Premetro (sometimes pre-metro) is a type of light rail transit. Here infrastructure is gradually built with the goal to use rapid transit trains in the distant future, but using trams or light rail vehicles preliminary in the meantime. This infrastructure consists of tunnels and/or viaducts, so vehicles have no conflicts with other traffic. To achieve that these rapid trains will be able to use the infrastructure, wider curves and lesser grades need to be designed and built. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The use of tram vehicles in tunnels originated in the United States in the nineteenth century and was often called "subway–surface line". Later, in the second half of the twentieth century the term "semi-metro" was coined for tram systems with some sections in tunnels and on viaducts. Only when a semi-metro section is designed for later use of heavy rapid transit trains, it falls in the premetro category. The large scale report "Light Rail Transit: A State of the Art Review" describes on page 9 the relationship of premetro systems to broader terms as follows:
Certain design features distinguish these systems from semi-metro or conventional light rail transit systems [2]
The same distinction is made in glossaries. [1] [6] During the period when tram vehicles are used, the specific line falls into the light rail category. [7] [8]
An early example was the Tremont Street subway (1897) in Boston, today part of the MBTA Green Line. This tunnel was intended solely to reduce streetcar congestion on surface streets, not for later conversion to metro service. [9] However between 1901 and 1908, two out of four tracks were used for rapid transit service including high platforms. [10] Several early streetcar tunnels, including the Steinway Tunnel and East Boston Tunnel, were later converted to metro operation. However, the small loading gauge, tight curves, and steep grades of the streetcar tunnels required shorter metro cars than otherwise desirable. [9] In 1950 Stockholm effectively used a pre-war tramtunnel for its first rapid transit line. [11]
The modern premetro concept Stadtbahn began in 1960s Germany, as rising traffic congestion due to auto ownership led to the construction of new transit systems. Rather than building costly metro lines immediately, some cities built only the downtown tunnels. They could be used by existing tram lines in the short term, with the intention of full metro conversion later - hence "pre-metro". [12] The idea spread to other European countries in the 1970s, especially Belgium, where such systems were explicitly named premetros. [12] Also one segment of Vienna's U2 metro line (Rathaus-Museumsquartier) is an in 1980 converted underground tramway line, which was constructed in 1966.
A tram is a type of urban rail transit consisting of either individual railcars or self-propelled multiple unit trains that run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or tram networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Because of their close similarities, trams are commonly included in the wider term light rail, which also includes systems separated from other traffic.
Light rail is a form of passenger urban rail transit using rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit.
A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, but because trams operate on rails, they often include railway platforms, especially if stepless entries are provided for accessibility. However, trams may also be used with bus stop type flags and with mid-street pavements as platforms, in street running mode.
The Brussels Metro is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three premetro lines. The metro-grade lines are M1, M2, M5, and M6 with some shared sections, covering a total of 39.9 kilometres (24.8 mi), with 59 metro-only stations. The premetro network consists of three tram lines that partly travel over underground sections that were intended to be eventually converted into metro lines. Underground stations in the premetro network use the same design as metro stations. A few short underground tramway sections exist, so there is a total of 52.0 kilometres (32.3 mi) of underground metro and tram network. There are a total of 69 metro and premetro stations as of 2011.
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but also be permitted operation alongside mainline trains. This allows services that can utilise both existing urban light rail systems and mainline railway networks and stations. It combines the urban accessibility of a tram or light rail with a mainline train's greater speed in the suburbs.
Urban rail transit is a wide term for various types of local rail systems providing passenger service within and around urban or suburban areas. The set of urban rail systems can be roughly subdivided into the following categories, which sometimes overlap because some systems or lines have aspects of multiple types.
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rail transport – means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks consisting of steel rails installed on sleepers/ties and ballast.
Stadtbahn is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that could be used independently from other traffic.
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 to describe new streetcar transformations which were taking place in Europe and the United States. The Germans used the term Stadtbahn, which is the predecessor to North American light rail, to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, which is city rail. However, in its reports, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead.
The Brussels Premetro is a network consisting of lines 4, 10, 7 and 25 of the Brussels Tram system. It is a standard-gauge system which runs in underground sections in the city centre and further out on surface lines. The network is operated by STIB/MIVB, the local public transport company.
The Premetro is a 7.4-kilometer long (4.6 mi) light rail line that runs along the outskirts of Buenos Aires, connecting with the Buenos Aires Underground line E, at Plaza de los Virreyes station and then to General Savio, with a short branch to Centro Cívico. It opened in 1987 and is operated by Metrovías. Originally, the Premetro was to include many more lines, but shortly after the privatisation of the railways the projects were postponed and never materialised and only "Premetro E2" was built.
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tunnel can be regionally called a subway, tube, metro or underground. They are sometimes grade-separated on elevated railways, in which case some are referred to as el trains – short for "elevated" – or skytrains. Rapid transit systems are railways, usually electric, that unlike buses or trams operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles.
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and 14 S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn, commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn, are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while the S-Bahn or Stadtschnellbahn are commuter rail services, that may run underground in the city center and have metro-like characteristics in Munich, Hamburg and Berlin which they only have to a lesser extent in other cities. There are also over a dozen semi-metro or Stadtbahn systems that are rapid transit in the city center and light rail outside.
The Essen Stadtbahn is a 19.6-kilometer (12.2 mi) light rail (Stadtbahn) network in Essen and the two neighbouring towns of Mülheim an der Ruhr and Gelsenkirchen in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia. It forms part of the Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn.
Light rail is a commonly used mode of public transit in South America. The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration to describe new streetcar transformations which were taking place in Europe and the United States. The Germans used the term Stadtbahn, which is the predecessor to North American light rail, to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, which is city rail. However, in its reports UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead.
Semi-metro is a form of urban rail transport in which trams run partly on a conflict-free track, by using tunnels and viaducts. These stretches of track are designed to function like a regular metro or rapid transit line. Semi-metro lines run with tram cars because they are usually developed from an existing tram network. Semi-metro is a concept also known as a subway–surface line/system, tram subway line/system, trolley subway system or a hybrid streetcar / light rail line)
The Hague semi-metro is a light rail system in the form of a semi-metro in The Hague, the Netherlands. It is used by Lines 2, 3, 4, 6 and 34 of the local tram network. Three linked sections were constructed for the core of this network: the viaduct with the tram stations Centraal Station (CS) and Ternoot, the tram tunnel and the viaduct through the Beatrixkwartier office area.
pre-metro — a light rail transit system designed with provisions for easy conversion to heavy rail (rail rapid transit).
This step-by-step planning approach to building rail rapid transit is known as pre-metro, implying the intention to ultimately construct a fully grade separated route to be used by rail rapid transit or metro trains.
Pre-Metro is an extreme case of light rail, on segregated right of way, and designed to upgrading to metro when passenger demand increases sufficiently.
Premetros also allow a gradual upgrade of existing tramways to rapid transit, thus spreading the investments costs over time.
Cities such as Frankfurt and Cologne in West Germany have further developed their tramway system by introducing a concept known as "premetro." In this system trams or light rail vehicles make extensive use of tunnels, reserve track and by utilizing folding steps these vehicles can operate through high or low stopping places.
Un semi-métro peut constituer une étape intermédiaire vers la constitution d'un véritable métro lorsqu'il est envisagé d'étendre par phases successives le site propre intégral à la totalité de la ligne ou du réseau. Les ouvrages sont alors dimensionnés au gabarit du futur métro et on parle du pré-métro.
pre-metro: a light rail transit system designed with provisions for easy conversion to rail rapid transit
PREMETRO—An LRT system designed with provisions for easy conversion into RRT (metro).
the outer tracks of the Tremont Street Tunnel which was adapted to elevated train use in 1901 by the construction of higher platforms
But instead of building the entire expensive systems immediately, the Germans hit on the idea of building only the city centre tunnels at first. Intended in the long run to be extended to full undergrounds, in the short term they could be used by trams which would continue to run on the surface outside city centres. The idea spread to other European countries, especially Belgium, where it became known as pre-metro. Today Brussels, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and many other cities are filling their central business districts with construction sites to move the trains underground.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Antwerpen rail network is a typical premetro network.
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