Commuter rail
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Commuter rail, regional rail or suburban rail is a passenger rail transport service between a city center, and outer suburbs and commuter towns or other locations that draw large numbers of commuters—people who travel on a daily basis. Trains operate following a schedule, at speeds varying from 50 to 200 km/h (35 to 125 mph).
Common non-English names are Cercanías in Spanish, S-Bahn in German, and Elektrichka in Russian. 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.
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[edit] 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. Compared to rapid transit, commuter rail has lower frequency, following a schedule rather than fixed intervals. They serve lower density areas, and often share right-of-way with intercity or freight trains. Some services operate only during peak hours. Cars may be single- or double-level, and aim to provide seating for all. Average speeds are relatively high, but stations are not located to allow all people to live within walking distance—instead relying on feeding from other modes of public transport. Compared to intercity trains, they have less space, fewer amenities and limited baggage areas. The general range of commuter trains varies between 15 and 200 km (10 and 125 miles). Distance charges or zone pricing may be used.
[edit] 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.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. 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. Some light rail systems may run on a narrower gauge. Examples of narrow gauge systems are found in Japan, Switzerland and India, in the Brisbane (Citytrain) and Perth (Transperth) systems in Australia, and on the Genoa-Casella line in Italy.
In some cases, hybrids between a train and a metro have been created. 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 Liverpool Merseyrail network, 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, Valparaíso Metro and the rail systems of Sydney (CityRail) and Melbourne.
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.
Russian commuter trains, on the other hand, frequently cover areas larger than Belgium itself, although these are still short distances by Russian standards. They have a different ticketing system from long-distance trains, and in major cities they often operate from a separate section of the train station.
In the United States and Canada, regional passenger rail service is performed by commuter railroads, which are usually governmental or quasi-governmental agencies.
Commuter trains are uncommon in China, although a small system has been inaugurated in Beijing in 2008.
[edit] 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. 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). 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. 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). 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.
[edit] 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. They'll move in and take the center seat!" [2] (This seating design can also be found on older New Jersey Transit and Long Island Rail Road rolling stock.)
[edit] 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
[edit] 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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