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Los Angeles Metro Gold Line trains in Pasadena, California

Light rail is a commonly used mode of rapid transit in North America. The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) to describe new streetcar transformations which were taking place in Europe and the United States. The Germans used the term Stadtbahn, which is the predecessor of the North American light rail, to describe the concept, and many in the UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, which is city rail. However, in its reports the UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead.^[1]

History of Streetcar and Light rail

A preserved 1907 streetcar in Philadelphia.

From the mid-19th century onwards, horse-drawn trams (or horsecars) were used in cities around the world. In the late 1880s electrically powered street railways became technically feasible following the invention of a trolley pole system of collecting current by American inventor Frank J. Sprague who installed the first successful system at Richmond, Virginia. They became popular because roads were then poorly surfaced, and before the invention of the internal combustion engine and the advent of motor-buses, they were the only practical means of public transport around cities.^[2]

The streetcar systems constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries typically only ran in single-car setups. Some rail lines experimented with multiple unit configurations, where streetcars were joined together to make short trains, but this did not become common until later. When lines were built over longer distances (typically with a single track) before good roads were common, they were generally called interurban streetcars in most of North America or radial railways in Ontario. After World War II, seven major North American cities (Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Newark, 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 the old and new systems.

In North America, many of these original Streetcar systems were decommissioned in the 1950s and onward as the popularity of the automobile increased. Britain abandoned its last light rail system except Blackpool by 1962.^[3] Although some traditional trolley or tram systems still exist to this day, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system. Modern light rail technology has primarily German origins, since an attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle was a technical failure. After World War II, the Germans retained their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems (stadtbahnen). Except for Hamburg, all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks.^[4]

The renaissance of light rail in North American began 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.

Historically, the rail gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge.^[4] An important advantage of standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauge also allows light rail vehicles to be delivered and relocated conveniently using freight railways and locomotives. Another factor favoring standard gauge is that low-floor vehicles are becoming popular, and there is generally insufficient space for wheelchairs to move between the wheels in a narrow gauge layout.

Origins of light rail in North America

The renaissance of light rail in North American began in 1978 when Edmonton adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary and San Diego. These modern light-rail systems are more like subway or metro systems that operate at street level. They include modern, multi-car trains that can only be accessed at stations that are spaced anywhere from a couple blocks to a mile or more apart. Some of these systems operate within roadways alongside automobile traffic, and others operate on their own separate right-of-way.

Politics of light rail in North America

Due to lower density of many American cities, LRT speed relative to the automobile, generally lower ridership levels, and questions of cost-effectiveness, the construction of light rail systems has spurred political controversy as a use of public funds. Arguments made against light rail systems often bill it as less practical than equivalent bus systems and less effective than increases in highway capacity. Arguments in favor of light rail point to overall improvements in safety and quality of life in cities supporting rail-based mass transit and long-term sustainability benefits. They also encourage cities to change transportation back to transit and away from motor vehicles to make cities "grow upwards, not outwards" referring to the fact denser cities are most efficient than sprawled cities. Many cities, e.g. Edmonton, San Diego, Minneapolis, do however see Light Rail as an efficient alternative and already have major Transit Expansions driven mostly by Light Rail.^[5]^[6]

Usage of light rail in North America

Siemens MAX train traveling on the yellow line in Portland, Oregon.

System	Largest city served	Daily ridership (2010 Q3)	Annual Ridership (2009)
Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey	Monterrey*	418.7	136,620.0
Calgary Transit	Calgary	252.6	77,058.7
Massachusetts Bay Tr Auth	Boston	215.4	74,091.7
Sistema de Tren Eléctrico Urbano	Guadalajara*	195.1	74,850.0
Los Angeles County MTA	Los Angeles	156.6	45,087.3
San Francisco Muni Rwy	San Francisco	153.9	52,163.2
Tri-County Metro Trp Dist	Portland	127.9	36,002.0
Southeastern Penn TA	Philadelphia	94.4	28,766.2
Edmonton Transit System	Edmonton*	93.6	20,605.1
San Diego Trolley, Inc.	San Diego	92.1	31,337.5
Servicios de Transportes Electricos	Mexico City*	70.1	25,307.0
Dallas Area Rapid Transit	Dallas	57.4	18,849.8
New Jersey Transit Corp	Newark*	57.2	21,090.6
Bi-State Dev Agency	Saint Louis	55.8	18,136.3
Utah Transit Authority	Salt Lake City	46.9	13,165.8
Sacramento Reg Tr Dist	Sacramento	44.4	16,690.0
Regional Trp District	Denver	42.6	19,759.3
Valley Metro Rail, Inc.	Phoenix	37.4	11,348.5
Metro Tr Auth of Harris Co	Houston	35.0	11,364.5
Metro Transit	Minneapolis	35.0	9,863.1
Maryland Transit Admin	Baltimore	34.3	8,981.2
Santa Clara Valley Trp Auth	San Jose	32.8	10,127.3
Sound Transit	Seattle	28.6	3,390.1
Port Auth of Allegheny Co	Pittsburgh	24.8	7,150.1
Charlotte Area Transit	Charlotte	20.2	4,760.0
Niagara Frontier Trp Auth	Buffalo	18.8	6,260.0
Regional Transit Auth	New Orleans	17.3	4,712.2
Greater Cleveland Reg TA	Cleveland*	7.7	2,836.5
OC Transpo	Ottawa	8.7	2,523.9
North County Transit District	Oceanside	7.1	2,104.7
Memphis Area Transit Auth	Memphis	3.8	1,158.8
Hillsborough Area Reg TA	Tampa	0.8	446.6
Hampton Roads Transit	Norfolk**	-	-

Note: Ridership figures are in thousands. Daily ridership figures represent average weekday ridership figures for all cities except those marked with an asterisk (*), where they represent average for all days (i.e. including weekends). Norfolk, marked with two asterisks (**), opened its system, The Tide, in August 2011. Ridership numbers are not yet available.

Sources:

American Public Transportation Association 4Q2009^[7] and 3Q2010.^[8]
INEGI^[9]^[10]^[11]

Diesel light rail

A few recently opened systems in North America use diesel-powered trains, including the River Line in New Jersey (opened in 2004), the O-Train in Ottawa (opened in 2001), and the SPRINTER in northern San Diego County, California. Diesel operations are chosen in corridors where lower ridership is expected (and thus do not justify the expense of the electric power infrastructure) or which have an "interurban" nature with stations spaced relatively far apart (electric power provides greater acceleration, making it essential for operations with closely spaced stations). Operations with diesel-powered trains can be an interim measure until ridership growth and the availability of funding allow the system to be upgraded to electric power operations.

Light rail in Canada

In general, Canadian cities have rates of public transit use which are two to three times as high as comparably sized U.S. cities. Census data for 2006 show that 11.0% of Canadians use public transit to commute to work, compared to 4.8% of Americans.^[12]^[13] This means that transportation planners must allow for higher passenger volumes on Canadian transit systems than American ones.

As a result of lower government funding, Canadian cities have to recover a much higher share of their costs out of operating revenues. This lack of funding may explain why there is resistance to the high capital costs of rail systems and there are only a few light rail systems in Canada.

Calgary

Despite Calgary, Alberta having a relatively low population density, the city's C-Train system has developed into a successful light rail systems with an average of 261,100 boardings per weekday^[7] in the fourth quarter of 2009. Only the Monterrey Metro of Monterrey, Mexico, which carried approximately 403,000 passengers per day in second quarter of 2009^[9] and Toronto's streetcar system, which carried 275,200 passengers per day, surpass the Calgary C-Train passenger load.

The Calgary system was started in 1981 as the result of decisions to avoid building either downtown freeways or a heavy rail system. At that time, Calgary had less than half a million people and was considered too small for rail transit, but when it first opened the C-Train carried about 40,000 passengers per day. By 2007, Calgary had twice as many residents, the system was over three times as long and carried over six times as many passengers.

As of 2007 45% of the people working in downtown Calgary took transit to work, and the city's objective was to increase that to 60%.^[14] Calgary's downtown core covers only 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²), and is isolated from the rest of the city by two rivers and a railway line. In the 1960s planners proposed a comprehensive freeway system to improve access, but this was rejected due to intense public opposition.^[15] The downtown street system is near maximum capacity and has little room for traffic growth, but the city is confident it can add another 60,000 downtown workers in the next 20 years without making space for more cars.^[14] Peak hour travel by LRT is equivalent to the capacity of about 16 free flow traffic lanes and allows the city to have fewer than 0.4 downtown parking places available per worker.^[16]

About 25% of the riders during rush hour are counterflow commuters - going out of downtown during the morning and into it during the afternoon. Many of these are students going to educational institutions, who receive deep discounts because they are filling seats that otherwise would be empty, and workers doing crosstown commutes to avoid the lack of freeways.^[16] However, as of 2007, the C-Train is suffering growing pains. Because population growth has exceeded expectations and LRT ridership has outpaced population growth, Calgary has had trouble buying enough new LRT vehicles and hiring enough new drivers to meet the demand. As a result, many passengers experience lengthy train waits due to overcrowding.^[17]

There are presently two extensions under construction. In November 2007, Calgary City Council approved another two further extensions on the two lines, to be completed by 2012.^[18] In addition, on November 20, 2007, Council gave final approval for the new West Leg of Calgary's LRT, which would be the system's fourth leg. Construction for the West leg began in 2009, with completion expected in 2012. When the new light rail vehicles ordered for the extension are finally delivered, the city will have a total of 223 LRVs.

Besides the ongoing program of extending all station platforms to 100 m to accommodate four-car trains, transportation planners have identified two additional lines to be constructed within the next 25 years. They are to the North-Central and South-East districts of the city. BRT service is in place along the future North-Central route and the South-East route as of September 1, 2009. Calgary may one day have to place a tunnel in their downtown to accommodate one of these new lines, or a combination of lines, much like Edmonton has already done.

Edmonton

Edmonton was the first city in North America with a population of less than one million to build a modern light rail system (Greater Edmonton now has over 1 million people). The route first started construction in 1974, and opened its first segment on April 22, 1978, in time for the 1978 Commonwealth Games. While groundbreaking at the time, the Edmonton Transit System built much of its light rail system underground, which meant that it could not afford to lay as much track to the suburbs. In addition, Edmonton's central business district has less office space and the single line which was built did not reach areas which housed many commuters to downtown. The system is successful by North American standards. Edmonton has only built at grade stations since 1992, and in recent years has had a focus on TOD communities.

According to John Bakker, professor emeritus at the University of Alberta and one of the original designers of the system, going underground was a serious mistake. "Going into tunnels is about 10 times as expensive as going on the surface because you have to relocate utilities", said Mr Bakker. "Edmonton went into tunnels first, and it really bogged down everything thereafter, because they didn't have money". Edmonton's system is only 20.5 km long, while above ground systems could cover twice the distance for half the cost.^[19]

Ottawa

In the 1970s and 1980s Ottawa, Ontario opted for grade-separated busways (the Ottawa Transitway) over light rail on the theory that buses were cheaper. In practice, the capital costs escalated from the original estimate of C$97 million to a final value of C$440 million, a cost overrun of about 450%.^[20] This is nearly as high as Calgary's C-Train system, which had a capital cost of C$548 million, is about the same length, and carries more passengers.^[21] Unfortunately, the Ottawa Transitway has reached capacity, with over 175 buses per hour on the downtown section, and has no cost-effective way to increase the volume.^[22]

In 2001, to supplement its BRT system, Ottawa opened a diesel light rail pilot project, (the O-Train), which was relatively inexpensive to construct (C$21 million), due to its single-track route along a neglected freight-rail right of way and use of diesel multiple units (DMUs) to avoid the cost of building overhead lines along the tracks. O-Train has had some success in attracting new ridership to the system (a few thousand more riders), due to its connection of a south end big box shopping mall (South Keys), through Carleton University to the east-west busway (Ottawa Transitway) near the downtown core of the city.

Ottawa produced plans to expand both the Transitway and to open additional rail routes. The intention of the light rail project was to add to the system (although, the denser parts of the city would have been served by buses and streetcars while the suburbs would have had rapid transit) not to replace the existing Transitway. However, in mid-December 2006, the new Ottawa city council voted to cancel the LRT system despite the fact that funding was already in place and contracts were already signed. As of 2008, lawsuits against the city of Ottawa over its canceled light rail system totaled over $280 million.^[23] Examinations for discovery are expected to start in the fall, with the trial beginning in 2009. The trial is expected to be lengthy.^[24]

In late 2009, Ottawa introduced a revised east-west LRT proposal, including a tunnel through Downtown Ottawa. The new LRT would follow part of the existing Transitway corridor from Tunney's Pasture Station in the west to Blair Station in the east.

Vancouver

In 1986, Vancouver, British Columbia built the Expo Line of the SkyTrain. It is the longest automated light rapid transit system in the world.^[25] It is usually not classified as light rail due to its use of fully automated, driverless trains on elevated guideways, but if it were considered light rail, it would be the most heavily used such system in Canada, with 340,900 passengers per day in the fourth quarter of 2009.^[7]

In addition to using driverless trains, it uses two energized power rails (one at +300 VDC and the other at -300 VDC) rather than overhead wires to supply electricity, making it unsafe to operate in the street or use level crossings. Since it is not conventional light rail it is often called an advanced light rapid transit or light metro system. The network, including the newer Millennium Line and extension, carries about 73.5 million passengers annually. In August, 2009, a new line, the Canada Line, came into operation. It connects downtown with the airport and the suburb of Richmond. Another line, the Evergreen Line, is planned to be grade-separated automated light rapid transit. Additional extensions are planned for the Millennium Line mostly underground under Central Broadway to University of British Columbia. There is preliminary talk about extending the Expo Line (although its routing has not yet been determined).

Light rail in Mexico

Monterrey

Monterrey, Nuevo León has Mexico's largest and North America's busiest light rail system.^[7]^[9] Both of the city's metro lines are light rail, one elevated and the other subterranean. The fact that the entire Metrorrey system is grade-separated makes it different from most light rail systems and closer to being a metro system, as its name suggests. Combined, the two lines carried approximately 136.6 million passengers in calendar year 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, the system carried approximately 418,700 passengers per day.^[9]

The first line of Metrorrey opened in 1991 and as of September 2008, the system included 32 stations and operated 40 high-floor trains on approximately 41 kilometers of routes. The light rail system is complemented by Transmetro, a single-fare bus service from a number of the lines' termini.

Guadalajara

Guadalajara's light rail system has two lines, one of which is entirely underground and is thereby is very similar to a metro, as with Monterrey. The north-south line, which replaced a trolleybus line in 1989, has 19 stations, is 15.5 km in length and is only partially grade-separated, in the center of the city. The east-west line 2 opened in 1994, has 8 stations and runs 8.5 km completely underground from the center of the city to Tetlán. Both lines use high-platform boarding at all stations. The two lines combined carry approximately 72.6 million passengers in calendar year 2008 and an average of 208,000 passengers per day in 1Q2009, making it one of the busiest light rail systems in North America.^[10]

Mexico City

The Mexico City Metro uses exclusively heavy rail technology. However, the city's trolleybus agency, Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos, operates a 12.8-kilometre (8.0 mi) light rail line which runs in the southern extreme of the city, from Tasqueña metro station (the southern terminus of Metro Line 2) to Xochimilco. The single line carries approximately 62,433 passengers per day.^[11]

Light rail in the United States

The United States has a number of light rail systems in its mid-sized to large cities. In older systems, such as in San Francisco and Boston, the light rail is vestigal from streetcar days but were spared the fate of other streetcar systems by some grade separation from traffic and high ridership. A number of systems were built in the 1980s, a few more in the 1990s, and many more were opened in lower density cities in the early 2000s. The older systems attain higher ridership.

United States use of light rail is low by European standards. According to the American Public Transportation Authority, of the 20-odd light rail systems in the United States only five (Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Portland, OR), achieve more than 25 million passenger boardings per year, and only Boston exceeds the 50+ million boardings per year of the London Docklands Light Rail system.

Compared with that of Canada, the United States federal government offers considerably more funding for transportation projects of all types, resulting in smaller portions of light rail construction cost to be borne at the local and state levels.^{[citation needed]} This funding is provided by the Federal Transit Administration though as of 2004 the rules to determine which projects will be funded are biased against the simpler streetcar systems (partly because the vehicles tend to be somewhat slower). Some cities in the U.S. (e.g. San Pedro, California) have set about building the less expensive streetcar lines themselves or with only minimal federal support.

Boston

The oldest and one of the busiest light rail system in the United States is the MBTA Green Line in Boston. With 235,300 daily ridership on its 25.4 miles (40.9 km) of track, the Green Line is a primary transportation route within downtown, and is patronized by students and workers from close-in neighborhoods like Brighton and Allston.

The subsurface portion of the line was opened in 1897 to alleviate congestion for street level trolley cars, with numerous lines from the north and south converging via several portals to Park Street Station. By 1964, the transformation to today's system was nearly complete with the elimination of streetcars entering at Lechmere and Boylston; lines into the four remaining portals would be designated B, C, D, and E (the A line to Watertown being abandoned in the late 1960s). Three of today's four lines, although having their own separate path in the medians of their respective roads, still have segments without grade-separated rights-of-way, and consequently wait at traffic lights. The D line, which runs on a former Boston and Albany Railroad right-of-way, is the lone exception.

In 2004, the MBTA removed the Causeway Street Elevated portion of the line, and replaced it with an underground tunnel, as a part of Big Dig environmental remediation, leaving the Lechmere Viaduct as the only remaining elevated part of the line. Other work includes many station overhauls that will improve handicapped accessibility.

Los Angeles

The Los Angeles County Metro Rail light rail system comprises three lines: the Green, Gold, and Blue lines. In June 2010, the lines collectively had 164,000 daily weekday boardings, making it the second busiest light rail system in the United States after Boston's. The Blue line, in particular is the busiest with 82,840 average weekday boardings.^[26] The Blue and Gold Lines run mostly at grade, with some street-running, elevated, and underground stretches in more densely populated areas. The Green Line is entirely grade separated, running in the median of I-105 and then turning southward along an elevated route.

The Blue Line opened first, in 1990. The Green Line began service in 1995, and the Gold Line entered service in 2003. A 9-mile extension of the Gold Line into East Los Angeles has finished construction and began regular service in November 2009. A further extension to Azusa from the northern terminus of the same line is also planned. Additional extensions of the Gold line to Whittier, Montclair and possibly Ontario Airport are under active study.

A new line, the Expo light rail line which will run from Downtown Los Angeles to Culver City (Phase 1) is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in late 2010. An opening date has not been announced. A further extension to Santa Monica (Phase 2) recently had its EIR approved by the Expo Line Construction Authority and will open in 2014 or 2015. Other extensions of the Los Angeles County light rail system are under study. Among these is the Crenshaw Corridor Line, a light rail line running from the Miracle Mile area to the Los Angeles International Airport primarily along Crenshaw Boulevard.

San Francisco

The San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) light rail lines are vestigial from the city's streetcar days, and San Francisco is one of the few American cities to continuously operate light rail from the streetcar era. As a result, the present-day system has above ground portions running in mixed traffic, stopping at traffic lights as streetcars, while buried sections have their own right-of-way like a subway. Though in other United States cities in 1950s, the trend was to replace streetcars with bus service, five heavily used lines traveled through tunnels or otherwise had private rights-of-way, making bus replacement not viable. About this time, plans for a subway, the Muni Metro, were drawn up, and the subway section of Muni, operating underneath Market Street, opened in 1980. Similar to Boston's Green Line, five separate lines above ground converge to one subway route, though in the former, the underground line was constructed first and surface routes later.

In response to the dot com boom, and the increasing unreliability of the original Boeing equipment, the system became strained and Muni ordered new, larger vehicles from Breda, which turned out to have their own noise and braking problems.^{[citation needed]} In 1998, a four-station extension of the trunk line was built, and in 2007 light rail service began on a new line going south from downtown along 3rd Street, achieving limited success. Plans are underway for a three station underground light rail line, expected to serve 78,000 daily riders by 2030. Due to underground routing, the cost for the 1.7-mile (2.7 km) line is estimated at $1.5 billion.

Portland, Oregon

The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) system serves the Portland metropolitan area. It has 52.6 miles (84.7 km), comprising four lines: the Blue, Green, Red and Yellow, and serves about 107,000 daily, counting the free boarding Free Rail Zone. Like most modern light rail systems MAX runs along city streets—albeit in reserved lanes—in the city, but has its own right-of-way farther out. The only mixed-traffic street running on the system is along the Portland Transit Mall, in downtown, and light rail trains only share lanes with buses there, not any private vehicles. The length of MAX trains is limited to two cars by the relatively small 200-foot (61 m) blocks in downtown Portland.

The MAX system was born out of funds left over from the canceled Mount Hood Freeway, with the Gresham/eastside line (now part of the Blue Line) opening in 1986. The Hillsboro/westside line (now also part of Blue Line) opened in 1998, more than doubling the system's size, followed in 2001 by the Red Line connection to Portland International Airport and in 2004 by the Yellow Line, which connects downtown to the Portland Expo Center via Interstate Avenue. Route colors were adopted in 2000.^[27] The Green Line is a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) extension that opened in September 2009 and connects a new transit center at Clackamas Town Center to the Gateway Transit Center, from where it follows previously existing MAX lines to downtown. Another major addition in 2009 was a new, second alignment through downtown, along the transit mall; it is used by both the Yellow and Green lines. A planned Orange Line would be built from the Green Line's downtown terminus at Portland State University to the southeast suburb of Milwaukie and include a new bridge across the Willamette River.

Phoenix

METRO Light Rail is a 20-mile (32 km) light rail line operating in the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, Arizona and is part of the Valley Metro public transit system. Construction began in March 2005; operation started December 27, 2008.

San Diego

Sprinter at Oceanside, 2007-11-03

Sprinter at Buena Creek, 2008-06-26

San Diego Trolley currently comprises three lines, the Blue, Orange and Green, collectively running on 51.1 miles (82.2 km) of track and achieving a ridership of 107,000. During the time that the Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) was drawing up options for a transit system, Hurricane Kathleen made landfall, damaging many of the tracks operated by the freight carrier, San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, and cutting them off from the greater Southern Pacific Railroad, and Southern Pacific petitioned for abandonment. The auspicious timing of the incident led the MTDB to buy and repair the tracks, opening a 13.5-mile (21.7 km) light rail segment on 1981, while also reestablishing freight service on the same line (the Blue Line runs on shared-use track). The system has been expanded incrementally ever since. There are currently plans for an 11-mile (18 km) extension to the University City community, connecting the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus and University Towne Centre shopping center to the rest of the system.

The North County Transit District also operates a diesel light rail line, called the Sprinter which runs between Oceanside and Escondido. The service began operations in March 2008 and operates with Desiro-class diesel multiple units (DMU) manufactured by Siemens in Germany.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia has a light rail system operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which also operates other transit modes. The Norristown High-Speed Line is officially considered light rail, and serves 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby just outside of Philadelphia to the Norristown Transportation Center, located in Norristown, a far-off suburb of Philadelphia. Other systems consist of the Media-Sharon Hill Lines, which also begins at 69th Street Terminal, and the SEPTA Subway-Surface Trolley Lines which run between Philadelphia Center City and the nearby western suburbs. The NHSL, and MSH lines were once owned by the Philadelphia and Western Railroad and Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company. The Subway-Surface Trolley Lines share stations with SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line between 30th Street and 13th Street.

St. Louis

St. Louis light rail system, St. Louis MetroLink, consists of two lines, both running through the city center with 73.3 kilometers (45.5 mi) of track. There are terminals across the Mississippi River in southwestern Illinois, at Lambert St. Louis International Airport, and in the southwestern part of the metro area. The first part of the system (Red Line: Lambert/Shiloh) opened in 1993. The second line of the system (Blue Line: Shrewsbury/I-44) entered service in 2006. All track is in independent right of way, mostly at surface level, but includes several miles of subways and elevated track as well. St. Louis' light rail system has no street or traffic running trains. The system runs more similar to a heavy rail rail system than most light rail systems in North America. All stations are independent entry and platforms are all flush level with trains providing passengers easy access on/off. In the downtown area, the system uses abandoned railway tunnels built in the 19th century. The downtown subway stations have an ancient appearance with rough-hewn rock walls. The Shrewsbury/I-44 station also has a few portions in tunnels, which are large and of modern concrete construction. Since the line opened, expansion has continued, and the transit agency has future lines in planning stages.

Dallas

Operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), the DART Light Rail system is, by route miles, the nation's largest light rail network, with a 72-mile (116 km) rail system that serves Dallas and five of its suburbs, complemented by a 34-mile (55 km) commuter rail line that connects to Fort Worth and runs through Irving, a DART member city. The LRT lines began with the opening of the 20-mile (32 km) starter system in 1996. In the first few years after the turn of the century, DART opened several small expansions, culminating in the opening of the Green Line in December 2010.^[28]

DART currently runs four LRT lines. The Red Line begins in southwest Dallas at Westmoreland Station and runs northeast to downtown, then runs north through the suburbs of Richardson and Plano to its terminus at Parker Road Station. The Blue line begins in South Dallas at Ledbetter Station and runs north, joining the Red Line at 8th and Corinth Station on its trek to downtown. It continues north to Mockingbird Station before it breaks away from the Red Line and turns northeast toward Garland, ending its run at Downtown Garland Station. The Green line runs from its southern terminus at Buckner Station in Pleasant Grove to the northwest towards Downtown Dallas. The Green Line then continues northeast passing through the suburbs of Farmers Branch and Carrollton ending at North Carrollton / Frankford Station. The Orange Line is a peak-service only line (running concurrently with some of the northern portions of the Green and Red lines) until 2012, when the first phase expansion towards D/FW Airport is completed.^[29]

The system is currently under expansion. The Orange Line will run from downtown, towards Las Colinas in Irving and on to DFW Airport. The Blue Line is expanding east to Rowlett and south to Interstate 20. When the latest expansion round is completed, DART's system will have 93 miles (150 km) of LRT.

Denver

Sacramento

Salt Lake City

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) runs the 19-mile (31 km) light rail system known as TRAX in the Salt Lake Valley. The system, which opened in 1999, serves approximately 58,300 people every day and contains 69 vehicles.^[30] The system has 2 lines, both of which end Downtown at Salt Lake Central Station. One line ends at the University of Utah, while the other ends in the suburb of Sandy. Four extensions have recently been approved and funded, with completion expected by 2014.

Houston

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO), opened its METRORail service on January 1, 2004 to very large crowds. The system currently consists of a single double track line of 7.5 miles (12.1 km). The system serves 45,000 passengers daily. Like many other light rail systems in America, METRORail runs in city streets and does not have its own right of way for most of its route. Two-car trains are the maximum on the line due to Downtown Houston's city block size.

San Jose

San Jose's light rail network, owned and maintained by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, consists of 42.2 miles (67.9 km) of track across three different lines.

The Alum Rock - Santa Teresa line serves the eastern, northern, downtown, and southern areas of San Jose. The Mountain View - Winchester line operates between Mountain View and the Winchester neighborhood of San Jose. Both of these lines share the same tracks and stations on First Street between Tasman Drive in northern San Jose and the San Jose Convention Center in downtown. A third line, the Ohlone-Chynoweth - Almaden line, is a three-stop spur that connects the Almaden Valley area to the Alum Rock - Santa Teresa Line.

Minneapolis

The Twin Cities have one LRT Line, the Hiawatha Line. This line runs from downtown Minneapolis, next to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, near the University of Minnesota campus, to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, then to the Mall of America. This line opened in 2004, and by the end of 2009, two additional stations were added at Target Field in the downtown Minneapolis Warehouse District, and at American Boulevard in Bloomington. All stations were modified to accommodate 3-car trains in 2010. The Central Corridor, which will run from downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul, is scheduled to begin service in 2014. The Southwest Corridor, which would run from Eden Prairie to downtown Minneapolis is currently being planned and could begin service as early as 2015.

New Jersey

In New Jersey, New Jersey Transit provides light rail service along three lines in different parts of the state.

Hudson County

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) services Bayonne, the West Side and Downtown Jersey City, Hoboken, and the North Hudson towns in three lines.

Newark

Like San Francisco, Newark never fully abandoned its old streetcar system, due to the fact that part of it had a dedicated, underground right-of-way in an old canal bed. Beginning in the 1940s, a system that once extended far into Newark's suburbs was pared down to just the underground route, "Streetcar #7" which was rebilled the Newark City Subway. After decades of cutbacks, the line was finally expanded northward to Belleville in the early 2000s. A second branch running through downtown to Newark-Broad St. station was opened in the mid 2000's, and the system was rebranded again as Newark Light Rail.

Trenton to Camden via Burlington City

The River Line is a diesel light rail line in southern New Jersey, running along, except at its ends, what was previously the Bordentown Secondary, from Trenton to Camden, serving communities along the Delaware River between thee cities. This line is one of only two diesel light rail lines in North America, and the only one in the United States.

Baltimore

The Baltimore Light Rail is a single line reaching from BWI Airport south of Baltimore, through the city and north to a strip mall and office park. With 30 miles (48 km) of track, the line achieves a daily ridership of 36,300.

Major efforts toward the creation of the light rail were championed by then mayor William Donald Schaefer, who wanted a transit link to the new baseball park, Camden Yards, about to be built downtown. In order to have the line completed the month that the Baltimore Orioles started playing in Camden Yards in 1992, the system was built entirely without federal money, a rarity in late 20th century U.S. transit projects. Federal funds would later be used to double track the whole system, decreasing headways which had been restricted to 17 minutes.

The light rail line was built entirely at grade, even through downtown's narrow streets. Though the majority of the track's length is grade-separated from acquiring disused railroad rights-of-way, trains run in the streets in some sections downtown. When the system was built, this resulted in vehicles having to wait in traffic lights, though in 2007 a signal preemption system was installed.

The Maryland Transit Administration has drawn up plans for an additional four lines which may be light rail, bus rapid transit, or heavy rail to create a comprehensive city system. As of 2007, only the future of one line is certain. The Red Line, which is in its intermediate planning stages, would be an East-West link via either bus rapid transit or light rail. Whichever mode is selected, officials have insisted that the line be underground through the city center because of Baltimore's narrow streets and dense traffic.

Charlotte

Charlotte's LYNX system consists of a single 9.6-mile (15.4 km) line called the Blue Line. After receiving a positive Record of Decision from the Federal Transit Administration on May 19, 2003, continued preparation and land acquisition would finally result in its groundbreaking in spring 2005. The line is in full operation, at a projected final cost of $462.7 million. This price tag does not include indirect or ancillary costs such as rerouting water and sewer lines to accommodate the line, estimated at an additional $72 million as of April 2006.

The Blue Line's construction is part of a greater comprehensive transit network for the Charlotte metropolitan region. 70.6 more miles of track are planned, though some of these could be constructed as Bus Rapid Transit or streetcar lines.

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh's light rail network, commonly known as The T, is a 25-mile (40 km) light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; it functions as a subway in downtown Pittsburgh and largely as an at-grade light rail service in the suburbs. The system is owned and operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAT). It is the successor system to the far more extensive streetcar network formerly operated by Pittsburgh Railways.

The current lines, which run south from the downtown into the South Hills area, were formerly operated by PCC streetcars. Beginning in the 1980s PAT reconstructed the lines along the existing right-of-way and ordered new trams from Siemens. PCCs continued to operate in tandem with the new light rail vehicles until 1999 when the last five were retired from service. PAT also constructed a new subway line in the downtown, ending decades of street-running in the Golden Triangle. Current expansion plans include an extension from the downtown subway under the Allegheny River to connect with PNC Park and Heinz Field; the North Shore Connector is slated to open by 2011.

Buffalo

Buffalo has a somewhat unique rail system. While the majority of the 6.6 miles (11 km) of track operates as an underground, "heavy" rail system, the section within the city center—only about one-fifth of the line's length—operates on the surface, in a fare-free pedestrian mall along Main Street. Buffalo's NFTA opened the Metro Rail in 1984 as a single line that was projected to grow into a large rapid transit system. However, cost overruns and population decline caused expansion plans to be put on hold. The system still serves about 20,000 people daily.

Cleveland

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority owns three main lines in Cleveland, as well as Cuyahoga County. The system was established in the 1970s through a merger between the Cleveland Interurban Railroad and the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit. The Blue and Green Lines were established in 1913, and the Red Line was established in 1955.

Seattle - Tacoma

The Seattle - Tacoma Metropolitan area Sound Transit light rail system consists of two lines. The first is Tacoma Link and the other line is Central Link and runs 16 miles from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to downtown Seattle New lines to the north, south, and east were approved by voters in November 2008.

Norfolk

Norfolk's light rail line is branded The Tide and is operated by Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) and features an initial line extending 7.4 mi (11.9 km) through Downtown Norfolk connecting Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk State University, and Newtown Road.

External links

A movie of Armour's electric trolley, circa 1897 from Library of Congress
List of Canadian urban rail systems
Table of Light Rail Transit Agencies in the United States
Commuter Rail, Light Rail & Rail Transit News
Light Rail Central photos & news | site was down 03/03/2010
American Public Transit Association
Federal Transit Administration (U.S.)
Light Rail & Transit News Current news concerning light rail development and issues
Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the U.S. National Research Council

References

^ Gregory L. Thompson (2003), Defining an Alternative Future: Birth of the Light Rail Movement in North America, Transportation Research Board, http://trb.org/publications/circulars/ec058/03_01_Thompson.pdf
^ Taplin, Michael (1998). "the History of Tramways and Evolution of Light Rail". Light Rail Transit Association.
^ Peter Courtenay (2006). "Trams in the UK". Retrieved 2006-12-18.
^ ^a ^b Bottoms, Glen (2000). Continuing Developments in Light Rail Transit in Western Europe (PDF). 9th Annual Light Rail Transit Conference, Portland, Oregon: Light Rail Transit Association. Retrieved 2007-01-02. {{cite conference}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |booktitle= (help)CS1 maint: location (link)
^ Future LRT Expansion in Edmonton, Please Refer to video on the right side of the page.
^ LRT Extension San Diego
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "APTA Ridership Report - Light Rail" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. Fourth quarter 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ "APTA Ridership Report - Light Rail" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. Fourth quarter 2008. Retrieved 2011-01-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Principales características del sistema de transporte colectivo metrorrey". INEGI. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ ^a ^b "Sistema de transportes eléctricos en la ciudad de Guadalajara". INEGI. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ ^a ^b "Principales características de los sistemas de transportes eléctricos en la ciudad de México". INEGI. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
^ "Commuting Patterns and Places of Work of Canadians, 2006 Census". Statistics Canada. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
^ "American Community Survey 2006, Table S0802". U.S. Census. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
^ ^a ^b Kom, Joel (2008-01-02). "Residents forced to cope with growing traffic crunch - City confident it can handle growth". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
^ Hubbel, John (2006-05-08). "Light Rail Transit in Calgary: The First 25 Years" (PDF). Joint International Light Rail Conference. St. Louis, Missouri: Calgary Transit. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b McKendrick, Neil (2006-05-08). "Calgary's CTrain – Effective Capital Utilization" (PDF). Joint International Light Rail Conference. St. Louis, Missouri: Calgary Transit. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Guttormson, Kim (2007-01-20). "Transit hit by 10% rise in riders - City struggles to provide service amid staff crunch". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
^ http://publicaccess.calgary.ca/lldm01/livelink.exe?func=ccpa.general&msgID=IeqqTregrD&msgAction=download Minutes of Calgary City Council special meeting 06 November 2007
^ Yet, though the system has a much lower ridership (and much less coverage at present) than Calgary's, Edmonton may also be thought of as having 'bit the bullet' by constructing the most expensive part of its system first. As the system expands it will not experience the at-grade delays that plague other systems that use at-grade downtown/central city streets. Ward, Bruce (December 7, 2006). "Stay out of the tunnel, transit expert warns". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2006-12-07. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Gow, Harry (2001). "Ottawa's BRT "Transitway": Modern Miracle or Mega-Mirage?". Transport 2000 Canada. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
^ CTS (2006). "LRT Technical Data". About CT. Calgary Transit. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
^ Nixon, Geoff (2007-11-27). "Downtown can't take more buses: Friends of O-Train". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
^ Drake, Laura (2008-01-28). "City girds for massive fight over cancelled light-rail plan". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
^ Sherring, Susan (2008-01-28). "City fighting to move LRT trial to capital". The Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 2008-01-29. ^{[dead link]}
^ Translink (2006). "Skytrain". Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-10-31.
^ "Metro Facts at a Glance". LACMTA.
^ Stewart, Bill (September 21, 2000). "Local colors roll out: Tri-Met designates the Blue, Red and Yellow lines". The Oregonian.
^ http://dart.org/factsheet/default.asp
^ http://dart.org/factsheet/orangeline/default.asp
^ Utah Transit Authority - About UTA

[1] Gregory L. Thompson (2003), Defining an Alternative Future: Birth of the Light Rail Movement in North America, Transportation Research Board, http://trb.org/publications/circulars/ec058/03_01_Thompson.pdf

[2] Taplin, Michael (1998). "the History of Tramways and Evolution of Light Rail". Light Rail Transit Association.

[3] Peter Courtenay (2006). "Trams in the UK". Retrieved 2006-12-18.

[Bottoms-4] Bottoms, Glen (2000). Continuing Developments in Light Rail Transit in Western Europe (PDF). 9th Annual Light Rail Transit Conference, Portland, Oregon: Light Rail Transit Association. Retrieved 2007-01-02. {{cite conference}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |booktitle= (help)CS1 maint: location (link)

[edmonton-5] Future LRT Expansion in Edmonton, Please Refer to video on the right side of the page.

[san_diego-6] LRT Extension San Diego

[APTA-LR-7] "APTA Ridership Report - Light Rail" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. Fourth quarter 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[8] "APTA Ridership Report - Light Rail" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. Fourth quarter 2008. Retrieved 2011-01-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[INEGI-Monterrey-9] "Principales características del sistema de transporte colectivo metrorrey". INEGI. Retrieved 2010-09-20.

[INEGI-Guadalajara-10] "Sistema de transportes eléctricos en la ciudad de Guadalajara". INEGI. Retrieved 2010-09-20.

[INEGI-MexicoCity-11] "Principales características de los sistemas de transportes eléctricos en la ciudad de México". INEGI. Retrieved 2010-09-20.

[12] "Commuting Patterns and Places of Work of Canadians, 2006 Census". Statistics Canada. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.

[ACS2006-13] "American Community Survey 2006, Table S0802". U.S. Census. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.

[Kom-14] Kom, Joel (2008-01-02). "Residents forced to cope with growing traffic crunch - City confident it can handle growth". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2008-02-14.

[Hubbel-15] Hubbel, John (2006-05-08). "Light Rail Transit in Calgary: The First 25 Years" (PDF). Joint International Light Rail Conference. St. Louis, Missouri: Calgary Transit. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[McKendrick-16] McKendrick, Neil (2006-05-08). "Calgary's CTrain – Effective Capital Utilization" (PDF). Joint International Light Rail Conference. St. Louis, Missouri: Calgary Transit. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Guttormson-17] Guttormson, Kim (2007-01-20). "Transit hit by 10% rise in riders - City struggles to provide service amid staff crunch". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2007-11-22.

[18] ttp://publicaccess.calgary.ca/lldm01/livelink.exe?func=ccpa.general&msgID=IeqqTregrD&msgAction=download Minutes of Calgary City Council special meeting 06 November 2007

[19] Yet, though the system has a much lower ridership (and much less coverage at present) than Calgary's, Edmonton may also be thought of as having 'bit the bullet' by constructing the most expensive part of its system first. As the system expands it will not experience the at-grade delays that plague other systems that use at-grade downtown/central city streets. Ward, Bruce (December 7, 2006). "Stay out of the tunnel, transit expert warns". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2006-12-07. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[20] Gow, Harry (2001). "Ottawa's BRT "Transitway": Modern Miracle or Mega-Mirage?". Transport 2000 Canada. Retrieved 2006-12-06.

[21] CTS (2006). "LRT Technical Data". About CT. Calgary Transit. Retrieved 2006-12-06.

[22] Nixon, Geoff (2007-11-27). "Downtown can't take more buses: Friends of O-Train". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2007-11-28.

[23] Drake, Laura (2008-01-28). "City girds for massive fight over cancelled light-rail plan". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2008-01-29.

[24] Sherring, Susan (2008-01-28). "City fighting to move LRT trial to capital". The Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 2008-01-29. ^{[dead link]}

[25] Translink (2006). "Skytrain". Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-10-31.

[26] "Metro Facts at a Glance". LACMTA.

[27] Stewart, Bill (September 21, 2000). "Local colors roll out: Tri-Met designates the Blue, Red and Yellow lines". The Oregonian.

[28] ttp://dart.org/factsheet/default.asp

[29] ttp://dart.org/factsheet/orangeline/default.asp

[SLC-30] Utah Transit Authority - About UTA

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@@ Line 195: / Line 195: @@
 [[Image:CT U2 1.jpg|thumb|300px|A [[Calgary Transit]] [[Siemens-Duewag U2]] LRV #2043, part of [[Calgary, Alberta]]'s [[C-Train]].]]
-Despite [[Calgary, Alberta]] having a relatively low population density, the city's [[C-Train]] system has developed into one of the most successful and busiest light rail systems in North America with an average of 261,100 boardings per weekday<ref name="APTA-LR" /> in the fourth quarter of 2009.  Only the [[Monterrey Metro]] of [[Monterrey]], [[Mexico]], which carried approximately 403,000 passengers per day in second quarter of 2009<ref name="INEGI-Monterrey" /> and [[Toronto]]'s [[Toronto streetcar system|streetcar system]], which carried 275,200 passengers per day, surpass the Calgary C-Train passenger load.
+Despite [[Calgary, Alberta]] having a relatively low population density, the city's [[C-Train]] system has developed into a successful light rail systems with an average of 261,100 boardings per weekday<ref name="APTA-LR" /> in the fourth quarter of 2009.  Only the [[Monterrey Metro]] of [[Monterrey]], [[Mexico]], which carried approximately 403,000 passengers per day in second quarter of 2009<ref name="INEGI-Monterrey" /> and [[Toronto]]'s [[Toronto streetcar system|streetcar system]], which carried 275,200 passengers per day, surpass the Calgary C-Train passenger load.
 The Calgary system was started in 1981 as the result of decisions to avoid building either downtown freeways or a heavy rail system. At that time, Calgary had less than half a million people and was considered too small for rail transit, but when it first opened the C-Train carried about 40,000 passengers per day. By 2007, Calgary had twice as many residents, the system was over three times as long and carried over six times as many passengers.

v t e Light rail in North America
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