“Watch Your Language”

A Passenger Rail Glossary

Often times, our credibility and authority in communicating with others is judged by our ability to speak the language of a specific industry. The transportation industry, like any other industry, has its own language. Speaking the language will not only help us communicate more effectively with those in the transportation industry with whom we hope to have credibility and respect, but also the policy and decision makers whose interests we would like to gain.

In the realm of rail transportation, there exist several standard definitions for many of the terms which might otherwise seem confusing. For example, heavy rail and commuter rail are two different modes, and the phrase “high speed” is used only for systems designed for speeds in excess of 124 mph.

These definitions are provided by the American Public Transit Association (APTA), with figures provided by Valley Connections (the study which led to the formation of Valley Metro Rail). Prices are in Year 2000 dollars.

AUTOMATED GUIDEWAY

An electric railway operating without vehicle operators or other crew on board the vehicle. (Example: Vancouver’s Sky Train)
Cost/Mile: $50 to $75 million; Speed: 30-50 mph; Peak Hourly Capacity: 5,000-20,000

COMMUTER RAIL

Railroad local and regional passenger train operations between a central city, its suburbs, and/or another central city. It may be either locomotive-hauled or self-propelled, and is characterized by multi-trip tickets, specific station-to-station fares, railroad employment practices, and usually a small number of stations in the central business district. (Examples: San Diego’s Coaster and Los Angeles’ Metrolink)
Cost/Mile: $5 to $15 million; Speed: 60-75 mph; Peak Hourly Capacity: 10,000-30,000

HEAVY RAIL

An electric railway with the capacity for a “heavy volume” of traffic, and characterized by exclusive rights-of-way, multi-car trains, high speed and rapid acceleration, sophisticated signaling, and high platform loading. (Examples: Los Angeles Red Line, Atlanta’s MARTA)
Cost/Mile: $75 to $150 million; Speed: 60-75 mph; Peak Hourly Capacity: 20,000-50,000

HIGH SPEED RAIL

A rail transportation system with exclusive right-of-way which serves densely traveled corridors at speeds of 124 miles per hour and greater. (Example: French TGV, German ICE)
Cost/Mile: n/a^*; Speed: 125+ mph; Peak Hourly Capacity: n/a^*

LIGHT RAIL

An electric railway with a “light volume” traffic capacity compared to “heavy rail.” Light rail may use shared or exclusive rights-of-way, high or low platform loading, and multi-car trains or single cars. (Examples: San Diego Trolley and Portland’s MAX)
Cost/Mile: $15 to $30 million; Speed: 30-50 mph; Peak Hourly Capacity: 10,000-20,000

MAGNETIC LEVITATION (Mag-Lev)

A rail transportation system with exclusive right-of-way which is propelled along a fixed guideway system by the attraction or repulsion of magnets on the rail and under the rail cars.
Cost/Mile, Speed, Peak Hourly Capacity: Insufficient data available

MONORAIL

An electric railway in which a rail car or train of cars is suspended from, or straddles, a guideway formed by a single beam or rail. Most monorails are either heavy rail or automated guideway systems. (See figures for those systems.)

* Not evaluated by Valley Connections