Light rail
Form of passenger urban rail transit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit using rolling stock derived from tram technology[1] while also having some features from heavy rapid transit.
It has been suggested that Semi-metro be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2024. |
The term was coined in 1972 in the United States, to create an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn meaning City railway.[2][3] Different definitions exist in some countries, but in the United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with a lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system.[4][5][6][7][8]
Narrowly defined it has rolling stock that is similar to a traditional tram, while it operates at a higher capacity and speed and often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, light rail transit includes tram-like operations mostly on streets.[9] A few light rail networks tend to have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail; yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated, they are referred to as light metros.