LIGHT RAIL AND RAPID TRANSIT

Light rail transit can be considered as an advanced form of the conventional streetcar. Its tracks lie primarily on separated rights-of-way. In areas where there is heavy congestion, they are often in tunnels. Like rapid transit, which is independent from surface traffic on its entire length, light rail transit with modern vehicles can undertake the role of the primary transit carrier in medium and large urban areas, supplemented by and coordinated with a secondary feeder system. The most common application of light rail is in medium-sized cities. Rapid transit serves large cities. With respect to its service quality, capacity, productivity, and efficiency, rapid transit is superior to light rail transit in various degrees. However, a particularly important advantage of light rail transit is that its network can be constructed with lower investment costs and in a shorter period of time than can a rapid transit network. Moreover, individual sections can be used immediately after completion. When light rail transit has under ground sections in central urban areas, it can be a transitional system to later rapid transit as long as adequate alignment standards are applied in construction. The requirement for an integration of transportation and urban design is particularly important for light rail and rapid transit. Their radial lines from the central cities should form the axes of residential corridors. Thus they perform 2 roles To the corridor residents and commuters from the region, through park-and ride, they represent an attractive alternative to the private automobile; at the same time, they reduce traffic loads on urban arterials and streets.