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A limited express is a type of express train or express bus service that stops at fewer locations compared to other express services on the same or similar routes.
The term "limited express" is a common translation of the Japanese compound noun tokubetsu kyūkō (特別急行); lit. 'special express'; often abbreviated as tokkyū (特急), though some operators translate the word differently.
There are two types of limited express trains: intercity, and commuter. The former type of limited express trains generally use long-distance coaches, equipped better than other ordinary express trains, including reserved seating, dining cars, food and beverage carts, and "green cars" (first class cars). The latter type of limited express train usually incurs no surcharge, but seating is usually first-come, first-served, since this type of train uses commuter train coaches. Both types of trains travel faster and stop at fewer stations.
Until 1972, the Hikari on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen was officially a chōtokkyū ( 超特急 ), that is, "beyond limited express" or "super express", and was priced higher than the Kodama , the limited express on the same line. Presently all Shinkansen services are officially limited express, but are usually referred to as "super express" in English.
The table below summarises the limited expresses on major Japanese railways (JR Group, Toei, and 16 major private railways minus one major private railway that does not operate limited express, which is Tokyo Metro).
| Railway | Train type | Surcharge | Picture (example) | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Japanese | ||||
| JR Group | Limited Express | Tokkyū Tsūkin Tokkyū (JR West only) | Yes |  | |
| Toei | Airport Limited Express | Eapōto Kaitoku | No |  | These services operate on the Toei Asakusa Line. Only the Airport Limited Express makes limited stops on the Toei Asakusa Line, while others stop at every station but indicate the through service into either Keisei or Keikyu Lines. |
| Limited Express | Kaitoku, Kaisoku Tokkyū, Tokkyū | ||||
| Access Express | Akusesu Tokkyū | ||||
| Commuter Express | Tsūkin Tokkyū | ||||
| Tobu Railway | Limited Express | Tokkyū | Yes |  | Limited express services with no surcharge on the Tobu Tojo Line were discontinued on 13 June 2008. |
| Seibu Railway | Limited Express | Tokkyū | Yes |  | |
| Keisei Electric Railway | Limited Express | Kaisoku Tokkyū, Tokkyū | No |  | Skyliner , Morningliner , Eveningliner and Cityliner limited express services are classed higher than conventional limited express trains and are charged. |
| Access Express | Akusesu Tokkyū | ||||
| Commuter Express | Tsūkin Tokkyū | ||||
| Keio Corporation | Special Express | Tokkyū | No |  | Keio Liner is classed higher than special express and is charged. |
| Odakyu Electric Railway | Limited Express | Tokkyū | Yes |  | Some Romancecar limited express services operate on the Tokyo Metro network (one of the two operators of the 16 major private railways that do not offer limited express services at all). |
| Tokyu Corporation | Limited Express | Tokkyū | No |  | S-Train services from Seibu Railway that are classed higher than Tokyu limited express services and are charged operate on the Tokyu Toyoko Line. |
| Commuter Limited Express (also called Commuter Express) | Tsūkin Tokkyū | ||||
| Keikyu Corporation | Limited Express | Kaitoku, Tokkyū | No |  | Keikyu Wing and Morning Wing services are classed higher than limited express and are charged. |
| Airport Limited Express | Eapōto Kaitoku | ||||
| Sagami Railway | Limited Express | Tokkyū | No |  | |
| Nagoya Railroad | μSKY | Myū-Sukai | Yes |  | Trains consist of first class cars (charged) only. |
| Rapid Limited Express | Kaisoku Tokkyū | Some trains | Some trains consist of regular cars only. | ||
| Limited Express | Tokkyū | ||||
| Kintetsu Railway | Limited Express | Tokkyū | Yes |  | |
| Nankai Electric Railway | Limited Express | Tokkyū | Some trains |  | Rapi:t , Koya, Rinkan,and Senboku Liner services consist of reserved seat cars (charged) only. |
| Keihan Electric Railway | Limited Express | Tokkyū,Kaisoku Tokkyū | No |  | Starting August 2017 one first class car (called Premium car) is present on all Limited Express services |
| Liner | Liner | Yes | |||
| Hankyu Corporation | Limited Express | Tokkyū | No |  | |
| Commuter Limited Express | Tsūkin Tokkyū | ||||
| Rapid Limited Express | Kaisoku Tokkyū | ||||
| Rapid Limited Express A | Kaisoku Tokkyū A | ||||
| Hanshin Electric Railway | Limited Express | Tokkyū, Chokutsū Tokkyū, Kukan Tokkyū, | No |  | |
| Nishi-Nippon Railroad | Limited Express | Tokkyū | No |  | |
In Australia, particularly in Melbourne, selective commuter trains often skip smaller stations during peak hours, primarily for the purpose of more efficient delivery of passengers to interchange stations, or higher-patronage stations. However, generally limited express trains only skip a small number of stations while express trains run non-stop on a large section of the line, contrary to Japan's definition. In Brisbane, and Sydney, limited stop services are formed by commuter trains that run as limited stops or express services from the city centre to the edge of the suburban area and then as all stops in the interurban area (an example of such an express pattern can be seen on the Gold Coast line).
In the era of steam-hauled provincial expresses, limited express services were common on highly trafficked routes. The Night Limited was the premier express train on the North Island Main Trunk Railway between Auckland, and Wellington from 1924 until 1971; during peak seasons, it was augmented by the Daylight Limited . Following the Night Limited was a slower unnamed express that stopped at more stations and provided a lower level of comfort.
A different pattern was employed on the Main South Line. The South Island Limited express ran three days a week from Christchurch through Dunedin to Invercargill, with a slower regular express operating on the other four days. Both regular and limited expresses were augmented by additional services between intermediate destinations, such as an evening railcar between Christchurch and Dunedin operated by NZR's 88 seater, or Vulcan Class Railmotors.
Limited expresses were rare beyond the main trunk routes and the regular provincial expresses were typically augmented with even slower mixed trains. However, when the Rotorua Express schedule was accelerated in 1930 and its carriages upgraded, it was re-branded as the Rotorua Limited. Due to the Great Depression and rising car ownership levels, it did not achieve the level of success intended, thus in 1937 it reverted to the status and service pattern of a regular express.
After the demise of the Night Limited and the South Island Limited in 1971, the term "limited express" fell into disuse in New Zealand and has not been applied to any subsequent trains. However, from 1971 to 1979, the Silver Star performed the role of a limited express as it operated to a faster schedule than a supplementary slower service that was known from 1975 as the Northerner .
As of 13 March 2017 [update] , Auckland Transport introduced limited express services on the Onehunga Line. These services operate until 7:30 pm on weekdays, bypassing Parnell, Remuera and Greenlane stations. [1]
There were trains under the Manila Railroad Company and the Philippine National Railways that were called "Limited Express" or simply "Limited", as well as Special and Express trains that nonetheless stopped at fewer stations. [2] The first of such services were introduced in the 1950s and peaked in the 1970s. They only stop at major stations along the two intercity main lines in Luzon unlike regular expresses. They were given the highest priority, dedicated rolling stock, and the highest level of comfort and amenities. [3]
The North Main Line had the Ilocos Special and the Amianan Night Express that ran between 1973 and 1984, then the fastest services in the PNR and stopped at fewer stations compared to the Dagupan Express. Meanwhile, the second Bicol Express, opened in 1954, only stopped at 8 out of 66 stations of the line between Tutuban station in downtown Manila and Legazpi station in Albay. [4] Other examples on the South Main Line include the Peñafrancia Express, [3] the Isarog/Manila Limited, [5] and the Mayon Limited, all of these were defunct by 2013 when all intercity rail was discontinued in favour of building a new line.
There are plans to revive the "limited express" trains. The North–South Commuter Railway and the new South Main Line under the South Long Haul project will both feature "limited express" services. Both limited expresses will run on standard-gauge track and will use dedicated rolling stock capable of running of up to 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph) or higher-speed rail. [6] [7] For the North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR), an airport express train will connect Clark International Airport with Alabang station in Muntinlupa, skipping all the other stations in Central Luzon and only stopping at four other stations in Metro Manila. In comparison, the "Commuter Express" services on the NSCR will serve more stations but will use the same electric multiple units as the regular commuter service.
To the south of the NSCR, the Bicol Express flagship service of the PNR South Long Haul was originally proposed as a limited express service in 2018. [8] However, a new basic design report released in June 2021 reclassified the services into two groups: Local and Express. The new Bicol Express service has since been relegated to a regular express train service. [9]
Some of the most elite trains in the United States in the twentieth century were called "limited", a name that typically graced overnight trains that made very few stops. (However, the fastest train between New York and Washington, DC, a day train, in the Pennsylvania Railroad era was called the Congressional Limited Express, and it had few stops, like the longer distance "Limited's".)
Some limited's of America have included:
From September 23, 1978, to April 15, 1990, the New York City Subway operated a limited express premium-fare subway service from Manhattan to JFK, which was called the JFK Express. The subway service made express stops at subway stations in Manhattan and one subway station in Brooklyn, before running nonstop to Howard Beach-JFK Airport, where transfers to free airport shuttle buses were provided. The JFK Express proved to be unsuccessful, seeing low ridership in part because the service did not actually serve any airline terminals.
Some commuter railroads operate express trains making limited stops. The Long Island Rail Road operates some rush hour trains that run 50 miles between the central city station and the first stop of its express route itinerary, for instance, on the Ronkonkoma Line. [10] The Metro-North Railroad runs some rush hour trains that run 29 miles between the central city and the first stop of their route itinerary on the Hudson Line and the New Haven Line.
Due to the wide availability of service on the Northeast Regional and Acela Express, most of Amtrak's medium- and long-distance trains operating along the Northeast Corridor only stop to discharge passengers from Washington Union Station (or in some cases, Alexandria Union Station) northward, and to receive passengers from Newark Penn Station southward.
The term "Limited Express" is 특급 (特急, Teukgeup) in Korean. Limited express trains stop at fewer stations than regular express trains (급행, 急行, Geuphaeng).
| Railway | Train type | Surcharge | Picture (example) | Line | Section | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Korean | |||||
| Korail | Limited Express | 특급(特急) (Teukgeup) | No |  | Seoul Subway Line 1 (Gyeongin Line) | Yongsan ~ Dongincheon |
| ITX-Cheongchun | ITX-청춘(靑春) (ITX-Cheongchun) | Yes |  | Gyeongchun Line | Yongsan ~ Chuncheon | |
| Seoul Metro | Limited Express | 급행(急行) (Geuphaeng) | No |  | Seoul Subway Line 9 | Gimpo International Airport ~ VHS Medical Center |
The Sriwijaya train (or also known as the Sriwijaya Limited Express (Limex) train, which means the Sriwijaya Limited Express (Patas) train) is a passenger train service operated by PT Kereta Api Indonesia to serve the Palembang Kertapati-Tanjungkarang line and vice versa.
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Inter-city rail services are express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance commuter rail trains within one city area nor slow regional rail trains stopping at all stations and covering local journeys only. An inter-city train is typically an express train with limited stops and comfortable carriages to serve long-distance travel.
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) is a state-owned railway company in the Philippines which operates one commuter rail service between Laguna and Quezon, and local services between Sipocot, Naga and Legazpi in the Bicol Region. It is an attached agency of the Department of Transportation.
Suburban Station is an art deco office building and underground commuter rail station in Penn Center in Philadelphia. Its official SEPTA address is 16th Street and JFK Boulevard. The station is owned and operated by SEPTA and is one of the three core Center City stations on the SEPTA Regional Rail and one of the busiest stations in the Regional Rail System.
Rail transportation in the Philippines is currently used mostly to transport passengers within Metro Manila and provinces of Laguna and Quezon, as well as a commuter service in the Bicol Region. Freight transport services once operated in the country, but these services were halted. However, there are plans to restore old freight services and build new lines. From a peak of 1,100 kilometers (680 mi), the country currently has a railway footprint of 533.14 kilometers (331.28 mi), of which only 129.85 kilometers (80.69 mi) are operational as of 2024, including all the urban rail lines. World War II, natural calamities, underspending, and neglect have all contributed to the decline of the Philippine railway network. In the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report, the Philippines has the lowest efficiency score among other Asian countries in terms of efficiency of train services, receiving a score of 2.4, and ranking 86th out of 101 countries globally. The government is currently expanding the railway network up to 1,900 kilometers (1,200 mi) by 2022 through numerous projects.
Paco station is a railway station located on the South Main Line in the city of Manila, Philippines. It was originally opened by the Manila Railroad Company in 1908 as a major hub in the southern half of Manila, where trains toward Cavite province once operated. The old train station building was designed by William E. Parsons and was completed in 1915. Prior to the electrification plan in the late 1970s, Paco was the southernmost double-track station on the line.
Sucat station is a railway station located on the South Main Line in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was originally established by the Manila Railway Company in 1908 as part of the construction of the original Southern Lines to the province of Tayabas, since renamed Quezon. It is also the southernmost area on the PNR Metro Commuter Line to be upgraded to double track as a result of a proposed electrification scheme in 1978.
Naga station is a railway station located on the South Main Line in Naga, Camarines Sur, Philippines. It is a major station on the line, serving as the main terminus for the Bicol Commuter, Bicol Express train services and the end station for the Isarog Limited Express. The station is considered the largest of all Philippine National Railways (PNR) stations in Southern Luzon. It houses the regional offices of PNR that covers the total jurisdiction over Southern Luzon.
Valenzuela station, also known as West Valenzuela station, is an under-construction elevated North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) station located in Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines. The station was part of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) North Main Line before its closure in the 1980s.
The PNR 900 class is a class of 21 GE Universal Series diesel–electric locomotives operated by the Philippine National Railways since 1973. The locomotives comes with three different types: U14CP (1973), U14C (1979), and U15C (1991). Initially used for long-distance express services throughout Luzon, they were relegated to hauling commuter trains within Metro Manila, a task previously done by PNR's diesel multiple units fleet. This was further exacerbated by the closure of the PNR South Main Line's intercity section in 2012 after an accident in Sariaya, Quezon.
The PNR Metro Commuter Line was a commuter rail line operated by the Philippine National Railways. It was first inaugurated as the Metro Manila Commuter Service in 1970, and originally served the North Main Line and the South Main Lines, as well as the defunct Carmona and Guadalupe branch lines. Since then, it adopted several names such as Metrotrak and Metrotren, before adopting its present name in the late 2000s. The line was also nicknamed the Orange Line due to its designation in the 1970s.
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The North–South Commuter Railway, also known as the Clark–Calamba Railway, is a 147-kilometer (91-mile) commuter rail system under construction on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Running from New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, to Calamba, Laguna, with 36 stations and four services, the railway is designed to improve connectivity within the Greater Manila Area and will be integrated with the railway network in the region.
The PNR South Main Line is one of the two trunk lines that form the Philippine National Railways' network in the island of Luzon, Philippines. It was opened in stages between 1916 and 1938 by the Manila Railroad. Services peaked in the 1940s until the late 1960s, when the system started to decline. Since 1988, it was the only functioning inter-city rail after its counterpart to the north, the North Main Line, was closed. The intercity section of the line in Laguna, Quezon and the Bicol Region was then closed and reopened repeatedly between 2004 and 2014 due to a combination of declining ridership and was closed since then. Currently, only a little more than half of line is operational as the line currently serves two commuter services, namely the Inter-Provincial Commuter from San Pedro to Lucena and the Bicol Commuter regional rail service between Sipocot, Naga Camarines Sur and Legazpi Albay, following the closure of the main line, the PNR Metro Commuter Line between Tutuban station and Laguna.
Los Baños station is a railway station located on the South Main Line in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.
The PNR South Long Haul, also known as the PNR Bicol, is a stalled inter-city rail line project in southern Luzon, Philippines. It is part of the larger Luzon Rail System, a network of long-distance standard-gauge lines being built by the Philippine National Railways throughout Luzon. It is one of the two lines that will reconstruct the historic PNR South Main Line, along with the electrified North–South Commuter Railway South section to Calamba, Laguna.
The PNR North Main Line is one of the two trunk lines of the Philippine National Railways in the island of Luzon, the other being the PNR South Main Line. The line during its maximum extent led to various cities and municipalities in Central Luzon and the Ilocos Region.
Rail transportation in the Greater Manila Area is a major part of the transportation system in Metro Manila and its surrounding areas. The railway network, collectively known as the Greater Capital Region Railway System, consists of the Manila Light Rail Transit System (LRT), Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT), and Philippine National Railways lines within the region.
The PNR EM10000 class is an electric multiple unit commuter trainset that will be operated by the Philippine National Railways on the North–South Commuter Railway. Prior to the reveal of its numbering scheme in October 2021, the train was known as the PNR Sustina Commuter. Set to enter service by 2028, it will be PNR's first trainset to be run on standard gauge and powered by electric traction. The trains are also designed to be interoperable with the Metro Manila Subway.
