In some regions these trains are being refurbished internally and fitted with more luxurious seating, perhaps with the longitudinal seating (such as in the area nearest to the camera) being removed as it makes space for luggage, pushchairs, bicycles, etc.
Manchester version shown.
Illustrated here are examples from Glasgow (Strathclyde PTE) left
and London (Network SouthEast) right (also seen in the background is part of a train in the original nationwide BR standard blue/grey livery).
(Liverpudlian examples are seen in the section which looks at underground railways below).
In Australia urban rail services (where they exist) are operated regionally, based on the various State Capitals - Perth, Western Australia (WA); Melbourne, Victoria (Vic); Brisbane, Queensland (Qld); Sydney, New South Wales (NSW) which have electric urban systems and Adelaide, South Australia (SA) which only has diesel trains - although there is also an electric tramline which provides a suburban service linking the city with the coastal resort of Glenelg.
Brisbane and Sydney also have electrified regional / InterCity services, and especially in Sydney there is much overlap where some services which act as urban / suburban trains within the city then continue their journeys to serve nearby regional towns.
No Australian cities have true "urban transit" underground railway systems however both Sydney and Melbourne have city centre tunnels where services operate as underground railways. In many ways this is a very similar arranngement to that which exists in the English city of Liverpool.
Image by David Johnson whose website used to be at
http://members.ozemail.com.au/%7Etrainman/main.html
Both links are to external sites which open in new windows.
Image sourced from the free online "Wikipedia" encyclopædia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Bset.jpg
Image sourced from the free online "Wikipedia" encyclopædia. Clicking that image (only) will display a larger version in a new window.
Clicking this link:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RER will open the Wikipedia page (in a new window) with more information about the Parisian RER.
In an effort to maximise passenger loadings the Danish capital (Copenhagen) uses these revolutionary short wheelbase articulated walk-through trains that when introduced totally re-wrote the "rule book" on train design.
To facilitate the extra width of these trains they use very short carriages which on bends neither stick out so much at the ends nor have the middle of the carriage 'cut the corner' on the inside. To reduce the trains' weight and consequential power consumption they are articulated and use single axles (2 wheels) instead of 'bogie' units (which would use twin axles / 4 wheels). Each train is constructed as 2x4-carriage units permanently joined together. The outer carriage (with the driver's cab) has a wheelset at each end whilst the other carriages have one wheelset of their own and partially 'hang onto' the previous carriage. Despite using single wheels the ride quality is very acceptable.
Another internal view which shows the bicycle hoops more clearly can be found by clicking here.
For those who would like more detailed information on these Danish trains: The driving carriages are 12m (metres) in length and the trailers 10m long. Normally they operate as two 8-carriage trains coupled together (giving 16 carriages in total) and in this format they are 84.2m (including coupling) in length. As a comparison an 8 carriage older train is either 81m or 82.5m long, depending on batch. The new trains are 3.6m wide (the older trains are 3.0m wide) and at 336 they seat about 33% more passengers than the older trains - without the need for expensive lengthening of station platforms! In total 8 of the 10 axles per 8 carriage new train are motored, giving them a maximum acceleration rate of 1.3m per second and top speed of 120km/h (about 75 mph).
Faced with rising traffic congestion the people of San Francisco USA did not want to emulate their southern Californian neighbours in Los Angeles who were trying (and failing) to solve traffic congestion through massive road building and after much discussion / campaigning the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) scheme developed. Opening in 1972 the system now boasts 43 stations over 103.4 route miles - including a recent (22nd June 2003) extension to SF International Airport. Being a brand new system which does not share infrastructure with any other rail operations it was decided to build the trains to a more generous specification than might otherwise have been possible and therefore the track gauge is 5' 6" (1.676m) wide compared to 4' 8" (1.43m) for standard railways / railroads; this would have been done because a wider track gauge is more suited to wider trains and should provide a 'better' quality ride.
The BART system is electrified at 1000 volts dc with the trains using a third rail power collection system. For rapid acceleration every axle (wheelset) is motored - making four motors per carriage. The trains feature an aluminum body, carpeting, air conditioning, tinted windows and are a generous 10' 6" (3.20m) wide, with an impressive 6' 9" (2.06m) headroom (just as well, with so many local people being over 6 foot tall!) Depending on type of carriage they offer either 64 or 72 seats. The maximum speed is 80 mph (130km/h) although the average speed including 20 second station stops works out at about 33 mph (53km/h).
There is some debate as to whether BART is a subway/metro or a regional service. Some people suggest that its acts more like a regional commuter railway because whilst it links two cities (San Francisco and Oakland) with their hinterlands it was not designed to provide significant coverage of the area within either of them. So whilst it is often thought of as a subway / metro the service it provides is more akin to London's Thameslink / the Paris RER (and others).
(NB: ' means foot; " means inches; metric conversions are approximate).
Another form of 'short distance' trains are undergrounds, subways, métros and mini-métros.
These are generally 'city-specific' transit systems which are operated by a specialist urban transit authority which often also runs the street-based transport (buses, etc,.) too.
Most of these systems use traditional 'steel wheel' on 'steel track' technology however a few systems use trains that run on rubber tyres. This page makes no distinction
The principal difference between a métro and mini-métro is that the latter will be designed for routes with lower traffic flows and therefore will use shorter trains. In other respects they are both more akin to 'heavy' rail in nature with fixed infrastructure, tunnels, etc., costing roughly the same to build except that where shorter trains are used there will be some savings in the cost of constructing the smaller stations.
Sometimes métro and mini-métro trains will be able to negotiate sharper curves and steeper gradients than the other types of 'heavy rail' trains. As with the difference between 'light' rail (aka trams / streetcars) and 'heavy' rail the dividing line is indistinct - there are no fixed rules; instead the philosophy is that 'if it works / suits the location' then "fine".
The first underground railway "anywhere" globally was the Metropolitan Railway which opened in London in 1863.
Traditionally London Underground trains were painted red, however from the 1960's onwards new trains were left unpainted Aluminium. Problems in the 1990's with graffiti vandalism lead to a rethink in policy and nowadays most trains are red, white and blue. Even without the graffiti problem a change of policy would have been necessary because nowadays disability legislation requires that train doors are painted in such a way as to easily discernable by people with limited vision.
Internally they only provide longitudinal seating as this maximises the amount of space available for standing passengers.
These trains also feature full automated train operation although overall door control and starting the train after station stops still remains in the domain of a 'real person'.
When built they were also fitted with passenger operated door open & close buttons as this would help keep the trains warmer when calling at surface stations in the winter months. Much to many passengers's dismay these buttons are no longer used, indeed train drivers can be disciplined for allowing them to be used, even though this is a feature which many passengers do want. No explanation has ever been given by management for this passenger-unfriendly policy.
These trains feature 4 pairs of doors per train side for rapid entry / exit & minimum dwell time at stations.
As the image suggests, small profile trains pass under with ease; however larger trains will break the three glass tubes (which originally were filled with mercury but nowadays use aluminium foil) thereby breaking an electrical circuit and causing an automated trainstop device (such as is also used on the signalling system) to safely bring the train to a halt before it reaches the tunnel mouth.
Apart from London, Glasgow is the only other British city with a 'city specific' Underground railway.
After London and Budapest (not illustrated) Glasgow became the third city "anywhere" globally to open an urban underground railway system. Built by the Glasgow District Subway Company it 1896 it is in the form of a 6.5 mile (approx 10.4km) circle with trains travelling both clockwise and anticlockwise. Because of Glasgow's geology the subway had to be cut with great difficulty through solid rock; this accounts for both the small size of the tunnels and why the system remains the same size as when it was first opened. Between 1936 and 2003 this system was officially called the Glasgow Underground, but the name has now reverted back to Subway.
Between 1977 and 1980 services were suspended to allow for significant rebuilding / modernisation which included procuring brand new rolling stock and modification to the stations which amongst other things permitted longer trains. When the system reopened it was often affectionately nicknamed "Clockwork Orange" after the plain orange livery of the new trains, although at the time of writing (2005) they are being repainted in the carmine and cream (with a small orange stripe) livery seen here.
In modern terminology the Glasgow Subway would be classified as a "mini-metro". This would be because when compared to mainline railway systems the Subway uses short 3 carriage trains of a smaller size which operate at much higher frequencies.
As an aside, the subway is not the oldest underground railway in Glasgow itself; that distinction belongs to a 3-mile stretch of the North Clyde line which nowadays is part of the mainline Scotrail franchise and runs in a sub-surface tunnel under the city centre between High Street and Charing Cross (not illustrated).
Liverpool also has some underground stations but here too services are provided by inner-suburban mainline trains operating as part of a mainline rail franchise. Known as the Loop & Link the system features two lines - one where trains travel under Liverpool City Centre linking lines to the north and the south of the city and another where trains from Birkenhead and the Wirral peninsula travel in a clockwise loop around Liverpool City Centre before returning back under the River Mersey towards the Wirral.
Whilst the Loop & Link opened in 1977 the tunnel under the River Mersey actually dates from 1886. It was built by the Mersey Railway - originally as a steam railway - and electrified in 1903, in the process seeing the Mersey Railway become the first steam railway "anywhere" globally to change over entirely to electric traction.
The view on the left shows a train in the first Merseyrail livery after BR standard blue/grey was abolished. The person with his back to the camera is the guard whose duties include opening & closing the trains' doors as despite being an urban "local travel" railway all trains are still operated by two-person crews (a train driver at the front plus a guard at the back).
The view on the right shows a refurbished train about to leave one of the city centre underground stations on the Loop & Link. The next train describer mentions train lengths because although usually trains operate in single unit (3 carriage) formations they can (and sometimes do) also operate as twin unit (6-carriage) trains. Dot-matrix signs and train destinations are not normally "captured" in their entirety by digital cameras but this subterranean view required a slow enough shutter speed to enable this.
As with all other photographs taken on station platforms on this website this image was taken using a hand held camera without the use of a flashgun, which for safety reasons are strictly prohibited. This is to protect train driver's eyes which will be accustomed to the darkness of the tunnels - the use of flashguns on eyes which are accustomed to the dark can cause short term blindness, which especially for someone who is driving can present a severe safety hazard.
At one time similar 'city centre suburban mainline railway tunnel' systems were also planned for Sheffield and Manchester but it is understood that the people of Sheffield wanted to spend the available funds subsidising local bus fares whilst the national government point blank refused to provide sufficient investment funds for Manchester's scheme to be brought into reality. (It is said that the national government had declared "never again" after building the Tyne & Wear Metro's underground section, even though in Manchester the aim was solely to improve access to the city centre by merging two existing suburban electrified services which used edge-of-city-centre mainline railway so that they became one). Nowadays both cities have surface light rail systems - with Manchesters' Metrolink being a street level variant of the failed Picc Vic Link
The Tyne & Wear Metro is a regional rail system based on the city of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne where some stations are underground. When it first opened (in 1980) most of the system was effectively a re-electrification of mainline services that the former British Railways converted to diesel trains in the 1960's, although the underground section was brand new construction.
Although the Metro uses what are essentially light rail vehicles they are at the 'heavy' end of the scale, being designed to be compatible with mainline trains - a feature which has stood them in good stead for the 2002 extension to the nearby city of Sunderland, which is (mostly) over pre-existing tracks where the Metrocars provide local services and mainline trains operate longer-distance regional services.
Light rail / trams are also (usually) seen as a type 'short distance' transport; to avoid making this page too large they are looked at on a dedicated Trams & Streetcars page.
In Toronto the subway train drivers only have half-width cabs - this means that passengers can sit at the front and enjoy a clear view of where the train is going!
Back in 1954 when Toronto's still-expanding subway was first opened they used British built trains which were painted red like those on the London Underground.
The above images are video-stills - clicking either of them or the projector icon will download a 78 second hand-held video clip named 'Mont-metro-on-train-display320.mpg' showing the action being described.
In Boston they colour-code their urban transports according to the line on which they operate. For the subway there are four lines (Red, Orange - which I was advised serves the less attractive areas - Blue and Green). The first three of these use 'proper' subway type cars and contrary to the international 'norms' feature red marker lights at both the front and the rear of the trains. The Green Line uses street compatible streetcars and instead features green marker lights at the front. Other colour-coded lines include "Purple", which is used for heavy rail commuter trains and "Silver", which is used for a newly constructed (partially complete - as of summer 2005) Bus Rapid Transit Trackless Trolley service ("trolleybus" in British English) which also includes both surface and subterranean operations.
On the island-state of Singapore they use what effectively is a high-capacity urban rapid transit metro as the basis for a still expanding regional transport system. In Singapore city itself the trains operate underground; elsewhere they mostly operate on viaduct. Internally the air-conditioned trains are designed for crush loads with just limited longitudinal seating and plenty of standing space. To encourage passengers to travel in less crowded parts of the train they all feature full-width inter-carriage gangways.
Another city (in addition to London) which has both "smaller" and "larger" profile underground railway trains is the German city of Berlin.
These three images show the most recent type of train which was built in two versions depending on lines served.
Clicking the images will display larger versions in new windows.
Small profile U-Bahn Berlin train.
Full-width inter-carriage gangways also feature on the newest metro trains in the Spanish capital city of Madrid above and Danish capital city of Copenhagen below.
To avoid making this page too big automated (ie: computer-driven) mini-metro trains are looked at on the Automated 'Driverless' Metro Systems page.
