Rapid transit
Rapid transit, mass rapid transit or rail rapid transit and commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tunnel can be regionally called a subway, tube, metro or underground. They are sometimes grade-separated on elevated railways, in which case some are referred to as elevated, el or L trains – short for "elevated" – or skytrains. A common alternative term for rapid transit in North America is heavy rail. Rapid transit systems are usually electric railways that, unlike buses or trams, operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles.
Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations typically using electric multiple units on railway tracks. Some systems use guided rubber tires, magnetic levitation, or monorail. The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities. Some rapid transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines.
The world's first rapid transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened in 1863 using steam locomotives, and now forms part of the London Underground. In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, initially a cable-hauled line using stationary steam engines.
Terminology
The term Metro is the most commonly used term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. Rapid transit systems may be named after the medium by which passengers travel in busy central business districts; the use of tunnels inspires names such as subway, underground, Untergrundbahn in German, or the Tunnelbana '''' in Swedish. The use of viaducts inspires names such as elevated, skytrain, overhead, overground or Hochbahn in German. One of these terms may apply to an entire system, even if a large part of the network, for example, in outer suburbs, runs at ground level.Europe
Britain and Ireland
In most of Britain, a subway is a pedestrian underpass. The terms Underground and Tube are used for the London Underground. The North East England Tyne and Wear Metro, mostly overground, is known as the Metro. In Scotland, the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway. In Ireland, the Dublin Area Rapid Transit is despite the name considered a commuter rail due to usage of mainline railways.Mainland
In France, large cities, such as Paris, Marseille and Lyon, use the term métro. Also the smaller cities of Lille and Rennes have a light metro. Furthermore, Brussels in Belgium, and Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands also use métro or metro for their systems.Several Southern European countries also use the term metro or metropolitana for rapid transit. In Spain, such systems are present in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia. In Portugal, Lisbon has a metro. The Italian cities of Catania, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Rome, Brescia and Turin also have rapid transit systems.
In Germany and Austria their rapid transit is known as U-Bahn, which are often supported by S-Bahn systems. In Germany, U-Bahn systems exist in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Nuremberg and Fürth, while in Austria such a system exists in Vienna. In addition, the small, car-free town of Serfaus in the Austrian state of Tyrol also features a short U-Bahn line. There are no U-Bahn systems in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but the city of Lausanne has its own, small métro system. In Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, a project for a U-Bahn network was stopped by a referendum in the 1970s and instead its S-Bahn system was developed further. Other Central European countries also have metro lines, for example in the cities of Budapest, where it is called metró, Prague and Warsaw – the latter two systems also use the term metro.
In Eastern Europe, metro systems are in operation in Minsk, Kyiv, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk.
In Southeastern European countries, the term metro is common for rapid transit systems, which exist in Athens and Thessaloniki, Belgrade, Sofia, Istanbul and Baku.
In Northern Europe, rapid transit systems are called metro in Copenhagen and Helsinki, while they are referred to as T-bane in Oslo and tunnelbana in Stockholm.
North America
Various terms are used for rapid transit systems around North America. The term metro is primarily used to describe non-English systems, such as the Mexico City Metro and the Montreal Metro, although the term is often used in English as well, as is the case for Los Angeles Metro Rail and the Washington Metro, among others. The term "subway" is more commonly used to describe rail rapid transit in English, despite few systems being known by the term. Systems known for their elevated character are often referred to as "the El", "the L", or as a "skytrain," with examples including the Chicago "L" and Vancouver SkyTrain. Metro is also used as a shortened reference to a metropolitan area, with some systems referencing this in their names, with the REM and Metra suburban rail in Chicago. Boston's subway system is known locally as "The T". In Atlanta, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority goes by the acronym "MARTA." In the San Francisco Bay Area, residents refer to Bay Area Rapid Transit by its acronym "BART".The New York City Subway is referred to simply as "the subway", despite 40% of the system running above ground. The term "L" or "El" is not used for elevated lines in general as the lines in the system are already designated with letters and numbers. The "L" train or L refers specifically to the 14th Street–Canarsie Local line, and not other elevated trains. Similarly, the Toronto Subway is referred to as "the subway", with some of its system also running above ground. These are the only two North American systems that are primarily called "subways".
Latin America
In Buenos Aires the first stretch of underground urban railway opened in 1913, as part of Line A. Vice president Victorino de la Plaza attended the inauguration.Asia
In most of Southeast Asia and in Taiwan, rapid transit systems are primarily known by the acronym MRT. The meaning varies from one country to another. In Indonesia, the acronym stands for Moda Raya Terpadu or Integrated Mass Mode in English. In the Philippines, it stands for Metro Rail Transit. Two underground lines use the term subway. In Thailand, it stands for Metropolitan Rapid Transit, previously using the Mass Rapid Transit name. Outside of Southeast Asia, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Taoyuan, Taiwan, have their own MRT systems which stands for Mass Rapid Transit, as with Singapore and Malaysia.Broader definition
In general rapid transit is a synonym for "metro" type transit, though sometimes rapid transit is defined to include "metro", commuter trains and grade-separated light rail. Also high-capacity bus-based transit systems can have features similar to "metro" systems.History
The opening of London's steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked the beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant. Experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities.In 1890, the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Prior to opening, the line was to be called the "City and South London Subway", thus introducing the term Subway into railway terminology. Both railways, alongside others, were eventually merged into London Underground. The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset.
The technology quickly spread to other cities in Europe, the United States, Argentina, and Canada, with some railways being converted from steam and others being designed to be electric from the outset. Budapest, Chicago, Glasgow, Boston, Buenos Aires and New York City all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services.
Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services. Hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro, which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems.
Since the 1960s, many new systems have been introduced in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In the 21st century, most new expansions and systems are located in Asia, with China becoming the world's leader in metro expansion, operating some of the largest and busiest systems while possessing almost 60 cities that are operating, constructing or planning a rapid transit system.
Operation
Rapid transit is used for local transport in cities, agglomerations, and metropolitan areas to transport large numbers of people often short distances at high frequency. The extent of the rapid transit system varies greatly between cities, with several transport strategies.Some systems may extend only to the limits of the inner city, or to its inner ring of suburbs with trains making frequent station stops. The outer suburbs may then be reached by a separate commuter rail network where more widely spaced stations allow higher speeds. In some cases the differences between urban rapid transit and suburban systems are not clear.
Rapid transit systems may be supplemented by other systems such as trolleybuses, regular buses, trams, or commuter rail. This combination of transit modes serves to offset certain limitations of rapid transit such as limited stops and long walking distances between outside access points. Bus or tram feeder systems transport people to rapid transit stops.