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No, they really aren't the same at all. The only Light Rail system that performs like Heavy Rail is in St. Louis. They have total grade separation there, which is unique for Light Rail in the U.S.
Heavy Rail is totally different from all other Light Rail systems in that the trains are much longer, have a much higher capacity and travel at much higher speeds.
Yeah, I see the differences, but you can easily have a light rail system trains 4 or 5 cars long, then what would the difference be
Yeah, I see the differences, but you can easily have a light rail system trains 4 or 5 cars long, then what would the difference be
Speed and capacity. The Heavy Rail system here has speeds on certain segments that approach 70 mph. Also, Heavy Rail cars are wider and longer, so their capacity is much greater. Almost all Heavy Rail systems are totally grade separated.
Thanks, I didn't know the trains were longer, I knew they were faster. Our trains are supposed to have max speed of 55, so I guess that's kinda slow. But for some reason I like the overall feel of a LRV than a heavy rail subway. LRV's also tend to be cleaner? Especially when comparing to the NYC of Philadelphia subway. Subways are great, but only needed in insanely dense cities. Like someone stated earlier, cities like Charlotte, Houston, Seattle, Norfolk, are perfect fit for light rail.
Thanks, I didn't know the trains were longer, I knew they were faster. Our trains are supposed to have max speed of 55, so I guess that's kinda slow. But for some reason I like the overall feel of a LRV than a heavy rail subway. LRV's also tend to be cleaner? Especially when comparing to the NYC of Philadelphia subway. Subways are great, but only needed in insanely dense cities. Like someone stated earlier, cities like Charlotte, Houston, Seattle, Norfolk, are perfect fit for light rail.
Yeah, I am very happy that you guys are building a LRT system. And you're right, Heavy Rail can only work in certain cities.
The cleanliness factor varies from city to city. Our trains are pretty spotless, especially the new ones. They even have tv monitors in the cars, and electronic station announcements.
^They are very similar, but of course D.C. has more than double our track miles.
The BIG difference is that we did the maintenance on our rail cars that Metro delayed. The most recent wreck up there would not have happened here due to that single difference.
Thanks, I didn't know the trains were longer, I knew they were faster. Our trains are supposed to have max speed of 55, so I guess that's kinda slow. But for some reason I like the overall feel of a LRV than a heavy rail subway. LRV's also tend to be cleaner? Especially when comparing to the NYC of Philadelphia subway. Subways are great, but only needed in insanely dense cities. Like someone stated earlier, cities like Charlotte, Houston, Seattle, Norfolk, are perfect fit for light rail.
No I think they are perfect and adequate for Charlotte, Seattle (maybe), and Norfolk. Not for cities like Houston which is approaching 6 million people in it's entire metropolitan area. I know density is a factor but when the density increases for a area like Houston, light rail will not be as adequate as heavy rail. Also I don't know if LRV's are cleaner, but DC's system is pretty clean. There are many cities that not insanely dense that has heavy rail systems. Like Atlanta. Besides, there's only two or three cities in America that's insanely dense anyway. DC is dense but not insane and their metro has the 2nd highest ridership in the country.
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