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Is that a streetcar or light rail? Here's how to tell the difference.
Is that a streetcar or light rail? Here’s how to tell the difference.
TRANSIT By Dan Malouff (Editorial Director) January 31, 2019
This article was first published on January 13, 2015. The information is still relevant, so we've decided to share it again!
There is much confusion over what separates streetcars from light rail. That’s because there’s no single easy way to tell, and many systems are hybrids. To tell the difference, one has to simultaneously look at the tracks, train vehicles, and stations.
{snip a few pictures}
It’s hard to tell the difference because streetcars and light rail are really the same technology, but with different operating characteristics that serve different types of trips.
The difference, in a nutshell
Theoretically light rail is a streetcar that, like a subway or el, goes faster in order to serve trips over a longer distance. But what does that mean in practice?
{snip the rest; it's long}
TRANSIT By Dan Malouff (Editorial Director) January 31, 2019
This article was first published on January 13, 2015. The information is still relevant, so we've decided to share it again!
There is much confusion over what separates streetcars from light rail. That’s because there’s no single easy way to tell, and many systems are hybrids. To tell the difference, one has to simultaneously look at the tracks, train vehicles, and stations.
{snip a few pictures}
It’s hard to tell the difference because streetcars and light rail are really the same technology, but with different operating characteristics that serve different types of trips.
The difference, in a nutshell
Theoretically light rail is a streetcar that, like a subway or el, goes faster in order to serve trips over a longer distance. But what does that mean in practice?
{snip the rest; it's long}
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
The Redlands line in San Bernardino county is going to beta test a version, not entirely battery electric but convertible to full battery at some point in time.
http://www.redlandsrailproject.org/
https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2018/06/25/the-1st-zero-emission-train-in-north-america-might-one-day-be-built-in-san-bernardino-county/
