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Typical floor heights of low-floor trams are 300 to 350 mm (11.8 to 13.8 in), and the Ultra Low Floor tram has a floor height of only 180 mm (7.1 in). For comparison high-floor trams are typically more than 600 mm (23.6 in) and rapid transit using heavy rail trains has floor heights of 800 to 1,200 mm (31.5 to 47.2 in).
The following is a list of all light rail systems in the United States. Also included are some of the urban streetcar/trolley systems that provide regular public transit service (operating year-round and at least five days per week), ones with data available from the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) Ridership Reports.
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. [13]
The San Diego Trolley, the most heavily used light rail system in the United States.. Light rail is a mode of rail-based transport, usually urban in nature.. Light-rail systems are typically designed to carry fewer passengers than heavy-rail systems like commuter rail or rapid transit (subway).
Light rail is a commonly used mode of public transit in North America.The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the U.S. Federal Transit Administration) to describe new streetcar transformations which were taking place in Europe and the United States.
Rail-over-rail grade separations take up less space than road grade separations: because shoulders are not needed, there are generally fewer branches and side road connections to accommodate (because a partial grade separation will accomplish more improvement than for a road), and because at-grade railway connections often take up significant ...
The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion. Other names include railway level crossing , [ 1 ] railway crossing (chiefly international), grade crossing or railroad crossing (chiefly American), [ 2 ] road through railroad , criss-cross , train crossing , and RXR ...
These include simple rail adhesion, rack railways and cable inclines (including rail mounted water tanks to carry barges). To help with braking on the descent, a non-load-bearing "brake rail" located between the running rails can be used, similar to the rail used in the Fell system, e.g. by the Snaefell Mountain Railway on the Isle of Man.