[Sekkle]

Portland’s MAX light rail is limited to two-car trains because of the short city blocks downtown. The Blue (east-west through downtown) and Red (airport to westside) lines here run two-car trains (occasionally the Red only has one), and the Yellow line (North Portland to downtown) usually has only one car, with some two-car trains once in a while.

I know Chicago is expanding its brown line platforms to accommodate 8-car trains (or maybe this is already complete?). Are other lines there 8-cars?

What about your city? How many cars do trains on your light or heavy rail system use?

[M.K.]

Well ICE I, II & III are generally between 16 to 20 wagons with 2 train composition together. Underground are generally 6. Trams 3-4 depending the type. Normal Trains are normally 10 and so on.;) But I have seen already compositions of cargo with 4 loco and 42 wagons.

[arkhitektor]

Thanks to Salt Lake's ridiculously large blocks, TRAX light rail generally runs 4-car trains, less in off-peak times.

[Swede]

We have alot of different trains, so...
Commuter rail: 4 or 8 old cars, 1 or 2 new (long bendy cars).
Subway: 6 or 8 old cars (based on NYC's IRT), or (1,) 2 or 3 new ones (longer, bendy ones).
LRT: 1 or 2 cars
Narrowguage suburban rail: 3 cars
Saltsjöbanan: 2, 4 or 6 old slightly converted subway cars (Sthlm's version of the Staten Island RR?:P)
touristy tram in the inner city: 1 or 2 ooold cars

/woeth our lack of transit.

[mersar]

Calgary is currently running 3 LRV consists (Siemens Duwag U2's and Siemens SD160's), though expansions are underway to expand all the stations to be long enough for 4 (only 5 of the current 36 stations are done, with 2 stations downtown currently under construction, 1 being an in-place replacement and the other is a new station to replace a station on the next block, plus the new station in the NW is being built for 4). Plans are to have the entire downtown upgraded by 2012, with the 3 other legs following that. The new west leg will be built for 4 LRV's, and its supposed to be ready in 2012 (construction starting late this year or early next).

[initiald]

When they first started running, they ran two cars during peak times, and one car off-peak. Ridership has been higher than expected, especially off-peak/weekends so as far as I've seen they run two cars all the time now.

http://www.pbase.com/bz3rk/image/93975804.jpg

[J. Will]

Even though I walk by or use Toronto's subway almost every day, I've never actually counted the number of cars (which would be difficult to do unless the train is stopped like it is at the end of the line). They're quite long - probably 8-10 cars.

Our commuter trains I believe have recently expanded in length. I think they sold/are planning on selling the old locomotives to Minneapolis because they weren't built to carry such long trains, and the Minneapolis commuter rail system is going to use tiny trains only a few cars long.

[Jarrod]

In Vancouver they run either 2 or 4 car trains.

But in Comox, well... we only have buses that run once an hour.

[The Chemist]

In Shanghai, it depends on the line. Some lines run 8 carriages (I know line 1 does, but I don't know if any other line does) but most run 6.

However, the carriages are walk-through all the way from one end of the train to the other, which increases the amount of people that can get on the train.

[neuhickman79]

Here in Sacramento, they used to run 2 LRT cars during slow times and on weekends and holidays and 4 LRT cars during busier times. Now, there is a mix depending on the day of 1, 2, 3, or 4 cars depending on how busy it is and what time of day it is. This was started 1/1/08 to save money.

[VivaLFuego]

All Chicago lines except the Purple in Evanston and the Yellow in Skokie can run 8 car trains. Most run 8s in the peak, except Green and Purple usually run 6 and Pink runs 4-car. Skoke Swift runs 2-car, since it's a 2-stop shuttle line.

The subway stations were thankfully built for 10-car trains; at some point the Red Line will be expanded for 10-cars, though the Brown Line expansion and new railcars (longitudinal seating = more standees) should buy several years of extra capacity coming from the northside before that's an urgent need.

[BTinSF]

BART runs 8-car trains mostly. Muni Metro usually runs one or 2 articulated cars (roughly equivalent to 2 or 4 regular streetcars).

Here are 6 cars of what I'm sure is an 8-car train running on the Fremont or Dublin/Pleasanton BART line in the East Bay:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2420/2377477445_2df5be3f69_o.jpg
Source: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2420/2377477445_2df5be3f69_o.jpg

This is one Muni Metro car:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/T_Third_Islais.jpg/800px-T_Third_Islais.jpg
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:T_Third_Islais.jpg

Then, of course, there's the one-car options:

http://www.streetcar.org/mim/streetcars/fleet/pcc/1061/images/1061-240p-01.jpghttp://www.streetcar.org/mim/streetcars/fleet/antique/130/images/130-580p.jpghttp://www.streetcar.org/mim/streetcars/fleet/milan/images/1811-280p.jpg
Source: http://www.streetcar.org/mim/streetcars/fleet/index.html

And

http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/images/cars/calcar59-s.jpghttp://www.cablecarmuseum.org/images/cars/powellcar6-s.jpg
Source: http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/cablecars.html

[champdemars]

Montreal is running 9-car trains on all lines except for the blue line, which is running 6-cars trains. However, during off-peak hours, the yellow line is running 6-car trains.

With 9 car, the train is 500' long.

[staff]

There are tons of different trains here, but I'll post some examples:

Pågatåg (local trains): 2 cars (same with the new equipment that is being delivered next year)
Öresund Commuter Trains: 3, 6 or 9 cars depending on time of day.
S-Trains (commuter-metro): 8 cars in standard config.
Metro (driver-less): 3 cars (walk-through throughout the whole train)
Re-trains: 3-6 cars.
Museum trams: 1 car. ;)

There's a bunch of different local lines in Copenhagen metropolitan area that I have no idea about the number of cars.

[LordMandeep]

The commuter rail system (GO) is now starting to run 12-car Bi-level cars...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/37/98851856_ef086190ae.jpg?v=0


The picture is from Flickr and those are 8-10 car trains....

[bmfarley]

In San Diego the Trolley is the light rail system. They use the same LRV type as Calgary;U2's and SD100's. Btw, I hear the SD stands for San Diego. The Trolley also has the new Siemens low-floor S70; the same as Houston and apparently the same as the Lynx system.

During peak times all trains are 3-car lengths (240 feet) on the Blue and Orange lines... except 2 trains on the Orange Line arrive in downtown as 4-car trains. Those trains must be split to shorter lengths to fit into 2 downtown stations... which can only fit 3-car trains. All other stations can fit 4-car trains; 320 feet.

In off-peak times the Orange Line runs 2-car trains. The Blue Line does the same, but only very late at night.

The S70's remain only on the Green line and do not come downtown as each station served would need to have their platforms raised a bit.

The Trolley has full trains during peak times; it's among the most used systems in the US. The Blue carries over 60,000 riders a day (http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070527/news_mz1ed27top.html). And a weekly rag ran this piece (http://www.sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/going_underground/6749/) about tunneling downtown.

[youngregina]

^^^Doesn't SD stand for Siemens-Dewag?? As I'm pretty sure it does.

[bmfarley]

^^^Doesn't SD stand for Siemens-Dewag?? As I'm pretty sure it does.Probably

[Sekkle]

The Trolley also has the new Siemens low-floor S70; the same as Houston and apparently the same as the Lynx system.
...
And a weekly rag ran this piece (http://www.sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/going_underground/6749/) about tunneling downtown.
Yeah, Portland's S70s are due to arrive this fall. I'm interested to see them in action (the light rail line is literally less than 50' out my back window, so I should have a pretty good view ;) ). They look pretty nice in all the photos I've seen of the systems that are now using them.

I don't know if there has been any official talk about tunnelling through downtown here... I haven't read anything except in the Portland SSP forum. Some kind of change seems necessary at some point in the future, especially since, when the new Green line opens next fall, all 4 lines will be using the same bridge across the Willamette, which slows trains to something like 5 or 10 mph when they cross. The headways are supposed to be 2 minutes over that bridge when the green line opens. That won't allow for much more frequent service.

[tech12]

BART runs 8-car trains mostly. Muni Metro usually runs one or 2 articulated cars (roughly equivalent to 2 or 4 regular streetcars).

Here are 6 cars of what I'm sure is an 8-car train running on the Fremont or Dublin/Pleasanton BART line in the East Bay:



BART runs 9 car trains alot, but I'm not sure if they get any longer than that.

[VivaLFuego]

Oh yeah, commuter rail.... I think Metra runs three 11-car trains on the BNSF line in each rush hour.... including a jam-packed express train from Naperville - no stops for nearly 30 miles. As a "full size" railroad, those things are monsters. Most Metra trains are about 6 cars though. (plus diesel locomotive where applicable)

[blockski]

DC's Metro runs trains up to 8 cars long. Each car is pretty long by subway standards, 75 feet. They are all permanently married in pairs, thus the longest train (8 cars) is a 600 foot long train, which is what all the platforms are built to.

During rush hours, they run mostly 6 car trains, with several 8 car trains sprinkled in. Off peak, it's usually mostly 6 car trains with some 4 car trains.

Metro would probably like to run longer trains, but they don't have enough rolling stock to put it on every line, nor can the automatic train control system handle 8-car trains all the time (they can overrun the platforms every once and a while).

And DC riders are always aware of how long the trains are, since it's displayed on the platform information displays, along with time for the next train:

Red Line - 6 car train - to New York Ave - 3 minutes

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/WMATA_PIDS_display.jpg/800px-WMATA_PIDS_display.jpg
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:WMATA_PIDS_display.jpg

[bmfarley]

BART runs 9 car trains alot, but I'm not sure if they get any longer than that.BART stations are built to accomodate 10-car trains. When I lived up there 3-8 years ago 10 car trains were common at peak times on hte line that ran to Walnut Creek and Concord. I believe it was yellow on the system map.

[MSPtoMKE]

Our commuter trains I believe have recently expanded in length. I think they sold/are planning on selling the old locomotives to Minneapolis because they weren't built to carry such long trains, and the Minneapolis commuter rail system is going to use tiny trains only a few cars long.
Nope, we're getting new ones, the same locomotive model, I believe, as GO's new locomotives. I would guess train length will be pretty typical for a startup commuter rail operation, I doubt GO started with 10 car trains or whatever.

Our light rail line runs 2 car trains at most times. I can't remember the last time I saw a 1 car train, although they did originally plan to run 1 car trains at lower demand time such as Sundays. Metro Transit has plans to extend the platforms of the roughly half that are not long enough for 3 car trains on the Hiawatha Line, but I don't know the exact schedule for that. The Central Corridor Line will likely be built to run 3 car trains from the start.

[Jarrod]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/WMATA_PIDS_display.jpg/800px-WMATA_PIDS_display.jpg
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:WMATA_PIDS_display.jpg

I"m such a dork, but that is so cool!

[tech12]

BART stations are built to accomodate 10-car trains. When I lived up there 3-8 years ago 10 car trains were common at peak times on hte line that ran to Walnut Creek and Concord. I believe it was yellow on the system map.

Ah, ok. I don't ride BART too often (compared to MUNI anyways, unless leaving the city...though it makes a really good alternative to the J or 14 if trying to get downtown from the excelsior, mission or ingleside), but I know that I've often seen the 9 car trains.

[fflint]

BART runs 10-car trains at rush hour.

[Grumpy]

They are 12 cars long (26.4 m each)

[giallo]

In Shanghai, it depends on the line. Some lines run 8 carriages (I know line 1 does, but I don't know if any other line does) but most run 6.

However, the carriages are walk-through all the way from one end of the train to the other, which increases the amount of people that can get on the train.

And yet the trains are still obscenely packed. Line 1 is a nightmare. People's Square Station single-handedly makes me hate taking public transit in SH. I can't wait until they open the new line (11?). It's supposed to relieve a lot of pressure from line 1. Line 2 is becoming more and more busy each day. The connection with line 8 as well as line 4 has really increased traffic. When line 7 eventually connects and Park Place Tower and Wheelock Square are complete, line 2 will become just as bad as Line 1.

I think it's time to buy a bike.

[The Chemist]

And yet the trains are still obscenely packed. Line 1 is a nightmare. People's Square Station single-handedly makes me hate taking public transit in SH. I can't wait until they open the new line (11?). It's supposed to relieve a lot of pressure from line 1. Line 2 is becoming more and more busy each day. The connection with line 8 as well as line 4 has really increased traffic. When line 7 eventually connects and Park Place Tower and Wheelock Square are complete, line 2 will become just as bad as Line 1.

I think it's time to buy a bike.

Yes, Line 1 is crazy, especially since they insist on still running those 6-car trains quite often. I don't know why all the trains on line 1 aren't 8-car. I haven't travelled through People's Square at rush hour since Line 4 was completed - is it really still that bad with the new transfer hall? Although I live near Shanghai South Station, I don't catch the subway at that stop because I want to avoid Line 1 completely at rush hour - I just ride my bike to Shanghai Indoor Stadium and catch Line 4 directly. There wouldn't be enough room for me to carry my bike (folding style) onto Line 1, but Line 4 isn't too bad right now.

However, I've definitely noticed that Line 4 is getting busier than it was when it was first openend. They absolutely NEED to reduce the headway to 5 minutes in both directions at rush hour, and soon.

[volguus zildrohar]

Market-Frankford El trains are 6 cars at all times though on occasion, particularly during the shutdown weekends, four car trains run.

Mainline Broad Street Subway trains are five cars and Ridge Avenue Spur trains are two.

Subway-Surface cars are single units but can be married while suburban light rail can run one or two car sets. PATCO runs anywhere from 2 to 6 cars depending on the time.

[Wright Concept]

In Los Angeles

Heavy Rail, the maximum train length are 6 car train (75' length per car) or 450' in length

* Red Line to North Hollywood
6 cars during RH, 4 cars all other times

* Purple Line to Wilshire/Western
4 cars during RH, 2 or 4 cars all other times

Light Rail, the maximum train length are 3 LRV train (90' length per LRV) or 270' in length

* Blue Line to Long Beach
3 cars during RH, 2 or 3 cars all other times

* Gold Line to Pasadena
2 cars during RH, 1 or 2 cars all other times

* Green Line
2 cars during RH, 1 car all other times

Commuter Rail, each bi-level car is 85' in length, maximum train length is 6 cars, soon to be expandable to 8 cars.
The two busiest and longest corridors
San Bernadino and Orange County use 6 cars during peak period, 4 or 5 cars other times
All other corridors use 3 or 4 cars.

[MayDay]

I believe Cleveland generally runs two-car trains on the Red Line (Heavy Rail) and Blue and Green lines (Light rail) but will add during rush hour or if there's an event downtown (lots of park-and-ride types). I've seen one-car trains on weekends.

[brickell]

Miami Metrorail runs 6 cars peak and 4 other times.

[JDRCRASH]

It wasn't too long ago that there were REALLY long trains on Alameda Ave. in Downtown Los Angeles in the 90's.

[Echo Park]

That's freight, JDR. We're talking about municipal and commuter rail in this thread.

[MonkeyRonin]

Toronto's T1 and H6 cars are 22.7m and run in trains of 6 on the YUS and BD lines, and 4 car trains on the S line, so 91-136m.

The ICTS Mark I's (LRV) are 12.7m and run in 4 car trains, or 51m total.

The CLRV's (streetcar) are 15.4m and run as single units, with the ALRV's being 23m.

[alexjon]

Sounder trains are 4-7 cabs long
Tacoma Link and the South Lake Union Streetcar are 1 car long
Link Light Rail will be 2 to 4 cars long

[Chicago3rd]

http://sanfrancisco.lovetoknow.com/wiki/San_Francisco_BART

BART Facts and Transportation Lines
BART consists of 104 miles of track and 43 stations, and the system’s trains can reach a maximum speed of 80 miles per hour (most trains move about 33 miles per hour between stations, though). The number of BART cars attached to a given train run from between three cars to a maximum of 10. BART is open 365 days a year, with hours of operation from 4am to midnight Monday through Friday, 6am to midnight on Saturday, and 8am to midnight on Sunday. There are five different BART lines, each of which are coded with a different color, and each of which connect one part of the Bay Area to the other (the East Bay to the North Bay, the East Bay to the South Bay, etc). The red line connects Richmond to Daly City, the green line connects Fremont to Daly City, the orange line connects Richmond to Fremont, the yellow line connects Pittsburg/Bay Point to Daly City, and the blue line connects Dublin/Pleasanton to SFO/Millbrae. Other methods of transportation (bus lines, shuttle buses) are usually close to most BART stations, making it easy for commuters to get even closer to their destination of choice. For a closer look at an overview of the BART lines, click here, and then enlarge the provided map.

[Hot Rod]

Vancouver currently runs up to 6 cars in their SkyTrain metro.

MK I: up to 6-cars (there's talk of 8) [4 is the standard]

MK II: up to 4-cars (two is the standard)

Rotem: 2-cars

WCE Commuter Rail: anybody wanna vouch for this?

[nname]

WCE Commuter Rail: anybody wanna vouch for this?
4-9 cars.

[urban_encounter]

Sacramento RT

Peak hours 4 cars
Off peak 2 cars

(can be a few as 1 on Sunday, but with expansion to South Sacramento and Folsom they usually run two car trains now)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/urban_encounter/newlightrailvehicle.jpg
Sacramento RT

[BuildCTPlace]

In the Boston subway, Red Line and Orange Line run 6-car trains, the Blue Line only runs 4-car trains (this often causes crowding, especially with people traveling to the airport with their luggage). The Green Line is a tram that goes underground in the center - two-car trains (so unbelievably crowded!) except there are one-car trains on weekend late evenings and occasionally at other times too.

[elfabyanos]

Trains in and around Brighton in the UK vary from 3 to 12 car, made up of various 3 and 4 car units.

From Paul Pettitt's photo site (http://www.paulpettitt-photographs.co.uk/index.htm):
http://www.paulpettitt-photographs.co.uk/377_425_(Balcombe)_310307a.jpg

[hammersklavier]

To expand on VG's post:

Most of the Regional Rail trains in Philadelphia consist of married pairs. They can be as short as 2 cars to as long as six cars (normally). I think the longest train length in the push-pull fleet is 8 cars. The trains are normally made of married pairs coupled together--which makes it unusual to see odd-car'd trains on the weekdays--but three-car trains are common on busier lines during the weekend. And when college students migrate en masse back to their dorms, it can get quite crowded.

I also swear that I saw a 12-car train pass by the Temple station last Thursday!

[Nutterbug]

WCE Commuter Rail: anybody wanna vouch for this?

They're typically about 6 cars plus locomotive.

[SFUVancouver]

^ Eight cars for this West Coast Express commuter train:

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9175/westcoastexpressapril24jr2.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 24th, 2008.

[tayser]

Standard metropolitan rail config is 6 carriages.
Interurbans vary - can have 2 carriage sets, but there could be 3 sets linked together. Also have some older loco hauled stuff which can have anything between 3 and 8 carriages trailing behind.

Trams are a different story - 1,2,3 and 5 modules.