Light rail in the United States


The United States has 27 light rail systems, as counted by the Light Rail Transit Association, not including streetcar systems. Seven of them achieve more than 30 million unlinked passenger transits per year.
Light-rail systems are typically designed to carry fewer passengers than heavy-rail systems like commuter rail or rapid transit. They can operate in mixed traffic or on routes that are not entirely grade-separated.
They typically take one of four forms: "first-generation" legacy systems, "second-generation" modern light-rail systems, streetcars, and hybrid rail systems. All use similar technologies, and some systems blur the lines between the different forms.

History

From the mid-19th century onwards, horse-drawn trams were used in cities around the world. The St. Charles Avenue Line of New Orleans' streetcar system is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world, beginning operation as a horse-drawn system in 1835.
In the late 1880s, electrically powered street railways became technically feasible with the invention of a trolley pole system of collecting current. American inventor Frank J. Sprague installed the first successful electrified trolley system in Richmond, Virginia, in 1888. 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.
The streetcar systems constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries typically ran single-car setups. Some rail lines experimented with multiple-unit configurations, joining streetcars to make short trains, but this did not become common until later. When lines were built over longer distances before good roads were common, they were generally called interurban streetcars or radial railways in North America.
Historically, the rail gauge has had considerable variations, with a variety of gauges common in many early systems. However, most modern second-generation light rail systems now operate on standard gauge rail.
After World War II, six major cities in the United States continued to operate large first-generation streetcar systems, although most of them were later converted to modern light rail standards. Toronto in Canada marks the other city in North America with a continuing first-generation streetcar system. Additionally, a seventh American city, Cleveland, maintained an interurban system equivalent to what is now "light rail", that opened before World War I, and which is still in operation to this day.
When several of these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it "light rail" to differentiate it from their existing streetcar systems since some continued to operate portions of both the old and new systems.
In the United States, most of the original first-generation streetcar systems were decommissioned from the 1950s onward through approximately 1970 as the usage of the automobile increased through government policy.
Although a few traditional streetcar or trolley 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.
The renaissance of light rail in the United States began in 1981, when the first truly second-generation light rail system was inaugurated in the United States, the San Diego Trolley in California, which adopted use of the German Siemens-Duewag U2 light rail vehicle.. Other North American cities, particularly on the West Coast, began planning their own light rail systems in the 1980s.
, there are a total of 53 operational light rail-type lines and systems that offer regular year-round transit service in the United States: 26 modern light rail systems, 14 modern streetcar systems, and 13 heritage streetcar systems.

"First-generation" legacy systems

First-generation systems are typically remaining lines of sprawling streetcar systems decommissioned between the 1950s and about 1970. These lines were generally preserved because of their high ridership and some exclusive right of way. Many have been at least partly upgraded to more closely resemble the more modern second-generation light rail systems.
LocationOperatorSystemYear originally openedSystem lengthLinesCurrent typeDescription
BostonMBTAGreen Line18574Light railWhile changes were made to the original 1897 Tremont Street subway in 1962 and 2004, and to some of the line routes over the years, and the Green Line's streetcar A branch was closed in 1969, both systems have run intact with mostly uninterrupted service since their opening dates.
BostonMBTAMattapan Line19291Light railWhile changes were made to the original 1897 Tremont Street subway in 1962 and 2004, and to some of the line routes over the years, and the Green Line's streetcar A branch was closed in 1969, both systems have run intact with mostly uninterrupted service since their opening dates.
ClevelandGCRTABlue Line19202Light railAside from line and station renovations in the early 1980s, and the Waterfront extension in 1996, these lines have operated essentially uninterrupted as light rail from their opening.
ClevelandGCRTAGreen Line19132Light railAside from line and station renovations in the early 1980s, and the Waterfront extension in 1996, these lines have operated essentially uninterrupted as light rail from their opening.
NewarkNJ TransitNewark Light Rail18622Light railOutside of a switch to modern vehicles in 2001 and extensions in 2002 and 2006, this line still operates essentially unchanged since the 1930s.
New OrleansNORTANew Orleans Streetcars18354Heritage streetcarThe St. Charles Avenue Line is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world, beginning operation as a horse-drawn system in 1835; the line was electrified in 1893. Three additional lines built to more modern standards have been added since 1988.
PhiladelphiaSEPTAT18595Light rail/streetcarThe subway–surface trolley lines began operation as a mixed subway/streetcar system in 1906, and have continued operation essentially unchanged since that time.
PhiladelphiaSEPTAD19062Light rail/streetcarSEPTA Routes 101 & 102 began operation as rail lines in mostly exclusive rights-of-way in 1906, and have also operated mostly unchanged since then.
PhiladelphiaSEPTAG18591Heritage streetcarSEPTA Route 15 started as a horse car line, electrified in 1895. It was replaced with buses in 1992, but service on the line with heritage streetcars resumed in 2005.
PittsburghPRTPittsburgh Light Rail18592Light railBegan as a streetcar network, but was partially converted to light rail. By the 1970s, most routes were converted to bus, and the remaining streetcar lines were converted to light rail. This included the construction of a new downtown tunnel. The converted system partially opened for service in 1984.
San FranciscoMuniCable cars18783Heritage cable carWorld's last manually operated cable car system. Of the 23 lines established between 1873 and 1890, only three remain. While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, the vast majority of their seven million annual passengers are tourists.
San FranciscoMuniMuni Metro18607Light rail/streetcarBegan as a streetcar network, but was partially converted to light rail. While most of San Francisco's original streetcar lines had been converted to buses, five lines with dedicated rights-of-way could not be converted. The streetcars were partially converted to light rail in 1980, sending the lines into the Market Street subway. The lines still operate as streetcars on surface streets. The T Third Street and S Shuttle lines added later are true light rail.
San FranciscoMuniF Market & Wharves19821Heritage streetcarEstablished in 1982 during a closure of the cable car system for refurbishment, to provide an alternative tourist attraction. Streetcars operated on the Market Street tracks recently abandoned by the streetcar lines that became the Muni Metro. Service proved popular and was retained and expanded.

"Second-generation" modern systems

Inspired by the German Stadtbahn systems, the second generation of modern light rail systems generally have large multi-car trains that travel larger distances, make fewer stops, and run at least partly on exclusive rights-of-way. The first was the San Diego Trolley, which opened in 1981.
City/Area servedStateSystemYear openedSystem lengthStationsLinesYear last expanded
BaltimoreMarylandBaltimore Light Rail19923332006
BuffaloNew YorkBuffalo Metro Rail19841411986
CharlotteNorth CarolinaLYNX Blue Line20072612018
DallasTexasDART rail Red, Blue, Green, and Orange lines19966642025
DenverColoradoRTD Light Rail19945762019
HoustonTexasMETRORail20043932017
Jersey CityNew JerseyHudson–Bergen Light Rail 20002432011
Los AngelesCaliforniaMetro Rail A, C, E, & K lines19908842025
Minneapolis–Saint PaulMinnesotaMetro: Blue & Green lines20043722014
NorfolkVirginiaThe Tide2011111—
PhoenixArizonaValley Metro Rail20085022025
PortlandOregonMAX Light Rail19869752015
SacramentoCaliforniaSacRT light rail19875332015
St. LouisMissouri and IllinoisMetroLink19933722006
Salt Lake CityUtahTRAX19995132013
San DiegoCaliforniaSan Diego Trolley19816242021
San JoseCaliforniaVTA light rail19876232005
SeattleWashingtonLink light rail20092722025