This article is about railways in towns. For the physical activity, see Parkour. For the long distance sport, see Road running.
Darjeeling "Toy train" in Kurseong, IndiaA bus sharing a railway bridge in Helsinki, Finland. The rail are for service trains accessing the Helsinki Metro depot (not for trams)
On-street running or street running is the routing of a railroad track or tramway track running directly along public streets, without any separation. The rails are embedded in the roadway pavement, and the train shares the street directly with pedestrians and automobile traffic. Trains generally travel at reduced speed for safety reasons.
If there are stations on the section, they can appear similar in style to a tram stop, but often lack platforms, pedestrian islands, or other amenities. Passengers may be required to wait on a distant sidewalk, and then to board or disembark directly among mixed traffic in mid-pavement, rather than at curbside.
Although bridges and tunnels are not streets, rails can still be embedded in the surface of bridges and tunnels like the Inuyama Bridge (Japan) or the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel (US). This is also considered to be "street running".
Examples
This list does not include conventional tram systems, which by definition run in the street.
Wiener Lokalbahn – tram-train running on tram tracks in Vienna and Baden and as light rail between the two towns. A section of the light rail tracks in Guntramsdorf runs directly on the Feldgasse narrow street, but without any stops on it.
Caroline Street (from Erb Street West to Allen Street West, tracks removed in 1994)
Germany
For tramsways the legal separation of a street running trackbed and an exclusive trackbed in urban traffic is given in § 16 BOStrab tramway regulations.
"Mollibahn" running through Bad Doberan, Germany In the north east of Germany, the steam "Mollibahn" narrow gauge railway travels on-street through the town of Bad Doberan at the start of its journey.
One of the most famous locations is when the steam-powered Darjeeling Himalayan Railway "Toy train" squeezes between narrow shop fronts down past a bazaar in India.
Indonesia
Indonesia used to have an extensive "steam tramways" (more accurately defined as local railways) network, which had many street running sections in various towns and cities in Java and Sumatra.
Two sections remain in use in 2010: part of the Wonogiri branch runs along the Slamet Riyadi street in Surakarta, and a short branch to an oil depot in Madiun. The earlier line sees both passenger and freight service (including a steam-hauled tourist train), while the other line is exclusively for freight.[citation needed]
Ireland
Trains between Rosslare Europort and Dublin Connolly run alongside streets for a short distance through the town of Wexford, although not actually sharing road space with vehicles or pedestrians.
Freight trains to and from the docks at Dublin share the Alexandra road with cars
Inuyama Bridge (The bridge on the Meitetsu Inuyama Line runs across the Kiso River. It is now exclusively used by trains in an effort to eliminate the previous bottleneck caused by roadway traffic.)
Fukui Railway (Its street running section is registered as a tram line under law but full-sized trains from the rest of the network run directly onto the tram line)
Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line (Both of these lines, which include short street-running track around the Hamaōtsu Station, are legally tram lines but use rather high-profile vehicles. Additionally, the Keishin Line has through services onto the Kyoto SubwayTozai Line.)
Keifuku Electric Railroad (A short section on the Arashiyama Line. Like the above Keihan lines, the Arashiyama Line uses high-profile railway-style vehicles but is classified as a tram line.)
Toyama Light Rail (This line, categorised as a railway under law, is converted from the Toyamakō railway Line and includes newly built street running sections)
Niigata Kōtsu (This abandoned line consists of a short street running section near its Niigata terminus.)
Laos
The rail link across the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River between Thailand and Laos is shared-use, although road traffic is stopped while trains cross the bridge.[12]
Peru
In Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Macchu Picchu, the railway shares the streets with pedestrians, as well as in other towns further up the line. This railway serves as the only viable way of reaching Macchu Picchu from Cusco without walking.[citation needed]
Swiss law does not distinguish between trams and railways, making the distinction between street running by trams and that by railways subjective.
The Berninabahn has three sections of street running, in Le Prese, Miralago and in Tirano (in Italy), where the approach to the station involves street running and crossing a public square.
The combined road and rail swing bridge at Preston Marina
The most notable track where street running was common was the Weymouth Harbour Tramway; however this has been out of service to regular traffic since 1987, and to all traffic since 1999.
The Alaska Railroad bridge over the Chena River, located on Fort Wainwright, was previously shared by rail and road traffic. The U.S. Army eventually installed a new road bridge at a crossing downriver from the rail bridge and rerouted the roads accordingly.
From 1912 until April 2000, trains operated approximately 1.25 miles (2 km) down Ninth Street, one of the major arteries of the city. The tracks were built by the Tidewater Southern Railway and later operated by the Union Pacific. They were very controversial and the city tried to have them removed for decades. However, a short section along B Street from Ninth Street to Twelfth Street remains in active use.
10th St. (From Sheridan Ave. to Huron St., continues to 11th St. below)
11th St. (From Kentucky St. to E. Michigan Blvd., continues to Holiday St. below)
11th Street Station in Michigan City, Indiana of South Shore Line, a commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), lies on such section. The "station" building has no platform, and its station building has since been closed. All passengers now wait on the sidewalk as though at a tram stop.
Providence and Worcester Railroad Service to the northernmost piers of the Port of Providence and numerous sidings via Allens Ave. from the Harbor Branch. Tracks in situ, currently classed as "Out of Service" by FRA rules.
Broadway Avenue (CN, Still in use, Single track runs down the center of Broadway Avenue for four blocks, trains travel up to 30 mph through the street )
Monroe Street (WSOR, Previously owned by CNW and UP, this line was used until the mid 2000s, and then put out of service. The Wisconsin Southern Railroad refurbished the track in 2015)
Division Street (WC, This section the Wisconsin Central mainline ran down Division Street along people's front yards, considered a bottleneck, the tracks were abandoned in 1996, and were removed later. Trains now run down Broad Street a few blocks east. The track there is owned currently by CN)
^Kyper, Frank (1977). The railroad that came out at night : a book of railroading in and around Boston. Brattleboro, Vt.: S. Greene Press. pp. 13–40. ISBN0-8289-0318-2.
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