters, with

5460-471: The trains run between two or several cities (e.g. S-Bahn in the Ruhr area of Germany). Distances between stations may vary, but are usually much longer than those of urban rail systems. In city centres the train either has a terminal station or passes through the city centre with notably fewer station stops than those of urban rail systems. Toilets are often available on-board trains and in stations. Their ability to coexist with freight or intercity services in

5538-418: The travel time to distant locations, often using station passing loops instead of dedicated express tracks. It is notable that the larger Japanese commuter rail systems are owned and operated by for-profit private railway companies, without public subsidy. East Japan Railway Company operates a large suburban train network in Tokyo with various lines connecting the suburban areas to the city center. While

5616-574: The type of train, amenities offered, and stopping pattern, usually tell the services apart. Russian commuter trains , on the other hand, frequently cover areas larger than Belgium itself, although these are still short distances by Russian standards. They have a different ticketing system from long-distance trains, and in major cities they often operate from a separate section of the train station. Some consider "inter-city" service to be that which operates as an express service between two main city stations, bypassing intermediate stations. However, this term

5694-470: The way inter-city rail does. Regional rail operates outside major cities. Unlike Inter-city, it stops at most or all stations between cities. It provides a service between smaller communities along the line that are often byproducts of ribbon developments , and also connects with long-distance services at interchange stations located at junctions, terminals, or larger towns along the line. Alternative names are "local train" or "stopping train". Examples include

5772-424: Was a good business case for Stratford-Cotswolds link. Suburban railway The term can refer to systems with a wide variety of different features and service frequencies, but is often used in contrast to rapid transit or light rail . Some services share similarities with both commuter rail and high-frequency rapid transit ; examples include New Jersey Transit in the U.S., German S-Bahn in some cities,

5850-551: Was always the daily train from Wolverhampton to Penzance, latterly named " The Cornishman ". The line was especially busy during summer months, as it became the principal holiday route between Birmingham and Devon and Cornwall , and many extra holiday excursion trains would run. A pioneering diesel railcar service with a buffet commenced running in July 1934 between Birmingham Snow Hill and Cardiff , running non-stop through Stratford, with only two stops at Gloucester and Newport. This

5928-514: Was completed in March 2011 and No. 93 returned to public service at Didcot in May later that year. In June 2012, No. 93 was approved for main line operation, even though the re-introduction of wooden bodied vehicles had not been allowed for many years, and was subject to restrictions to reduce the possibility of collisions and any subsequent damage. Since then No. 93 has run on various railways including

6006-550: Was the first long-distance diesel express service in Britain. It proved so successful that larger railcars with more seating and no buffet had to be introduced to cope with demand, and even this had to be augmented by a normal locomotive hauled service. During the Second World War, the railcar service was the only through service using the line, as all other long-distance trains were suspended. At this time it consisted of

6084-503: Was withdrawn in November 1934, the power unit was removed and the carriage portion converted into an auto trailer. Now renumbered 212, it operated in this form until May 1956. It was then put into use as a "Work Study Coach" and later as a static office in Birmingham . In 1970, it was sold to the Great Western Society and moved to their base at Didcot Railway Centre but it was not until 1998 that they were able to make

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