Editing Light rail (section)

{{Short description|Form of passenger urban rail  transit}}
{{Redirect|LRT}}
{{Distinguish|Interurban|Light railway|Light metro}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
[[File:Gold Line train on East 1st Street, July 2017.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|In [[Los Angeles]], [[Transportation in Los Angeles|expansion of mass transit]] has been driven in large part by [[Los Angeles Metro Rail|light rail]].]]

'''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<ref name="Phil.-1975">{{cite journal|last=Vuchic|first=V.R.|title=Place of light rail transit in the family of transit modes.|journal= TRB Special Report|issue=161|publisher=[[Transportation Research Board]] |year=1975|url=https://swov.nl/en/publicatie/place-light-rail-transit-family-transit-modes-paper-presented-national-conference|access-date=1 July 2024}} National Conference of the Transportation Research Board</ref> while also having some features from heavy [[rapid transit]].

The term was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word ''[[Stadtbahn]]'', meaning "city railway".<ref name="Thompson">{{cite journal|last=Thompson|first=Gregory L.|title=Defining an Alternative Future: The Birth of the Light Rail Movement in North America|journal=Transportation Research Circular|issue=E-C058|publisher=[[Transportation Research Board]] |year=2003|url=http://pubsindex.trb.org/view.aspx?id=700149|access-date=26 December 2009}} From: 9th National Light Rail Transit Conference</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sbp.de/en/presse/neue-eisenbahnbruecke-ueber-den-neckar/ |title=New railway bridge over the Neckar river |access-date=2024-06-24}}</ref> Different definitions exist in some countries, but in the United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive [[Right_of_way#Rail_right_of_way|rights-of-way]] and uses either individual tramcars or [[multiple unit]]s coupled together, with a lower capacity and speed than a long [[heavy rail]] passenger train or rapid transit system.<ref name="APTA-def">{{cite web | url = http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/glossary.aspx#8 | title = Fact Book Glossary – Mode of Service Definitions | publisher = [[American Public Transportation Association]] | year = 2015 | access-date = 6 January 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180225200947/http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/glossary.aspx#8 | archive-date = 25 February 2018 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="FTA">{{cite web
 |url = http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/Glossary.htm |title = National Transit Database Glossary |publisher = [[United States Department of Transportation|U.S. Department of Transportation]] [[Federal Transit Administration]] |date = 18 October 2013 |access-date = 6 January 2015 |url-status = dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131113002142/http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/Glossary.htm |archive-date = 13 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = What is light rail? | work = Public transport A-Z | publisher = [[International Association of Public Transport]] | year = 2008 | url = http://www.uitp.org/Public-Transport/light-rail/index.cfm | access-date=29 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013161641/http://www.uitp.org/Public-Transport/light-rail/index.cfm|archive-date=13 October 2008}}</ref><ref name="WILRT?">{{cite web | url=http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/light_rail_bro.pdf | title=This Is Light Rail Transit | publisher=Transportation Research Board | pages=7–9 | access-date=6 January 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417103723/http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/light_rail_bro.pdf | archive-date= 17 April 2018
| url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lrta.org/explain.html | title=What is Light Rail? | publisher=[[Light Rail Transit Association]] (LRTA) | access-date=6 January 2015 
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605081140/http://www.lrta.org/explain.html | archive-date=5 June 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses [[rolling stock]] that is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader usage, light rail transit can include tram-like operations mostly on streets.<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Not stated--> |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0EHXUInjTwC&pg=PP5 |title=Glossary of Transit Terms | date=1992 |page=9 |access-date=2024-06-24}}</ref> Some light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit. Only when these systems are fully grade-separated, they are referred to as [[medium-capacity rail system|light metros]] or light rail rapid transit (LRRT).<ref name="UTST">{{cite book |last1=Vuchic |first1=Vukan R. |title=Urban Transit Systems and Technology |date=14 February 2007 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-75823-5 |page=579 |doi=10.1002/9780470168066 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9780470168066 |access-date=15 August 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

{{Train topics}}