File:Gold_Line_train_on_East_1st_Street,_July_2017.JPG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
light rail
Sign in to saveAlso known as LRT, light rail transit
typically an urban form of public transport using steel-tracked fixed guideways
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Siemens эстакада.jpg
Show 4 more facts
- short name
- VLT
- OpenStreetMap tag
- railway=light_rail
- Unicode character
- 🚈
- Commons category
- Light rail
via Wikidata · CC0
~31 min read
Article
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology, while having the capability to operate rolling stock on exclusive right of ways, on grade-separated section as well as in mixed traffic conditions. This capabilty gives LRT a greater felixibility than other transit modes. "Light" refers to the lighter passengers capacity of a line compared to rapid transit.
The term was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn, meaning "city railroad". 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.