Editing Light rail (section)

==Definition==
{{Main|Passenger rail terminology}}
The term ''light rail'' was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the [[Federal Transit Administration]]) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term ''[[Stadtbahn]]'' (to be distinguished from ''[[S-Bahn]]'', which stands for ''Stadtschnellbahn'') was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, which is ''city rail'' (the Norwegian term, ''by bane'', means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term ''light rail'' instead.<ref>Gregory L. Thompson (2003), [http://trb.org/publications/circulars/ec058/03_01_Thompson.pdf ''Defining an Alternative Future: Birth of the Light Rail Movement in North America''] (PDF), Transportation Research Board.</ref> ''Light'' in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system.

The [[American Public Transportation Association]] (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: 
<blockquote>...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger [[Railcar|rail cars]] singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in the right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a [[trolley pole|trolley [pole]]] or a [[Pantograph (rail)|pantograph]]; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps."<ref name="APTA-def" /></blockquote>  
However, some diesel-powered transit systems using light trains, are designated ''diesel light rail transit'' (DLRT), such as the [[O-Train]] [[Trillium Line]] in [[Ottawa|Ottawa, Ontario]], Canada, and in the United States the [[River Line (NJ Transit)|River Line]] in [[New Jersey]], and the [[Sprinter (rail service)|Sprinter]] in [[California]]. These systems use [[diesel multiple unit|diesel multiple unit (DMU)]] trains originally designed for mainline railroads.

''Light rail'' is different from the [[British English]] term ''[[light railway]]'', long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of LIGHT RAILWAY |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/light%20railway |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=24 November 2024 |language=en}}</ref> ''Light rail'' is a generic [[international English]] phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the [[English-speaking world]]. ''Light rail'' systems can range from trams running in streets along with other traffic, to [[semi-metro]] systems having portions of grade separated track.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Armstrong-Wright |first1=Alan |title=Urban Transit Systems: Guidelines for Examining Options |date=1986 |publisher=World Bank |isbn=978-0-8213-0765-6 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-zBPJgAACAAJ |language=en}}</ref>

[[People mover]]s are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. [[Monorail]] is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role.<ref name="GGW-19" />

===British English versus American English===
[[File:Metrolink tram at Lower Moseley Street..jpg|thumb|The [[Manchester Metrolink]] is the first, largest and most-used light rail system in the [[United Kingdom|UK]].]]
[[File:SEPTA Light Rail.jpg|thumb|[[SEPTA]]'s 101 trolley pulling into [[69th Street Transportation Center|69th Street Terminal]] near [[Philadelphia]]]]
{{Main|Tram|Streetcars in North America}}
The use of the generic term ''light rail'' avoids some serious incompatibilities between [[List of words having different meanings in British and American English|British and American English]]. The word ''tram'', for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a [[streetcar]], but in North America ''tram'' can instead refer to an [[aerial tramway]],<ref>{{cite web
  | url = http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/tram
  | title = Tram (definition) 
  | publisher = Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
  | access-date = 18 July 2007}}</ref> or, in the case of [[Disney Parks, Experiences and Products#Disney resorts|the Disney amusement parks]], even a [[land train]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yesterland.com/dlhotel-tram.html |title=The Yesterland Hotel Tram |website=Yesterland.com |access-date=7 February 2013}}</ref> (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is ''cable car'', which in the US usually refers to a [[cable car (railway)|ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables]].) The word [[trolley (disambiguation)|trolley]] is often used as a synonym for ''streetcar'' in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web
  | url = http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/trolley
  | title = Trolley (definition)
  | publisher = Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
  | access-date = 18 July 2007}}</ref> Many North American transportation planners reserve ''streetcar'' for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use ''light rail'' to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
  | url = https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9048223/light-rail-transit
  | title = Light Rail Transit
  | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica
  | access-date = 18 July 2007}}</ref>

The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in the late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States<ref>{{cite web| url = http://citytransport.info/Trams02.htm | title = Trams, Streetcars, and Light Rail Vehicles  | first = Simon P. | last = Smiler | website = citytransport.info | access-date = 18 July 2007}}</ref> (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is the same as the German term for the mode, ''Straßenbahn'' (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its ''trams'' after World War II except in [[Blackpool tramway|Blackpool]], eight major North American cities ([[Toronto streetcar system|Toronto]], [[Boston-area streetcar lines|Boston]], [[SEPTA Subway-Surface Trolley Lines|Philadelphia]], [[San Francisco Municipal Railway|San Francisco]], [[Pittsburgh Light Rail|Pittsburgh]], [[Newark Light Rail|Newark]], [[RTA Rapid Transit|Cleveland]], and [[Streetcars in New Orleans|New Orleans]]) continued to operate large ''streetcar'' systems.<ref>{{cite journal  | last = Plous | first = F.K. Jr.| url = http://www.planning.org/25anniversary/planning/1984jun.htm | title = A Desire Named Streetcar | journal = Planning | publisher = American Planning Association | date=June 1984 | access-date = 14 August 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060303145955/http://www.planning.org/25anniversary/planning/1984jun.htm |archive-date = 3 March 2006}}</ref> When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it ''light rail'' to differentiate it from their existing ''streetcars'' since some continued to operate both the old and new systems. Since the 1980s, [[Portland, Oregon]], has built all three types of system: a high-capacity [[MAX Light Rail|light rail system]] in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity [[Portland Streetcar|streetcar system]] integrated with street traffic, and an [[Portland Aerial Tram|aerial tram system]].

The opposite phrase ''heavy rail'', used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing the [[London Underground]] and the [[New York City Subway]]. Conventional rail technologies including [[high-speed rail|high-speed]], freight, [[commuter rail|commuter]], and [[rapid transit]] urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/166970.aspx|title=Track Design Handbook for Light Rail Transit, Second Edition {{!}} Blurbs New {{!}} Blurbs {{!}} Publications|website=www.trb.org|date=2012 |doi=10.17226/22800 |language=en-US|access-date=15 February 2020 |last1=p.c. |first1=Metro Tech Consulting Services Engineering Architecture |last2=Consultants |first2=Track Guy |isbn=978-0-309-25824-1 }}</ref>