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Title:

URBAN RAIL IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA
Cover of URBAN RAIL IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA

Accession Number:

00783808

Record Type:

Component

Abstract:

More than 20 U.S. cities now have some form of urban rail service, with more in the planning or design phases. Traditional rail rapid transit and commuter rail lines long established in many metropolitan areas have been joined in the last 40 years by new regional rapid transit, light rail, and commuter rail systems. Rail transit systems (especially rapid transit and commuter railroads) are the main means of traveling to or from the downtown areas in most large cities. Although bus transit service is ubiquitous in American cities, rail transit accounts for a disproportionately large share of total American transit usage. The commuter rail markets could continue to grow, provided that issues involving freight traffic can be resolved and effective distribution in the city center can be provided. Commuter rail trains typically use freight railroad tracks, and growing freight traffic is congesting lines; to make commuter rail reliable and acceptable to the host railroads, capital investment of some significance may be required. If rail transit is to expand significantly into the next century, it will have to adapt itself to trends in decentralization.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper is available on the CD-ROM, Transportation in the New Millennium: State of the Art and Future Directions, Perspectives from Transportation Research Board Standing Committees. It is also available on the TRB Website. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board


A3B05: Committee on Safety Data, Analysis, and Evaluation
Washington, DC 20418 United States

Authors:

Thompson, G L
Matoff, T

Pagination:

6 p.

Publication Date:

2000

Serial:

Transportation in the New Millennium

Publisher: Transportation Research Board

Geographic Terms:

United States

Subject Areas:

Freight Transportation; History; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Railroads

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Feb 24 2000 12:00AM