![PennsLanding](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/PennsLanding.jpg)
The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of
electric railway
A railway electrification system supplies electric power to Rail transport, railway trains and trams without an on-board Prime mover (locomotive), prime mover or local fuel supply.
Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling pa ...
, with
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...
-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 and 1925 and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. The concept spread to countries such as Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy and Poland. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, their cars that ran on the rails, and their service. In the United States, the early 1900s interurban was a valuable economic institution. Most roads between towns and many town streets were unpaved. Transportation and haulage was by horse-drawn carriages and carts. The interurban provided reliable transportation, particularly in winter weather, between the town and countryside. In 1915, of interurban railways were operating in the United States and, for a few years, interurban railways, including the numerous manufacturers of cars and equipment, were the fifth-largest industry in the country. By 1930, most interurbans in North America were gone with a few surviving into the 1950s.
![090925 Aigle IMG 4089](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/090925_Aigle_IMG_4089.JPG)
Outside of the US large networks of high-speed electric tramways have been built in countries across the world that survive today. Notable systems exist in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, where populations are densely packed around large conurbations such as the
Randstad
The Randstad (; "Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many tow ...
,
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...
,
Greater Tokyo Area
The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...
and
Keihanshin
is a metropolitan region in the Kansai region of Japan encompassing the metropolitan areas of the cities of Kyoto in Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka in Osaka Prefecture and Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture. The entire region has a population () of 19,302,746 ...
. Switzerland, particularly, has a large network of mountain narrow gauge interurban lines.
In addition, many
tram-train
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system (usually an urban street running tramway), but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This al ...
lines are being built, especially in France and Germany but also elsewhere in the world. These can be regarded as interurbans since they run on the streets, like trams, when in cities, while out of them they either share existing railway lines or put lines abandoned by the railway companies to a new use.
Definition
![Detroit united railway map-1904](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Detroit_united_railway_map-1904.PNG)
The term "interurban" was coined by
Charles L. Henry, a
state senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...
in Indiana. The Latin, ''inter urbes'', means "between cities". The interurban fit on a continuum between urban
street railway
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ar ...
s and full-fledged railroads. George W. Hilton and John F. Due identified four characteristics of an interurban:
* Electric power for propulsion.
* Passenger service as the primary business.
* Equipment heavier and faster than urban streetcars.
* Operation on tracks in city streets, and in rural areas on roadside tracks or private
rights-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
.
The definition of "interurban" is necessarily blurry. Some town streetcar lines evolved into interurban systems by extending streetcar track from town into the countryside to link adjacent towns together and sometimes by the acquisition of a nearby interurban system. There was a large amount of consolidation of lines following initial construction. Other interurban lines effectively became
light rail systems with no street running whatsoever, or they became primarily freight-hauling railroads because of a progressive loss of their initial passenger service over the years.
In 1905, the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
defined an interurban as "a street railway having more than half its trackage outside municipal limits." It drew a distinction between "interurban" and "suburban" railroads. A suburban system was oriented toward a city center in a single urban area and served
commuter traffic. A regular railroad moved riders from one city center to another city center and also moved a substantial amount of freight. The typical interurban similarly served more than one city, but it served a smaller region and made more frequent stops, and it was oriented to passenger rather than freight service.
History
Interurban electric railway cars once crisscrossed the United States. Self-propelled, efficient, fast and inexpensive, they ran within and between cities before the general public owned automobiles. At one point in time beginning in 1901, a traveler could easily ride via interurban from Elkhart Lake to Little Falls, a village in central New York.
Emergence
![Theatrical_District,_Richmond,_Virginia,_1923](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Theatrical_District%2C_Richmond%2C_Virginia%2C_1923.jpg)
The development of interurbans in the late nineteenth century resulted from the convergence of two trends: improvements in electric traction, and an untapped demand for transportation in rural areas, particularly in the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
. The 1880s saw the first successful deployments of electric traction in streetcar systems. Most of these built on the pioneering work of
Frank J. Sprague, who developed an improved method for mounting an
electric traction motor and using a
trolley pole
A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" (electrified) overhead wire to the control and the electric traction motors of a tram or trolley bus. It is a type of current collector. ...
for pickup. Sprague's work led to widespread acceptance of electric traction for streetcar operations and end of horse-drawn trams.
The late nineteenth-century United States witnessed a boom in agriculture which lasted through the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, but transportation in rural areas was inadequate. Conventional steam railroads made limited stops, mostly in towns. These were supplemented by
horse and buggies and
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
s, both of which were slow and the latter of which was restricted to navigable rivers. The increased capacity and profitability of the city street railroads offered the possibility of extending them into the countryside to reach new markets, even linking to other towns. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the
Newark and Granville Street Railway
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-th ...
in Ohio, which opened in 1889. It was not a major success, but others followed. The development of the
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded ...
was then in its infancy, and to many investors interurbans appeared to be the future of local transportation.
Growth
From 1900 to 1916, large networks of interurban lines was constructed across the United States, particularly in the states of Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, Utah, and California. In 1900, of interurban track existed, but by 1916, this had increased to , a seven-fold expansion. During this expansion, in the regions where they operated, particularly in Ohio and Indiana, "...they almost destroyed the local passenger service of the steam railroad." To show how exceptionally busy the interurbans radiating from Indianapolis were in 1926, the immense
Indianapolis Traction Terminal
The Indianapolis Traction Terminal was a major interurban train station in Downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the largest interurban station in the world and at its peak handled 500 trains per day and seven million passen ...
(nine roof covered tracks and loading platforms) scheduled 500 trains in and out daily and moved 7 million passengers that year. At their peak the interurbans were the fifth-largest industry in the United States.
![Hanshin-604](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Hanshin-604.JPG)
In
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, a sprawling, nation-wide system of narrow-gauge
vicinal tramways have been built by the NMVB / SNCV to provide transport to smaller towns across the country with the first section opening in 1885. These lines were either electrically operated or run with diesel tramcars, included numerous street-running sections, and inter-operated with local tram networks in the larger cities. Similar to Belgium, a large network of interurbans was constructed in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in the early 1900s called
streektramlijnen.
![Milano tranvie interurbane (1931)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Milano_tranvie_interurbane_%281931%29.png)
A large network of interurbans started developing around Milan in the late 1800s, which started as horse and later steam trams. These initial interurban lines were gradually upgraded with electric traction in the early 1900s with some assistance from
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...
. By the 1930s a vast network of interurbans connected Milan with surrounding towns.
The first interurban railway in Japan is the
Hanshin Electric Railway
is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
The first character for Kobe (神戸) and the second character for Osaka (大阪) combine to form the ...
, built to compete with mainline steam trains on the
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
to
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...
corridor and completed in 1905. As laws of that time did not allow parallel railways to be built, the line was legally defined as a tramway and included
street running
A street running train is a train which runs on a track built on public streets. The rails are embedded in the roadway, and the train shares the street with other users, such as pedestrians, cars and cyclists, thus often being referred to as ru ...
at the two ends, but was based on American interurbans and operated with large tramcars on mostly private right-of-way. In the same year, the
Keihin Express Railway, or Keikyu, completed a section of what is today part of the
Keikyū Main Line
The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keikyu. The line connects the Tokyo wards of Minato, Shinagawa, Ōta, and the Kanagawa municipalities of Kawasaki, Yokohama and Yokosuka. The Keikyu Main Line began as ...
between
Shinagawa
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies.
, the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total are ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
and
Kanagawa
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...
,
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
. This line competes with mainline
Japanese National Railways
The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987.
Network Railways
As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...
on this busy corridor. Predecessors of the
Meitetsu opened their first interurban lines in 1912, what today form parts of the
Meitetsu Inuyama Line
The is a 26.8 km Japanese railway line operated by the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu), which connects Biwajima Junction in Kiyosu, Aichi with Shin-Unuma Station in Kakamigahara, Gifu. Together with the Kakamigahara ...
and
Tsushima Line
The is an Japanese railway line which connects Sukaguchi Station in Kiyosu, Aichi with Tsushima Station in Tsushima, Aichi. It is owned and operated by the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu). Manaca is accepted at all statio ...
. In 1913, the first section of what will become the
Keiō Line
The is a 37.9-km railway line in western Tokyo, Japan, owned by the private railway operator Keiō Corporation. It connects Shinjuku, Tokyo, with the suburban city of Hachiōji. The Keiō Line is part of a network with interchanges and th ...
opened connecting
Chōfu
is a city in the western side of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 238,087, and a population density of 11,000 per km². the total area of the city is .
Geography
Chōfu is approximately in the south-center o ...
to just outside
Shinjuku
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...
with street running on what is today the
Kōshū Kaidō
The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Kai Province in modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The route continues from there to connect with the Nakasendō's Shimosuwa-shuku in ...
or
National Route 20. Kyushu Electric Railroad, predecessor to
Nishitetsu
The , also called or NNR, is one of Japan's "Big 16" private railroad companies. With headquarters in Fukuoka, it operates local and highway buses, supermarkets, real estate and travel agencies, as well as railways in Fukuoka Prefecture ...
opened its first interurban line in 1914 serving
Kitakyushu
is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one o ...
and surrounding areas, taking heavy inspiration from
Hanshin Electric Railway
is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
The first character for Kobe (神戸) and the second character for Osaka (大阪) combine to form the ...
.
In the first half of the 20th century, an extensive interurban network covered
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...
, centered on
South Lancashire
South Lancashire is a geographical county area, used to indicate the southern part of the historic county of Lancashire, today without any administrative purpose. The county region has no exact boundaries but generally includes areas that form t ...
and
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
.
At that time, it was possible to travel entirely by tram from Liverpool
Pier Head
The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in ...
to the village of Summit, outside
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...
, a distance of , and with a short bus journey across the Pennines, to connect to another interurban network that linked Huddersfield, Halifax and Leeds.
Diverging fortunes
Decline in North America
![654 with zephyr - Flickr - drewj1946](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/654_with_zephyr_-_Flickr_-_drewj1946.jpg)
The fortunes of the industry in The US and Canada declined during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, particularly into the early 1920s. In 1919 President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
created the
Federal Electric Railways Commission
The Federal Electric Railways Commission was a United States agency established by President Woodrow Wilson in June 1919. The commission was charged with investigating the financial problems of the streetcar and interurban railway industry in the ...
to investigate the financial problems of the industry. The commission submitted its final report to the President in 1920. The commission's report focused on financial management problems and external economic pressures on the industry, and recommended against introducing public financing for the interurban industry. One of the commission's consultants, however, published an independent report stating that private ownership of electric railways had been a failure, and only public ownership would keep the interurbans in business.
Many interurbans had been hastily constructed without realistic projections of income and expenses. They were initially financed by issuing stock and selling bonds. The sale of these financial instruments was often local with salesmen going door to door aggressively pushing this new and exciting "it can't fail" form of transportation. But many of those interurbans did fail, and often quickly. They had poor
cash flow
A cash flow is a real or virtual movement of money:
*a cash flow in its narrow sense is a payment (in a currency), especially from one central bank account to another; the term 'cash flow' is mostly used to describe payments that are expected ...
from the outset and struggled to raise essential further capital. Interurbans were very vulnerable to acts of nature damaging track and bridges, particularly in the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
where flooding was common.
Receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...
was a common fate when the interurban company could not pay its payroll and other debts, so state courts took over and allowed continued operation while suspending the company's obligation to pay interest on its bonds. In addition, the interurban honeymoon period with the municipalities of 1895–1910 was over. The large and heavy interurbans, some weighing as much as 65 tons, caused damage to city streets which led to endless disputes over who should bear the repair costs. The rise of automobile traffic in the middle 1920s aggravated those trends. As the interurban companies struggled financially they faced rising competition from cars and trucks on newly paved streets and highways, while municipalities sought to alleviate traffic congestion by removing interurbans from city streets. Some companies exited the passenger business altogether to focus on freight, while others sought to buttress their finances by selling surplus electricity in local communities. Several interurbans which attempted to exit the rail business altogether ran afoul of state commissions which required that trains remain running "for the public good," even at a loss.
Many financially weak interurbans did not survive the prosperous 1920s, and most others went bankrupt during the Great Depression. A few struggling lines tried combining to form much larger systems in an attempt to gain operating efficiency and a broader customer base. This occurred in Ohio in year 1930 with the long
Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad (C&LE), and in Indiana with the very widespread
Indiana Railroad
The Indiana Railroad (IR) was the last of the typical Midwestern United States interurban lines. It was formed in 1930–31 by combining the operations of the five major interurban systems in central Indiana into one entity. The predecessor comp ...
. Both had limited success up to 1937–1938 primarily from growing revenues earned from freight. The long
Sacramento Northern Railway
The Sacramento Northern Railway (reporting mark SN) was a electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the California capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oaklan ...
stopped carrying passengers in 1940 but continued hauling freight using heavy electric locomotives into the 1960s.
Oliver Jensen, author of ''American Heritage History of Railroads in America'', commented that "...the automobile doomed the interurban whose private tax paying tracks could never compete with the highways that a generous government provided for the motorist." William D. Middleton in the opening of his classic 270 page book "The Interurban Era" said: "Evolved from the urban streetcar, the Interurban appeared shortly before the dawn of the 20th century, grew to a vast network of over 18,000 miles in two decades of excellent growth, and then all but vanished after barely three decades of usefulness."
Interurban business increased for the survivors during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
due to fuel oil rationing and large wartime employment. When the war ended in 1945, riders went back to their automobiles, and most of these lines were finally abandoned. Several systems struggled into the 1950s, including the
Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad
The Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad was an American railroad of central Maryland built in the 19th century. The railroad, the second to serve Annapolis, ran between Annapolis and Clifford along the north shore of the Severn River. From Clifford ...
(passenger service ended 1950),
Lehigh Valley Transit Company
The Lehigh Valley Transit Company (LVT) was a regional transport company, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that began operations in 1901 as an urban trolley and interurban rail transport company. It operated successfully into the 1930s, ...
(1951),
West Penn Railways (1952), and the
Illinois Terminal Railroad
The Illinois Terminal Railroad Company (reporting marks "ITC"), known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from ...
(1958). The West Penn was the largest interurban to operate in the east at 339 miles and had provided Pittsburgh area coal country towns hourly transportation since 1888.
By the 1960s there were only five remaining interurban lines serving commuters in three major metropolitan areas: the
North Shore Line and the
South Shore Line
The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport ...
in Chicago, the
Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company
SEPTA Routes 101 and 102, also known as the Media–Sharon Hill Line, are light rail lines operated by the Suburban Transit Division of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, serving portions of Delaware County. The routes' e ...
, the
New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in t ...
in northern New Jersey and the
Long Beach Line
The Long Beach Line was a major interurban railway operated by the Pacific Electric Railway between Los Angeles and Long Beach, California via Florence, Watts, and Compton. Service began in 1902 and lasted until 1961, the last line of the sys ...
in Long Beach and Los Angeles (the last remaining part of the
Pacific Electric
The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned Public transport, mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electr ...
system). The Long Beach Line was cut in 1961, the North Shore Line in 1963; the Philadelphia Suburban's
route 103 and the NYS&W in New Jersey both ended passenger service in 1966. Some former interurban lines retained freight service for up to several decades after the discontinuance of passenger service. Most were converted to diesel operation, although the
Sacramento Northern Railway
The Sacramento Northern Railway (reporting mark SN) was a electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the California capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oaklan ...
retained electric freight until 1965.
Consolidation in Europe
![Tram Oostende NMVB 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Tram_Oostende_NMVB_2.jpg)
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
many interurbans outside of the US also started to be cut back. In Belgium, as intercity transport shifted to cars and buses, the large sections of the
vicinal tramways were gradually shut down by the 1980s. At their peak in 1945, the mileage of vicinal tramways reached 4,811 kilometres and exceeded the length of the national railway network.
![A404 tramstraat Katwijk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/A404_tramstraat_Katwijk.jpg)
Sprawling tram networks in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
have been extended to neighbouring cities. The vast majority of these interurban lines were not electrified and operated with steam and sometimes petrol or diesel tramcars. Many did not survive the 1920s and 30s for the same reasons American interurbans went bust, but those that did were put back into service during the war years, or at least the remaining parts not yet demolished. One of the largest systems, nicknamed the
Blue Tram, was run by the
Noord-Zuid-Hollandsche Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij and survived until 1961. Another, the RTM (
Rotterdamse Tramweg Maatschappij), which ran in the river delta south-west of
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
, survived until early January 1966 and its demise sparked the rail-related heritage movement in the Netherlands in earnest with the founding of the
Tramweg Stichting (Tramway Foundation). Many systems such as the
Hague tramway and the
Rotterdam tramway also included long interurban extensions which were operated with larger, higher-speed cars. In close parallel to North America, many interurban systems were abandoned from the 1950s after tram companies switched to buses. Instigated by the
oil crisis in the 1970s, the remaining interurban tramways have enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance in the form of the
Sneltram, a modern light rail system that uses high floor, metro-style vehicles and could interoperate into metro networks. Various other interurbans in Europe were folded into local municipal tramway or light rail systems. Switzerland retained many of its interurban lines which now operate as tramways, local railways, S-Bahn, or tram-trains. Milan's vast interurban network was progressively closed in the 1970s but parts of it were reused as the outer parts of the
Milan Metro
The Milan Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Milano) is the rapid transit system serving Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi. The network consists of 5 lines, identified by different numbers and colours, with a total network length ...
.
Evolution in Japan
Development of Japanese interurbans strayed from their American counterparts from the 1920s, after which motorisation did not develop as quickly as in North America. The second boom of interurbans occurred as late as the 1920s and 30s in Japan, with predecessors of the extensive
Kintetsu Railway
, referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Ky ...
,
Hankyu
, trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Gr ...
,
Nankai Electric Railway
is a private railway in Japan, founded in 1884. The name ''Nankai'' (which means "South Sea") comes from the company's routes along the Nankaidō, the old highway that ran south from the old capital, Kyoto, along the sea coast. Nankai predates a ...
and
Odakyu Electric Railway
, commonly known as Odakyū, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its '' Romancecar'' series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone.
The Odakyu Electric Railway Compa ...
networks starting life during this period. These interurbans, built with straighter tracks, electrified at 1500V and operated using larger tramcars, were built to even higher standards than the
Japanese National Railways
The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987.
Network Railways
As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...
network at the time. The (former JNR)
Hanwa Line
The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The 61.3 km (38.1 mi) line runs between Osaka and Wakayama, Japan and has a 1.7 km branchline in a southern Os ...
was a wartime acquisition from Nankai, operating 'Super Express' trains on the line at an average speed of 81.6 km/h, a national record at the time. The old
Sendai station terminus of the Miyagi Electric Railway (the predecessor of the JR
Senseki Line
The is a railway line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Aoba-dōri Station in Sendai to Ishinomaki Station in Ishinomaki, and provides access to the central coast areas ...
) was situated in a short single-track underground tunnel built in 1925; this was the first stretch of underground railway in all of Asia, predating the
Tokyo Metro Ginza Line by two years.
![Model 3000 SE of Odakyu Electric Railway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Model_3000_SE_of_Odakyu_Electric_Railway.JPG)
After the war, interurbans and other private railway companies were given large amounts of investment and allowed to compete not only with mainline trains but also with each other, in order to rejuvenate the country's railway infrastructure and cater for the post-war baby boom. Lines were reconstructed to allow higher speeds, mainline-sized trains were adopted, street-running sections were rebuilt to elevated or underground rights-of-way, and link lines to growing metro systems were built to allow for through operations. Many of these private railway companies started to construct lines using standards similar to the national rail network, and, like JR commuter routes, are operated as 'metro-style' commuter railways with mainline-sized vehicles and metro-like frequencies of very few minutes. In 1957, the
Odakyu Electric Railway
, commonly known as Odakyū, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its '' Romancecar'' series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone.
The Odakyu Electric Railway Compa ...
introduced the
Odakyu 3000 series SE, the first in a line of luxurious tourist Limited Express trains named '
Romancecars'. This series' design was based on the
Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad (reporting mark CNSM), also known as the North Shore Line, was an interurban railroad that operated passenger and freight service over an route between the Chicago Loop and downtown Milwaukee, as w ...
's
Electroliner
The Electroliners are a pair of streamlined interurban trainsets built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1941. Initially numbered 801–802 and 803–804, they were operated by the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad from 1941 to 1963, fo ...
units, complete with
Jacobs bogies which are rarity in Japan. These units set the narrow-gauge speed record of 145 km/h on its runs to a mountain spa resort.
The handful of Japanese National Railways acquisitions of interurban railways – including the Hanwa Line, Senseki Line and the
Iida Line
The is a Japanese railway line connecting Toyohashi Station in Toyohashi, Aichi with Tatsuno Station in Tatsuno, Nagano, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The line links eastern Aichi Prefecture and southern Nagano Prefe ...
– remain outliers on the national network, with short station distances, (in the case of the Iida Line) lower-grade infrastructure, and independent termini (such as
Aobadori Station and the upper level of the
Tennōji Station
is a railway station on the JR West Osaka Loop Line, Hanwa Line, Yamatoji Line, Osaka Metro Midōsuji Line, and Tanimachi Line, located in Tennōji-ku and Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan, and is a railway station on the tram Hankai Uemachi Line in Ab ...
).
![Hakkei bunko 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Hakkei_bunko_001.jpg)
Today, trackage of the
major sixteen private railways, initially designed as American-style interurban railways, has been upgraded beyond recognition to high capacity urban heavy railways. However, numerous operational characteristics of interurbans are preserved to this day, in the form of inter-operation with city center local railways (in this case,
through services to metro lines), wide varieties of stopping patterns (including premium services), and stations that are often in close proximity to each other. Multinational department store chains are still operated by private railway companies that started out as interurbans such as
Tokyu,
Seibu,
Odakyu
, commonly known as Odakyū, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its '' Romancecar'' series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone.
The Odakyu Electric Railway Company ...
,
Hankyu
, trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Gr ...
and
Tobu at their city termini; these form only a small part of their extensive business empires, which often include real estate, hotels and resorts, tourist attractions, stadiums and smaller rail subsidiaries in addition to their interurban networks upgraded to high capacity urban railway operations. For example, the Keikyu network has changed unrecognizably from its early days, operating Limited Express services at up to 120 km/h to compete with JR trains, and inter-operating with
subway
Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to:
Transportation
* Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems
* Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle
* Subway (George Bush Intercontin ...
and
Keisei Electric Railway
The (stylized as K'SEI since 2001) is a major private railway in Chiba Prefecture and Tokyo, Japan. The name ''Keisei'' is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railway's main line connects. The combination uses diffe ...
trains on through runs extending up to 200 km; the trains retain a red livery based on the
Pacific Electric's 'Red Cars', true to the company's interurban roots. The
Keiō Line
The is a 37.9-km railway line in western Tokyo, Japan, owned by the private railway operator Keiō Corporation. It connects Shinjuku, Tokyo, with the suburban city of Hachiōji. The Keiō Line is part of a network with interchanges and th ...
did not fully remove the streetrunning section on the
Kōshū Kaidō
The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Kai Province in modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The route continues from there to connect with the Nakasendō's Shimosuwa-shuku in ...
outside of
Shinjuku Station
is a major railway station in the Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan. In Shinjuku, it is part of the Nishi-Shinjuku and Shinjuku districts. In Shibuya, it is located in the Yoyogi and Sendagaya districts. It is the world's busiest ...
until the 1960s, replacing it with an underground section.
Similar to passenger railway conditions in early 1900s America, intense competition still exists today between
private railways and mainline railways operated by the
Japan Railways Group
The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...
along highly congested corridors is a hallmark of suburban railway operations in Japan. For example, on the
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
to
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...
corridor,
JR West
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and i ...
competes intensely with both
Hankyu Kobe Line
, trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group ...
and
Hanshin Main Line
{{BS-map
, title=Route map
, title-bg=orangered
, title-color=white
, collapsible=yes
, collapse=yes
, map=
{{BS, , , Lines are of Hanshin unless noted, }
{{BS5, , hBHF, , , tBHF, , , {{STN, Osaka/{{STN, Kitashinchi}
{{BS5, , hSTR, exKBHFa, tKACC ...
trains in terms of speed, convenience and comfort.
![Nnr-kitakyusyu1018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Nnr-kitakyusyu1018.jpg)
However, a number of interurbans in Japan did close down up into the 2000s, with networks in
Kitakyushu
is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one o ...
and
Gifu
is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku p ...
being shut down.
Today
Austria
Between
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and
Baden bei Wien
Baden (German for " Baths"; Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden District in the state of Lower Austria. Lo ...
the
Badner Bahn
The Badner Bahn or Wiener Lokalbahn is a tram-train service in the metropolitan area of Vienna. It runs for between Vienna and Baden, and is operated by the Wiener Lokalbahnen Aktiengesellschaft. The entire Badner Bahn is part of the and is on ...
, operates a classic interurban passenger service, in addition to some freight services. Some interurban lines survive today a local railways in
Upper Austria
Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...
are such as the
Linzer Lokalbahn,
Lokalbahn Vöcklamarkt–Attersee and
Lokalbahn Lambach–Vorchdorf-Eggenberg. While others operate as extension of a local city tramway such as the
Traunseebahn
The Traunseebahn is a historic railway in Austria, running from Vorchdorf to Gmunden.
History
The railway was built in 1912; it connected Gmunden - then a successful spa resort - to the agricultural area around Vorchdorf. Early investment in elec ...
which is now connected to the
Gmunden Tramway
The Gmunden Tramway is part of the tram-train-system ''Traunsee Tram'', that opened in 2018 and is located in Upper Austria, Austria. The ''Traunsee Tram'' connects the shortest and oldest tram system in Austria with the Traunseebahn.Buckley, Ric ...
.
Belgium
Today, two surviving interurban networks descending from the
vicinal tramways exist in Belgium. The famous
Belgian Coast Tram
The Coast Tram ( nl, Kusttram) is a public transport service connecting the cities and towns along the Belgian (West Flanders) coast between De Panne, near the French border, and Knokke-Heist, near the Dutch border. At in length, it is currently ...
, built in 1885, traverses the entire Belgian coastline and, at a length of 68 km (42 miles), which is the longest tram line in the world. The
Charleroi Metro
Charleroi Metro (french: Métro de Charleroi; previously known as the ''Charleroi Premetro'' (french: Métro léger de Charleroi)) is a light rail network in Belgium, consisting of a loop line around central Charleroi and three branches toward ...
is a never fully completed
pre-metro
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, generally as part of a process of conversion to a metro-standards railway usually by the construction of tunnels in the central city area.
Histo ...
network upgraded and developed from the dense vicinal tramway network around the city.
Canada
Similar to United States, most passenger interurbans in Canada were removed by the 1950s. One example of continuous passenger service still exists today, the
Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and larges ...
501 Queen
501 Queen (301 Queen during overnight periods) is an east–west Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).
At long, it is one of the longest surface routes operated by the TTC, the longes ...
streetcar line. The western segment of the 501 Streetcar operates largely on what was the
T&YRR Port Credit Radial Line, a radial line that remains intact through the Borough of
Etobicoke
Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
and up to the border of the neighboring City of
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popu ...
, unlike other Toronto radial lines which all have been abandoned outside of the Borough of
Old Toronto
Old Toronto is that part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that corresponds to the original City of Toronto which existed from 1834 to 1998. It was first incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the town of York, and being part of York Co ...
.
Germany
In Germany various networks have continued to exist. The most famous example of this is Karlsruhe, revitalized the interurban concept into the
Karlsruhe model
The Karlsruhe model is a tram-train system which consists of tram/ light rail trains and commuter/ regional rail trains running on the same set of tracks, generally between or outside of urban areas. It was initially developed and implemented ...
by renovating two local railways
Alb Valley Railway
The Alb Valley Railway (german: Albtalbahn) is a railway line in southern Germany that runs from Karlsruhe via Ettlingen to Bad Herrenalb with a branch to Ittersbach. The line is owned and operated, as part of the Stadtbahn Karlsruhe, by the A ...
which already had interoperation with local tram trackage and the
Hardt Railway
The Hardt Railway (german: Hardtbahn) is a railway line in the Karlsruhe region of Germany. Originally built as part of the Rhine Railway, a through main line, it now forms a branch line from Karlsruhe to Hochstetten. The line runs along the w ...
. Other examples include:
* Interurban tram routes serving Mannheim, Heidelberg, Weinheim (Route 5) and Bad Dürkheim (Route 4) as part of the
Mannheim/Ludwigshafen Tram System.
* Various interurbans upgraded as part of the
Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn system such as
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
to
Krefeld
Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, ...
(U76) and
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in ...
(U79),
Bochum/Gelsenkirchen (Route 302),
Mülheim
Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compa ...
to
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Do ...
and Essen to Gelsenkirchen (Route 107).
* interurban route between
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
to
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
(Route 16)
Italy
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
operates one remaining interurban tramway to
Limbiate with another interurban route to
Carate Brianza
Carate Brianza is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Monza and Brianza, Lombardy, northern Italy. The city lies at an elevation ranging from above sea level, on the Lambro river.
History
The history of Carate Brianza dates back to the St ...
/
Giussano
Giussano ( lmo, label= Brianzoeu, Giussan ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan.
Giussano borders the following municipalities: Inverigo, Carugo, Arosio, B ...
suspended since 2011. These two lines where once part of large network of interurbans surrounding Milan that were gradually closed in the 1970s.
Japan
![Keihan-Type700](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Keihan-Type700.jpg)
In Japan, the vast majority of the
major sixteen private railways have roots as interurban electric railway lines that have taken inspirations from the US. Instead of demolishing their trackage in the 1930s like the United States, many Japanese interurbans companies upgraded their networks to
heavy rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerat ...
standards becoming today's large private railways. To this day, private railway companies in Japan remain as highly influential business empires with diverse business interests, encompassing department stores, property developments and even tourist resorts. Many Japanese private railway companies compete with each other for passengers, operate department stores at their city termini, develop suburban properties adjacent to stations they own, and run special tourist attractions with admission included in package deals with rail tickets; similar to operations of large interurban companies in the US during their heyday.
While most interurbans in Japan have been upgraded beyond recognition to high capacity urban railways, a handful have remained relatively untouched, with street running and using with 'lighter-rail' stock in short consists, retaining a distinct character similar to classic American interurbans to this day. These include:
*The
Keihan Keishin Line
The is an interurban railway line in Japan operated by the private railway operator Keihan Electric Railway. The 7.5 km line connects Misasagi Station in Kyoto and Biwako-Hamaōtsu Station in the neighbouring city of Ōtsu.
Train ser ...
, operating between
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
and
Otsu, with through services to a
Tozai Line on the Kyoto side and street running on the Otsu side. Originally was entirely streetrunning into Kyoto but was partly replaced by the opening of the Tozai Subway Line which trains through operate into.
*The
Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line
The is a railway line in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keihan Electric Railway
, known colloquially as the , , or simply , is a major Japanese private railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectu ...
a primary north south line operating in Otsu with some street running sections in the city center where it connects with the Keishin Line.
*The
Eizan Electric Railway originally an interurban that once through operated into the Kyoto City Tram network but was isolated after the closure of the Kyoto City Tram. To this day operates light, one or two car consists.
* The
Enoshima Electric Railway
The is a private railway in Japan which connects Kamakura Station in Kamakura with Fujisawa Station in Fujisawa, Kanagawa. Stations en route include , the stop closest to Kōtoku-in, the temple with the colossal outdoor statue of Amida Buddha. T ...
, which is a 10-km line with elevated and on-street trackage, and operated with light, two-car articulated trains.
* The
Fukui Railway Fukubu Line
The is a 21.4 km railway line operated by Fukui Railway in Fukui Prefecture. The line runs from Echizen-Takefu Station in Echizen to and stations in Fukui. Although it has its own right-of-way for most of the route, the Fukubu Line runs ...
, which operates a variety of express and local services using light rail cars acquired from
Nagoya Railroad
, referred to as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan.
Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the ''Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of which of ...
's defunct interurban network in
Gifu
is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku p ...
, over a line with an extended on-street section.
* The
Kumamoto Electric Railway
The is a public transport company in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is abbreviated as or . The company was founded in 1909. The company operates railway and bus lines.
Lines
* Kikuchi Line (菊池線)
** Kami-Kumamoto — Miyoshi:
* Fu ...
, which operates ex-
Tokyo subway stock on a line which includes a short on-street section.
* The
Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line still operates articulated tramcars on private right-of-way, a holdover from its former inter-operation with the defunct
Nishitetsu
The , also called or NNR, is one of Japan's "Big 16" private railroad companies. With headquarters in Fukuoka, it operates local and highway buses, supermarkets, real estate and travel agencies, as well as railways in Fukuoka Prefecture ...
Kitakyushu
is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one o ...
street tram network.
Netherlands
![Randstadrail Nootdorp 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Randstadrail_Nootdorp_2.jpg)
The only surviving interurban line is also the oldest regional tramway in the Netherlands a line from The Hague to Delft. Which opened as horse-tramway in 1866. Nowadays the line operates as Line 1 of
The Hague Tramway.
Line E, run by
Randstadrail
RandstadRail () is a light rail network in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area in the west of the Netherlands that is jointly operated by HTM Personenvervoer (HTM) and Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram (RET). It connects the cities of Ro ...
, was an interurban line connecting Rotterdam to The Hague and in the past also to Scheveningen. It now interoperates with the
Rotterdam Metro.
Poland
A large interurban network called the
Silesian Interurbans
Silesian Trams ( pl, Tramwaje Konurbacji Śląskiej) is one of the largest tram systems in the world and the largest and longest tram system in Poland, located entirely within the Silesian Voivodeship. Started as a part of the German Empire in 189 ...
still exists today connecting the urban areas of the
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...
. It is one of the largest interurban networks in Europe.
United States
![WB Springville, IN Aug 1980xRP - Flickr - drewj1946](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/WB_Springville%2C_IN_Aug_1980xRP_-_Flickr_-_drewj1946.jpg)
Only three continuously operating passenger interurbans in the US remain with most being abandoned by the 1950s.
The
South Shore Line
The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport ...
is now owned by the state of Indiana and uses mainline-sized
electric multiple units, although one section of street running in
Michigan City, Indiana
Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City- La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined st ...
, remains. This section will be replaced by double track on free track from 2022.
SEPTA
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...
operates three former Philadelphia Suburban lines: the
Norristown High Speed Line
The Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL), also called the Purple Line, the P&W, or Route 100,) is a interurban light rapid transit line operated by SEPTA, running between the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby and the Norristown Tr ...
as an interurban
heavy rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerat ...
line, and
Route 101 and 102 as
light rail lines.
In Chicago the Skokie Valley portion of the North Shore Line from Dempster Street to Howard Street was acquired by the
Chicago Transit Authority
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , ...
and is now the
Yellow Line. The Yellow Line initially operated with third rail from Howard Street to the Skokie Shops and switched to overhead wire for the remainder of the journey to Dempster Street, until 2004 when the overhead wire was replaced with third rail.
Several former interurban rights of way have been reused for modern light rail lines, including the
Los Angeles Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), commonly branded as Metro, LA Metro, and L.A. Metro, is the state agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the transportation system in Los Angeles ...
A and
E Lines and one section of the
Baltimore Light Rail
Baltimore Light RailLink (formerly Baltimore Light Rail, and also known simply as the "Light Rail") is a light rail system serving Baltimore, Maryland, United States, as well as its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Maryland Transit ...
. Several museums and heritage railways, including the
Western Railway Museum and
Seashore Trolley Museum
Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's first and largest museum of mass transit vehicles. While the main focus of the collection is trolley cars (trams), it also includes rapid transit trains, ...
, operate restored equipment on former interurban lines. The
Iowa Traction Railway
The Iowa Traction Railway Company , formerly the Iowa Traction Railroad Company, is a shortline railroad operating in the United States as a common carrier. It was originally founded in 1896 as the Mason City and Clear Lake Railway, a passenger c ...
still operates freight service today using interurban equipment and infrastructure. The
River Line in New Jersey is also considered an interurban.
Switzerland
![090925 Monthey IMG 3921](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/090925_Monthey_IMG_3921.JPG)
Switzerland operated a huge number of interurbans which today many have been upgraded into a number of different modes with a few remaining interurban features left. Several still have interurban characteristics such as unprotected alignments next to the road right of ways and/or street running. Today former interurban lines have been upgraded to operate as:
* Extensions of local tram system such as
Bern Tramway Line 6 to
Worb
Worb is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
History
Worb is first mentioned around 1130-46 as ''Worw''.
The oldest traces of settlements in the area include scattered neolith ...
and
Baselland Transport
Baselland Transport AG (BLT) is a Swiss public transport operator in the cantons of Basel-Land, Basel-Stadt, Solothurn and in France. The BLT was founded in 1974, and is owned by the Canton of Basel-Land, located to the south of the city. It ...
Line 10 formed from combining two narrow-gauge interurbans.
* Local private railway networks such as
Aargau Verkehr
Aargau Verkehr AG (AVA) is a Swiss transportation company. It was formed on June 19, 2018, from the merger of BDWM Transport and the Wynental and Suhrental Railway. The new company operates both rail and bus services, with some of the latter bein ...
,
Aare Seeland mobil
The Aare Seeland mobil AG (branded ''asm'' or ''asmobil'') based in Langenthal is a transport company in Switzerland. It was created in 1999 from the merger of Oberaargau Regional Transport (''Regionalverkehr Oberaargau''; RVO), the Solothurn-N ...
,
Transports Publics du Chablais
The Transports Publics du Chablais (TPC) is a transportation company that operates various rail and bus services in the Chablais region, at the eastern end of Lake Geneva. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of four companies.
History
A precu ...
,
Rhaetian Railway
The Rhaetian Railway (german: Rhätische Bahn; it, Ferrovia retica; rm, Viafier retica), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the Rh ...
,
Chemins de fer du Jura
The Chemins de fer du Jura is a railway company in the canton of Jura in northwestern Switzerland. It was formed in 1944 from the merger of four independent companies connecting Porrentruy to Bonfol, Saignelégier to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Glovelier ...
or as individual railways like the
Lausanne–Bercher line
The Lausanne–Bercher line is a metre gauge railway line in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The line connects the city of Lausanne with Bercher via Echallens, and is long. It is owned and operated by the (LEB).
History
After an initi ...
and
Waldenburg railway. These lines commonly retain some street running sections and unprotected roadside alignments.
*
Tram-train
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system (usually an urban street running tramway), but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This al ...
s such as the
Forch railway
The Forch railway (german: Forchbahn, FB, Frieda ) is a local railway line in the Swiss canton of Zürich. It is owned and operated by the Forchbahn AG, and is branded as line S18 of the Zürich S-Bahn. The standard Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV ...
which is part of the
Zürich S-Bahn
The Zürich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Zürich) system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zürich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, ...
operating on the
Zürich Tram System
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ( ...
in the city center or the
St. Gallen–Trogen and
Frauenfeld–Wil railways as part of the
St. Gallen S-Bahn
The St. Gallen S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn St. Gallen) is an S-Bahn-style commuter rail in Eastern Switzerland and neighbouring areas. The network connects stations in the Swiss cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Glarus, Grison ...
.
Infrastructure and design
Right of way
Interurbans typically ran along or on a public right-of-way. In towns, interurbans
ran in the street, sharing track with existing street railroads.
While street running limited acquisition costs, it also required sharp turns and made interurban operations susceptible to traffic congestion. Unlike conventional railroads, it was rare for an interurban to construct long unencumbered stretches of private right-of-way. The torque characteristics of electric operation allowed interurbans to operate on steeper
grades than conventional
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...
s.
Trackage
Compared to conventional steam railroad trackage, interurban rail was light and
ballasted lightly, if at all.
Most interurbans in North America were built to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...
(), but there were exceptions. In Europe
narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
interurbans were more common. In Japan the national mainlines were built to narrow gauge however due to influence from for US interurban operations the first interurban companies in Japan built trackage to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...
. This remains the case today with
Keikyu
(), also known as or, more recently, , is a private railroad that connects inner Tokyo to Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and other points on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also provides rail access to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. ...
and
Hanshin
, derived from the second kanji from and the first kanji from (but in ''on''-reading instead of ''kun''-reading), refers generally to Osaka, Kobe, and the surrounding area in the Kansai region of Japan.
In the context of a region of Hyōgo ...
, forerunners of Japan's interurbans, still using standard gauge today. Later companies regauged or outright built lines to narrow gauge for better intercompatibility and consistency with the Japanese mainline standards. Interurbans often used the
tracks of existing
street railways through city and town streets, and if these street railways were not built to standard, the interurbans had to use the non-standard gauges as well or face the expense of building their own separate trackage through urban areas. Some municipalities deliberately mandated non-standard gauges to prevent freight operations on public streets. In Pennsylvania, many interurbans were constructed using the wide "
Pennsylvania trolley gauge
Originally, various track gauges were used in the United States. Some railways, primarily in the northeast, used standard gauge of ; others used gauges ranging from to . As a general rule, southern railroads were built to one or another broad ga ...
" of . In Los Angeles, the
Pacific Electric Railway
The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway syst ...
, using standard gauge track, and the
Los Angeles Railway, the city's streetcar system, using narrow gauge, shared
dual-gauge track in downtown Los Angeles with one rail common to each.
Electrification
![Town of Haubstadt, Indiana - NARA - 283556](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Town_of_Haubstadt%2C_Indiana_-_NARA_-_283556.jpg)
Most interurban railways in North America were constructed using the same low-voltage 500 to 600
V DC trolley power in use by the
street railways to which they connected. This enabled interurban cars to use the same overhead trolley power on town street car tracks with no electrical change on the cars to accommodate a different voltage. However, higher voltages became necessary to reduce power loss on long-distance transmission lines and routes, though
substations were established to boost voltage.
In 1905
Westinghouse introduced a 6600 V 25 Hz
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
(AC) system which a number of railroads adopted. This required fewer substations than DC, but came with higher maintenance costs. The necessary on-board 6600 AC voltage reduction plus AC to DC rectification on each powered car to run DC traction motors added to greater car construction expense plus the operational dangers that such on-board high voltages created.
More common were high-voltage DC systems – usually 1200 V DC, introduced in 1908 by Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Company for their ''Dixie Flyer'' and ''Hoosier Flyer'' services. In the streets, where high-speed service was not feasible, the cars ran at half speed at 600 V or got a voltage changeover device. such as on the Sacramento Northern. A 2400 V DC third-rail system was installed on the
Michigan United Railways Michigan United Railways (MUR) was an interurban which owned and leased numerous lines in the state of Michigan during the early twentieth century.
Corporate history
The company incorporated in Kalamazoo on March 31, 1906, with the intention of o ...
's Western Division between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids in 1915, but was abandoned because of the electrocution potential safety hazard. Even 5000 V DC was tested.
Most interurban cars and freight locomotives collected current from an
overhead trolley wire. The cars contacted this wire through the use of a
trolley pole
A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" (electrified) overhead wire to the control and the electric traction motors of a tram or trolley bus. It is a type of current collector. ...
or a
pantograph
A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
. Other designs collected current from a
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
. Some interurbans used both: in open country, the third rail was used and in town, a trolley pole was raised. An example of this was the
Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railroad where a trolley pole was used in both
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
and
Elgin, Illinois
Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-larg ...
. Third rail was cheaper to maintain and more conductive, but it was more expensive to construct initially and it did not eliminate the need for AC transformers, AC transmission lines, and AC/DC conversion systems. In addition, third rail posed a serious danger to trespassers and animals and was difficult to keep clear of ice.
Trains and equipment
Rolling stock
From 1890 to 1910, roughly, interurban cars were made of wood and often were very large, weighing up to and measuring as long as . These featured the classic arch-window look with truss-rods and cow-catchers. Three of the best known early companies were Jewett Car Company, Jewett, Niles Car and Manufacturing Company, Niles, and G. C. Kuhlman Car Company, Kuhlman, all of Ohio. These interurbans required a two men crew, an operator and a conductor. By 1910, most new interurban cars were constructed of steel, weighing up to . As competition increased for passengers and costs needed to be reduced in the 1920s, interurban companies and manufacturers attempted to reduce car weight and wind resistance in order to reduce power consumption. The new designs also required only a one-man crew with the operator collecting tickets and making change. The Bogie, trucks were improved to provide a better ride, acceleration, and top speed but with reduced power consumption. Into the 1930s, better quality and lighter steel and aluminum use reduced weight, and cars were redesigned to ride lower in order to reduce wind resistance. Car design peaked in the early 1930s with the light weight Cincinnati Car Company-built Red Devil (interurban), Red Devil cars of the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad.
In addition to passenger cars, interurban companies acquired freight locomotives and line maintenance equipment. A "box motor" was a powered car exclusive for freight that looked like a passenger interurban without windows and had wide side doors for loading freight. A freight motor was geared for power rather than speed and could pull up to six freight cars depending upon the load and
grades. Freight cars for interurbans tended to be smaller than those for steam railroads, and they had to have special extended couplers to prevent car corner contact at the very tight grinding turns at city street corners. Maintenance equipment included "line cars" with roof platforms for the trolley wire repair crew, snow plows and snow sweepers with rotating brushes, a car for weed control and to maintain track and ballast. In order to save money, many companies constructed these in their shops using retired or semi-wrecked passenger cars for the frame and the traction motor mounted trucks.
Passenger trains
![Interurban](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Interurban.jpg)
Passenger interurban service grew out of horse-drawn rail cars operating on city streets. As these routes electrified and extended outside of towns interurbans began to compete with steam railroads for intercity traffic. Interurbans offered more frequent service than steam railroads, with headways of up to one hour or even half an hour. Interurbans also made more stops, usually apart. As interurban routes tended to be Single-track railway, single-track this led to extensive use of passing sidings. Single interurban cars would operate with a motorman and conductor, although in later years one-man operation was common. In open country, the typical interurban proceeded at . In towns with the middle of the street operation, speeds were slow and dictated by local ordinance. The result was that the average speed of a scheduled trip was low, as much as under .
Freight trains
Many interurbans did substantial freight business. In 1926, the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway (1926–30), Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway moved of freight per month. By 1929, this had risen to per month. During the 1920s freight revenue helped offset the loss of passenger business to automobiles. A typical interurban freight train consisted of a powered box motor pulling one to four freight cars. These often operated at night as local ordinances forbade daytime freight operation on city streets. Interurban freight in the Midwest was so extensive that Indianapolis constructed a very large freight handling warehouse which all of Indianapolis' seven interurbans companies used.
In literature
In Raymond Chandler's short story ''The Man who liked Dogs'', the narrator trails a suspect in the Los Angeles area:
:Carolina Street was away off at the edge of the little beach city. The end of it ran into a disused inter-urban right of way, beyond which stretched a waste of Japanese truck farms. There were just two house in the last block ... the rails were rusted in a forest of weeds.
Similarly in ''Mandarin's Jade'':
:The Hotel Tremaine was far out of Santa Monica, near the junk yards. An inter-urban right of way split the street in half, and just as I got to the block that would have the number I had looked up, a two-car train came racketing by at forty-five miles an hour, making almost as much noise as a transport plane taking off. I speeded up beside it and passed the block.
[Raymond Chandler, ''Killer in the Rain'', Penguin 1964, p. 231.]
In E.L. Doctorow's ''Ragtime'', a character rides on interurban systems from New York to Boston.
Preservation
Numerous museums, heritage railways and societies have preserved equipment:
* California State Railroad Museum
* Connecticut Trolley Museum
* East Troy Electric Railroad Museum
* Electric City Trolley Museum
* Fox River Trolley Museum
* Fraser Valley Historical Railway Society
* Halton County Radial Railway
* Illinois Railway Museum
* National Museum of Transportation
* Orange Empire Railway Museum
* Oregon Electric Railway Museum
* Rockhill Trolley Museum
*
Seashore Trolley Museum
Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's first and largest museum of mass transit vehicles. While the main focus of the collection is trolley cars (trams), it also includes rapid transit trains, ...
* Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum
* Shore Line Trolley Museum
* Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway
*
Western Railway Museum
See also
* List of interurbans
* Streetcar suburb
* Rapid transit
* Interurban Press
* Light rail, a contemporary successor to interurbans
*
Tram-train
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system (usually an urban street running tramway), but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This al ...
, a similar concept with streetcars sharing mainline intercity tracks for interurban sections
* Elektrichka, a similar system in Russia and post-Soviet states
Notes
References
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Further reading
*
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*
External links
Central Electric Railfans AssociationPacific Electric Railway Historical SocietyEast Penn Traction Association
{{Public transport
Interurban railways,
1900s in rail transport
1910s in rail transport
1920s in rail transport
1920s in the United States
1910s in the United States
1900s in the United States
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