Street running train

This article is about railways running on public roads. For the physical activity, see Parkour. For the long distance sport, see Road running. For road train, see trackless train.
An NICTD EMU street-running on Michigan City’s 11th Street; United States, in 2009; the street-running track has been replaced with its own right-of-way as of 2023
A tram in Melbourne, Australia

A street running train is a train which runs on a track built on public streets. The rails are embedded in the roadway, and the train shares the street with other users, such as pedestrians, cars and cyclists, thus often being referred to as running in mixed traffic.[1] Tram and light rail systems frequently run on streets, with light rail lines typically separated from other traffic.[2]

For safety, street running trains travel more slowly than trains on dedicated rights-of-way. Needing to share the right-of-way with motor vehicles can cause delays and pose a safety risk.[3]

Stations on such routes are rare and may appear similar in style to a tram stop, but often lack platforms, pedestrian islands, or other amenities. In some cases, passengers may be required to wait on a distant sidewalk, and then board or disembark by crossing the traffic. The last street-station in the United States was in Michigan City, closing in 2022.[4]

  1. ^ Currie, Graham; Reynolds, James (January 2010). "Vehicle and Pedestrian Safety at Light Rail Stops in Mixed Traffic". Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2146 (1): 26–34. doi:10.3141/2146-04. ISSN 0361-1981.
  2. ^ "Streetcars vs LRT". Edmonton Radial Railway Society. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  3. ^ Studenkov, Igor (2021-05-14). "Goodbye street-running South Shore service in Michigan City, hello double-tracking". Streetsblog Chicago. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  4. ^ "South Shore Street Running Ends This Weekend". Railfan & Railroad. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2024.