- For a treatment specific to North America, see Commuter rail in North America. Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, and Mexico provide Common carrier passenger transportation along railway
Commuter rail provides rail service between central business districts and commuter towns or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a daily basis. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. A central business district ( CBD) is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential from which most of the Workforce commute out to earn their livelihood The trains providing such services may be termed commuter trains. A train is a connected series of vehicles that move along a track ( Permanent way) to transport freight or passengers from one place to another The development of commuter rail services has become popular today, with the increased public awareness of congestion, dependence on fossil fuels, and other environmental issues, as well as the rising costs of owning, operating and parking automobiles. This is a list of environmental issues that are due to human activity Parking is the act of stopping a Vehicle and leaving it unoccupied for more than a brief time
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Characteristics
Commuter 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. Luggage is any number of Bags cases and containers which hold a Traveller s articles during transit. The general range of commuter trains varies between 15 and 180 km (9 and 111 miles), with operating speeds from 55 to 175 km/h (35 to 110 mph). Passenger coaches are either single- or double-level, with a capacity of 80-110 passengers for single-level cars and 145-170 for double-level cars. The bilevel car ( North American English) or double-decker (British English increases the passenger or freight capacity of a train without lengthening a train
Defining aspects
Most commuter trains are built to rail standards, differing from light rail or rapid transit systems by:
- being larger;
- having (in most cases) a lower frequency of service;
- having scheduled services (i. For specific light rail systems many of which use the words "light rail" as part of their name see List of light-rail transit systems. A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway e. trains run at specific times rather than at specific intervals);
- serving lower-density areas, typically by connecting suburbs to the city centre;
- sharing track or right-of-way with intercity or freight trains
Their ability to coexist with freight or intercity services in the same right-of-way can drastically reduce system construction costs. South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted – through an Easement or other mechanism – for Transportation purposes such as for a Rail line or Cargo (or freight) refers to goods or produce transported generally for Commercial gain by ship, aircraft, train, A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted – through an Easement or other mechanism – for Transportation purposes such as for a Rail line or However, frequently they are built with dedicated tracks within that right-of-way to prevent delays.
Most such trains run on the local standard gauge track. Named gauges Broad gauge railways by gauge and country Standard gauge railways, by country This is the Standard or international Light rail systems may run on a narrower gauge. Examples of narrow gauge systems are found in Japan, Switzerland and India, and in the Brisbane (Citytrain) and Perth (Transperth) systems in Australia. A narrow gauge railway (or narrow gauge railroad) is a Railway that has a Track gauge narrower than the of Standard gauge railways For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Brisbane ( is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia and the most populous city of Queensland Citytrain is the brand name of urban suburban and inter-urban electric passenger railway services in South East Queensland, Australia. Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system in Perth, Western Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.
In some cases, hybrids between a train and a metro have been created. A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway They run underground in the dense city centres and on surface or elevated tracks in lower-density areas. Examples include the Madrid Cercanías network, the Dublin Area Rapid Transit, the Paris RER, lines 6-8 of the Barcelona Metro, the S-Bahn systems of Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Zürich, the Naples narrow gauge Circumvesuviana, the suburban railway (HÉV) in Budapest, the San Francisco Bay Area BART, Valparaíso Metro and the rail systems of Sydney (CityRail) and Melbourne. Madrid (pronounced in English in Spanish and colloquially in Spain) is the Capital and largest city of Spain. Cercanías (θeɾkaˈnias is the name given to the Commuter rail systems of Spain 's major metropolitan areas The Dublin Area Rapid Transit ( DART) is part of the suburban railway network in Ireland, running mainly along the coastline of Dublin Bay on Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The RER ( R éseau E xpress R égional, ɛʀøɛʀ "Regional Express Network" is a Rapid transit system in France serving The Barcelona Metro ( Catalan and Spanish: Metro de Barcelona) part of the Mass transit Public transport system of This article has been partially translated from the German Wikipedia article The Berlin S-Bahn is a Rapid transit system operated by S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, a subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn. S-Bahn trains in Munich are operated by S-Bahn München, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn Regio Bavaria Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. Zürich (, Zürich German: Züri, Zurich, Zurigo; in English generally Zurich) is the largest city in Switzerland and capital of the Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the A narrow gauge railway (or narrow gauge railroad) is a Railway that has a Track gauge narrower than the of Standard gauge railways Circumvesuviana is a Narrow-gauge railway connecting cities near Naples, Italy. HÉV (originally Helyiérdekű Vasút, lit "Railway of Local Interest" is a system of four Commuter rail lines in and around Budapest, Budapest ( also /ˈbʊ-/) is the capital city of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary it serves as the country's principal Political, The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Bay, is a geographically and ethnically diverse metropolitan region that surrounds the Metro Valparaíso is the metro system serving the urban conglomeration of Gran Valparaíso, Chile, connecting the cities of Valparaíso Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For the Beijing subway line known as the CityRail Line see Line 13 Beijing Subway CityRail is an operating division of RailCorp Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3
In some European countries the distinction between commuter trains and long-distance / intercity trains is very hard to make, because of the relatively short distances involved. For example, so called "intercity" trains in Belgium and the Netherlands carry many commuters and their equipment, range and speeds are similar to those of commuter trains in some larger countries. Inter-city rail services are express Train passenger services which cover longer distances than Commuter trains Africa Inter-city services are reasonably The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands
Russian commuter trains, on the other hand, frequently cover areas larger than Belgium itself, although these are still short distances by Russian standards. Elektrichka (электри́чка електри́чка elektrychka) is an informal word for elektropoyezd (электропо́езд a Soviet or They have a different ticketing system from long-distance trains, and in cities they often operate from a separate station building.
In the United States and Canada, regional passenger rail service is performed by commuter railroads, which are usually governmental or quasi-governmental agencies. Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, and Mexico provide Common carrier passenger transportation along railway
Train types
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. The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelling train unit capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still A bogie (ˈboʊgi (BŌ-gē is a Wheeled wagon or trolley In mechanics terms a bogie is a Chassis or framework carrying wheels attached to a vehicle Depending on local circumstances and tradition they may be powered either by diesel engines located below the passenger compartment (diesel multiple units) or by electricity picked up from third rails or overhead lines (electric multiple units). A diesel engine is an Internal combustion engine which operates using the Diesel cycle (named after Dr A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a Multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board Diesel A third rail is a method of providing Electricity to power a railway through a continuous rigid conductor alongside the railway track or between the rails Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit Electrical energy to Trams Trolleybuses or Trains at a distance from the An electric multiple unit or EMU is a Multiple unit train consisting of many carriages using Electricity as the motive power 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 is often a case of asset sweating, by using a single large combined fleet for intercity and regional services. Business operations are those ongoing recurring activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders They are contrasted 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). Push-pull is a mode of operation for Locomotive -hauled Trains allowing them to be driven from either end Trains are often equipped with a "driving van trailer" (DVT), a control cab at the other end of the train from the locomotive, allowing the train driver to operate 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. A number of vehicles use a diesel-electric Powertrain for providing locomotion.
Seat plans
In the U. S. and some other countries, a three-and-two seat plan is used. However, few people sit in the middle seat on these trains because they feel crowded and uncomfortable. [1] It is said one industrial designer for one of New York City's commuter railroads, Metro-North, told people: "I designed the aisle seat with a half-back and no upholstery, so it will be very uncomfortable to sit there. The transportation system of New York City is a cooperation of complex systems of infrastructure The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, or MTA Metro-North Railroad, or more commonly Metro-North, is a Suburban commuter rail service They'll move in and take the center seat!" [2]
See also
- Cercanías
- Commuter rail in North America
- Commuting
- List of suburban and commuter rail systems
- Noise mitigation
- Rail terminology
- Passenger rail Terminology
- Public transport
- List of rail accidents
- Cityrail
- S-Bahn
External links
- Commuter Rail & Transit News Current news concerning commuter rail development and issues
- TimeTable Mobile Open-source train schedule/timetable for PDA and handheld devices
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