Bilevel rail car
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A bilevel car (
American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...
) or double-decker coach (
British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
and Canadian English) is a type of rail car that has two levels of passenger accommodation, as opposed to one, increasing passenger capacity (in example cases of up to 57% per car). The use of double-decker carriages, where feasible, can resolve capacity problems on a railway, avoiding other options which have an associated infrastructure cost such as longer trains (which require longer station platforms), more trains per hour (which the signalling or safety requirements may not allow) or adding extra tracks besides the existing line. Double deck trains are claimed to be more energy efficient, and may have a lower operating cost per passenger. A double deck car may carry up to about twice as many as a normal car, if structure and loading gauges permit, without requiring double the weight to pull or material to build. However, a double deck train may take longer to exchange passengers at each station, since more people will enter and exit from each car. The increased dwell time makes them most popular on long-distance routes which make fewer stops (and may be popular with passengers for offering a better view). Double deck cars may not be usable in countries or on older railway systems with low loading gauge, most notably the majority of the British rail network. In some countries such as the UK new lines are built to a higher than the existing
structure gauge A structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is a diagram or physical structure that sets limits to the extent that bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure can encroach on rail vehicles. It specifies the height and width of pl ...
to allow the use of double-deck trains in future.


History

Double deck carriages date to at least as early as the second half of the 19th century. In France several hundred ''voitures à impériale'' with seats on the roof were in use by the
Chemins de fer de l'Ouest The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest (CF de l'Ouest), often referred to simply as ''L'Ouest'' or ''Ouest'', was an early French railway company which operated from the years 1855 through 1909. History Birth of the company The Compa ...
,
Chemins de fer de l'Est The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est (CF de l'Est), often referred to simply as the Est company, was an early French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which ...
and by 1870, having been in use for over 2 decades; the design was open at the sides with a light roof or awning covering the seats. In the 1860s M.J.B. Vidard introduced two-storied carriages on the Chemins de fer de l'Est, with a full body, windows, and doors; the same design lowered the floor of the lower storey to keep the center of gravity low. Vidard's carriages had a total height of with the head height in the lower part of the carriage only ; the carriages had a capacity of 80 persons (third class) in a 2 axle vehicle of 13 tons fully loaded. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad placed bilevel cars in commuter service in the Chicago area in 1950. These were successful, and led to the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...
introducing long-distance
Hi-Level The Hi-Level was a type of Bilevel rail car, bilevel intercity railroad passenger railroad car, passenger car used in the United States. Car types included coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars; a sleeping car variant was considered but never pr ...
cars on Chicago–
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
''
El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about from base to summit along its talles ...
'' streamliner in 1954. In 1964, the four experimental double-deck power cars entered service in Sydney, Australia, enabling the first fully double-deck Electric Multiple Unit passenger train in the world.


Typical design

The double-deck design usually includes lowering the bottom floor to below the top level of the wheels, closer to the rails, and then adding an upper floor above. Such a design will fit under more
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
s,
tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
s and power wires (
structure gauge A structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is a diagram or physical structure that sets limits to the extent that bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure can encroach on rail vehicles. It specifies the height and width of pl ...
). For cost and safety, this design also minimizes car height ( loading gauge) and lowers the centre of gravity. Depending on train station platform heights, three designs can be used for entry – high platforms require use of a "split level" car design, where the doors are located on a middle level, with access into the upper or lower level branching off – with stairs or ramps going both up and down (sometimes this configuration includes a section of seating at the middle level in the entry section, with double levels only in part of the lengths of the car). For low train station platforms, a "two-floor" design with level entry onto the lower floor is used. Occasionally a third, very tall "two floors over-wheel" design is used. This is a traditional single floor car "with a second story" design which, when using a low platform, requires steps up to a traditional floor height and then internal stairs up to the upper floor.


Platform height and floor height issues

There are four important height measurements above the railhead:
platform height Railway platform height is the built height – ''above top of rail (ATR)'' – of passenger platforms at stations. A connected term is ''train floor height'', which refers to the ATR height of the floor of rail vehicles. Worldwide, there are ...
, traditional floor height, downstairs floor height and upstairs floor height. Platform height determines the level entry height for wheeled objects, such as luggage, strollers, wheelchairs and bicycles. Platform height is ideally standardized across all stations the train serves. Traditional rail car floor height matters for end doors connecting to existing single floor rail cars. Downstairs or lowest floor height is primarily determined by the thickness of the beams connecting the span between the wheels and bogies (trucks) of a rail car. The upstairs floor or highest floor height is above the lowest floor and must fit under bridges and tunnels. Level entry floor height must match the platform height. Hopefully either the traditional or downstairs floor height already matches the platform height. Despite the name "bilevel" or "double-decker", for maximum compatibility the rail car will have up to four different floor heights. High platform design (Using outside steps to avoid having a level entry from the platform) is troublesome.


Common low-platform design

Most low-platform double-decker trains have level entry onto the lower level of the car, allowing wheelchair access. There are two-floor heights (upstairs and downstairs) in these "bilevel" cars. There is a staircase between floors inside the car. Connecting doors between cars are either at the (higher) upper floor or at an intermediate level over the bogies. In the former case, connecting directly to a single level car causes drag and connecting door problems. In the western USA, cars are of the upper-level-connection type. They use low-platform stations, because the traditional single floor trains all had exterior entry steps to maximize flexibility (emergency and temporary stops) and minimize infrastructure costs. There are no examples of two-floor platforms, so there are no platform doors on the upper floor. Car roof lines lengthwise are flat for connecting doors to the upstairs of bi-level cars. A Pullman-Standard / Bombardier Amtrak Superliner car is tall.


Uncommon very tall design

There are several very tall bilevel cars (e.g.
Colorado Railcar Colorado Railcar was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock—railcars and diesel multiple unit commuter vehicles. Both products came in single- and double-level versions. It shut down in 2008, with its assets being purchased by US Railcar. His ...
has . They typically are described as a traditional rail car with a second story. Most of these cars serve low platforms so they have exterior steps up to the traditional "over-wheel" floor height e.g. US . End doors connect at the traditional height of existing rolling stock. Some cars have upstairs end doors as well. Many of these cars also include outside balconies on either the upper or lower level. Upstairs and downstairs connect by interior stairs. These cars can fit most able people, but lack level entry. On almost all these cars the upper level consists of a full-length glass dome. Some cars are self-propelled
Multiple Units A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contro ...
so using traditional floor heights appears fixed. In towed cars it is possible to lower the downstairs floor between the wheels/bogies so that level entry is possible with more than of added headroom and interior steps from that floor to the traditional floor.


Operators


Argentina

In 2005, Emprendimientos Ferroviarios (Emfer),
Trenes de Buenos Aires Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA) (In English: Trains of Buenos Aires) was a private company that operated commuter rail services over the broad gauge Sarmiento and Mitre lines of Buenos Aires. The company, owned by Claudio and Mario Cirigliano, als ...
(TBA (Trains of Buenos Aires),
National Institute of Industrial Technology The National Industrial Technology Institute ( es, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial), commonly known as INTI, is an Argentine federal agency in charge of the developing of Industrial technology. It was created in 1957. See also * INT ...
and the Argentine National Government subscribed to a framework agreement to start the national designing and construction of bi-level electric trains. This was decided due to the overwhelming and increasing number of passengers using the gauge urban
Sarmiento Line The Sarmiento line is a broad gauge commuter rail service in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, run by the state-owned Trenes Argentinos since 11 September 2013. History This line had previously been run by the state-owned company Ferrocarriles ...
, serving the centre and east of Greater Buenos Aires. The first prototype was released in 2005, but mass-production only started in mid 2008. In 2013, these coaches were retired from the line and replaced with new CSR Electric Multiple Units, though it remains unclear if the Emfer trains will be moved elsewhere in the country. In 2010, Emprendimientos Ferroviarios and Trenes de Buenos Aires presented non-engined double-decker coaches for a diesel interurban link between
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
and Mercedes city. Attending to different technical needs, the new coaches have only two simple non-automatic doors in the ends (instead of the two electric double doors in the middle) and were designed for low platforms. For 2020, a public tender was launched by Trenes Argentinos to recover these double-decker coaches, for inter-urban and long-distance services, equipping them with reclining seats, USB inputs and other amenities.


Australia

In 1964,
Tulloch Limited Tulloch Limited was an Australian engineering and railway rolling stock manufacturer, located at Rhodes, New South Wales. History In 1885 Robert Tulloch founded Phoenix Iron Works in Pyrmont. In 1913 the business was incorporated as Tulloch's ...
built the first double-decker trailer cars for use in Sydney. They ran with single deck electric motor cars. After the success of the trailers, Tulloch built four experiment double decker power cars in 1968. From 1972, more double decker multiple units were constructed by Comeng and Goninan. These are now known as the S sets. All electric suburban and interurban trains in
Greater Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
are now double deck, though the Sydney Metro uses single deck carriages. All double deck carriages have two doors per side per carriage, with a vestibule at each end at platform height. The Sydney double deck commuter trains are high. The
Public Transport Corporation The Public Transport Corporation (PTC) was a Victoria State Government owned statutory authority formed under the Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services. The PTC was also responsible for directly ...
in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
ordered a prototype Double Deck Development and Demonstration train in 1991, a modification of the successful Tangara design used in Sydney. It suffered frequent breakdowns and spent long periods out of use. It was withdrawn in 2002 and scrapped in 2006.


Canada

Canada's national passenger railway company,
Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
, does not currently operate any bilevel coaches in its fleet, apart from the
dome car A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car, sleeping car or obse ...
s used on some long-distance services. These coaches include two levels over part of the length of the vehicle. The Ontario Northland Railway operates a bilevel dome car on its
Polar Bear Express The ''Polar Bear Express'' is a Canadian passenger train operated by the Ontario Northland Railway in Northern Ontario. Service was introduced in 1964. While designated as a passenger train, the Polar Bear Express also carries freight and is equ ...
service with two levels along the entire length of the vehicle. The
Bombardier BiLevel Coach The Bombardier BiLevel Coach is a bilevel passenger railcar currently built by Alstom and previously by Bombardier, Hawker Siddeley Canada, the Canadian Car and Foundry (Can Car), and the UTDC. Used by North American commuter rail operators ...
was originally designed by
Hawker-Siddeley Canada Hawker Siddeley Canada was the Canadian unit of the Hawker Siddeley Group of the United Kingdom and manufactured railcars, subway cars, streetcars, aircraft engines and ships from the 1960s to 1980s. History Founded in 1962 as the Canadian divis ...
for the GO Transit commuter rail network in southern
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. It is now used by 14 different railway operators across North America, including all three of Canada's commuter rail systems. All train services operated by
GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven millio ...
and
West Coast Express The West Coast Express is a commuter railway serving the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, it provides a link between Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District and is the only commuter railway in ...
use Bombardier BiLevel coaches, while Montréal's Exo trains use a mix of Bombardier Bilevel, Bombardier MultiLevel and various single-level coaches. The private rail tour company
Rocky Mountaineer Rocky Mountaineer is a Canadian rail-tour company based in Vancouver that operates luxury scenic trains on four rail routes in British Columbia, Alberta, Colorado, and Utah. History Via Rail Canada The Rocky Mountaineer concept was created b ...
uses bilevel full-length dome cars built by Colorado Railcar.


China

The first bilevel train for China Railways was built by
Sifang Sifang () is a former district at the core of Qingdao, People's Republic of China. In 2003, it had an area of and around 383,700 inhabitants. In December 2012, it was merged into Shibei District Shibei District () is an urban district of Qingda ...
in 1958 as Dongfeng diesel multiple unit, consisting of two locomotives and four bilevel coaches. After withdrawing Dongfeng DMU from use in 1982, China Railways redeveloped double-decker trains, the first of which rolled out from Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Works in 1987 as SYZ25 and SRZ25. The carriage designations of bilevel cars in China start with "S", abbreviating "double-decker" () in Chinese. Current models of double decker trains include the 25B series (zh), 25Z series (zh) and 25K series (zh). Most bilevel cars in China were built by Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Works, while some bilevel coaches were built by
Changchun Railway Vehicles CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese rolling stock manufacturer and a division of the CRRC. While the CRV emerged in 2002, the company's roots date back to the establishment of the Changchun Car Company in 1954. The company b ...
. The types of bilevel cars including bilevel
hard seat The Hard seat () or Semi-cushioned seat, abbreviated YZ, is the cheapest class of seating in China Railway. It is available on non-high-speed trains. The name of Hard seat derives comes from the hard, wooden seats in the Mao era on regular pass ...
(SYZ), bilevel soft seat (SRZ), bilevel
hard sleeper The Hard sleeper (, abbreviated YW), is a passenger railway compartment class in the People's Republic of China. Hard sleeper is a class on most Z-series, T-series express trains and K-series rapid trains. They are the cheapest type of sleepers ...
(SYW), bilevel
soft sleeper The soft sleeper (), abbreviated RW or WR (CRH), is a passenger railway compartment class in the People's Republic of China. Soft sleeper is the main class on most Z-series express trains, and are grouped in several carriages as part of slower ...
(SRW), Bilevel dining car (SCA) and bilevel soft seat-baggage
combine car A combine car in North American parlance, most often referred to simply as a combine, is a type of railroad car which combines sections for both passengers and freight. Most often, it was used on short lines to carry passengers and their lugga ...
(SRZXL). Bilevel coaches are mainly used for regional services in China, like KunmingDali
Lijiang Lijiang (), also known as Likiang, is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of and had a population of 1,253,878 at the 2020 census whom 288,787 lived in the built-up area (metro) made of Gucheng ...
intercity trains in
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
and Shijiazhuang
Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao (; ) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population during the 2020 national ...
express train in
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...
. Additionally, a cross-railway bureau double-deck train service is provided between
Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
and
Baoji () is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accord ...
(via
Beijing West railway station Beijingxi (Beijing West) railway station (), colloquially referred to as ''West Station'' (), is located in western Beijing's Fengtai District. Opened in early 1996 after three years of construction, it was the largest railway station in Asi ...
).


Czech Republic

České dráhy České dráhy (English: ''Czech Railways''), often shortened to ČD, is the major railway operator in the Czech Republic providing regional and long-distance services. Overview The company was established in 1993, after the dissolution of Czec ...
operates 83 electric multiple units of Class 471 manufactured by Škoda Vagonka, which was a subsidiary of
Škoda Transportation Škoda Transportation a.s. is a Czech engineering company that continues the legacy of Škoda Works' rolling stock manufacturing that started at the end of 19th century in Plzeň. Following the first world war, the Works commenced locomotive p ...
and locomotive-hauled trains which was also used on the non-electrified routes around
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
br>


Denmark

In
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
,
DSB DSB may refer to: Science, technology and devices * DsbA, a bacterial member of the Dsb (disulfide bond) family of enzymes * Double strand break, a break in both DNA strands, part of DNA repair * in telecommunications, double-sideband transmission ...
began running
Bombardier Double-deck Coach The Bombardier Double-deck Coach is a bilevel passenger railcar currently manufactured by Alstom, which acquired Bombardier Transportation in 2021 (and before that by Adtranz and DWA/ Waggonbau Görlitz) used by various European railways a ...
es in 2002. The coaches are used on Regional services on
Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...
.


Finland

In
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, VR began operating double-deck day cars in 1998. They are Finnish-designed and manufactured by Transtech in
Kajaani Kajaani (; sv, Kajana) is the most populous town and the capital of the Kainuu Region of Finland. It is located southeast of Lake Oulu (Oulujärvi), which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulu River (Oulujoki). As of , it had a pop ...
. Each car has two entrances on the lower level of the middle section, allowing level entry from station platforms at the modern Finnish standard height of . The end sections of each car – and the inter-car connections – are at mid-level. VR introduced its first double-deck
sleeping cars The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. The first such cars s ...
on 1 February 2006. The two-bed cabins on the upper deck have toilets and showers while cabins on the lower deck use shared ones. Double-deck driving-trailers were introduced during late 2013 and
restaurant car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that do ...
s in early 2014. The double-deck cars are designed for running at higher speeds than ordinary passenger cars – up to , although the upper limit was later reduced for trains entering tunnels. The cars are frequently operated in all-double-deck
InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
trains (known as IC2) with at-seat
power supply A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load. The main purpose of a power supply is to convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, current, and frequency to power the load. As a ...
for laptops and wireless LAN internet connection.


France

The
Chemin de fer de l'État Chemin or Le Chemin may refer to: Arts and media * ''Le chemin'' (Emmanuel Moire album), 2013 album by French singer Emmanuel Moire * ''Le chemin'' (Kyo album), 2003 album by French band Kyo ** "Le Chemin" (song), title song from same-titled Kyo ...
in France ran '' voitures à 2 étages'' double-deck suburban coaches from 1933. Its successor, the SNCF, has been running VB2N double-decker coaches since 1975; VB2N were introduced from 1975 as a replacement of the État cars. SNCF began running double-deck RER trains in 1982, followed by RATP in 1995. And since 1996, SNCF runs double-deck TGV cars on heavily used high-speed services, such as on the Paris-Lyon-Marseille line. Many suburban rail, regional rail and high-speed services are operated by double-deck
DMUs A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
,
EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the g ...
,
coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
and TGV. The
TGV Duplex The TGV Duplex is a French high-speed train of the TGV family, manufactured by Alstom, and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It is unique among TGV trains in that it features bi-level carriages. The Duplex inaugurated th ...
are the fastest double-decker trains in the world with a commercial top speed of 320 km/h. Specially tuned trainset 4402 also holds the world speed record for conventional trains, reaching 574.8 km/h in 2007. The French loading gauge dictates that the double-deck cars have a maximum height of .


Hong Kong

MTRCL and formerly KCRC operate double-decker carriages with the KTT train sets on its cross-boundary route between Kowloon and
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
. These cars were manufactured in Japan by
Kinki Sharyo is a Japanese manufacturer of railroad vehicles based in Osaka. It is an affiliate company of Kintetsu Corporation. In business since 1920 (as Tanaka Rolling Stock Works) and renamed The Kinki Sharyo Co., Ltd in 1945. They have produced light r ...
. The "Ktt" cars were used to serve between the Hung Hom and
Lo Wu Lo Wu or Lowu is an area in North District, New Territories, Hong Kong. It lies on the border between Hong Kong and mainland China, specifically the Luohu District of Shenzhen in mainland China. The area is most notable as the location of th ...
stations from January to May 1998, before the electrification of Guangzhou–Shenzhen railway. The "Ktt" cars have lower bottom floor than the ordinary single-deck cars serving on the same pair of tracks.


India

In
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, the
Sinhagad Express The Sinhagad Express is an Intercity Express train which plies daily between the cities of Pune and Mumbai in India. It is operated by the Indian Railways and comes under the Central Railway zone and is one of the six point-to-point express tr ...
was the first train to operate with double-decker carriages, followed by other trains on the
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
-
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
route like the
Deccan Queen The 12123 / 12124 Deccan Queen is a daily Indian passenger train service operated by the Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways connecting the cities of Mumbai and Pune. Introduced on June 1, 1930, the Deccan Queen was India's "first sup ...
and the
Deccan Express The Deccan Express is an express train that leaves daily at 3:15pm, plying between the cities of Pune and Mumbai in India, a distance of 192 km and at 7:00am from Mumbai to Pune. Services The Deccan Express was launched much earlier i ...
, although double-decker service on these routes was later discontinued. In 1979 the
Flying Ranee The 12921/12922 ''Flying Ranee'' is a superfast express train belonging to Indian Railways that runs between (MMCT) and (ST) in India. It is a daily service. It operates as train number 12922 from Surat to Mumbai Central and as train number ...
, a passenger train between Surat and
Mumbai Central Mumbai Central (formerly Bombay Central, station code: MMCT) is a major railway station on the Western line, situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra in an area known by the same name. It serves as a major stop for both Local and Inter-City/Express tr ...
on the Western Railway became the first superfast train to use double-deck cars. The first Air-Conditioned double-decker service was introduced in 2011 on the
Howrah – Dhanbad Double Decker Express Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...
between
Howrah station Howrah railway station, also known as Howrah Junction, is a railway station located in the city of Howrah, West Bengal, India. It is also the oldest and largest existing railway complex in India. It is one of the busiest train stations in the ...
in
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
and Dhanbad Junction in
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
which was subsequently followed by Delhi Sarai Rohilla – Jaipur, Ahmedabad – Mumbai Central, Chennai Central – Bangalore, Anand Vihar (New Delhi) – Lucknow, Visakhapatnam – Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam – Tirupati and Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus – Madgaon double decker expresses.


Israel

In
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
,
Israel Railways Israel Railways Ltd. , dba Israel Railways ( he, רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Rakevet Yisra'el''), is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. Isra ...
began running
Bombardier Double-deck Coach The Bombardier Double-deck Coach is a bilevel passenger railcar currently manufactured by Alstom, which acquired Bombardier Transportation in 2021 (and before that by Adtranz and DWA/ Waggonbau Görlitz) used by various European railways a ...
es in 2001. The coaches were manufactured in Görlitz, Germany, and form the vast majority of Israel Railways' passenger fleet as of 2021


Italy

In the 1970s, with the rise of mass commuting to the big cities the
Ferrovie dello Stato Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. ( "Italian Railways of the State"; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the abbreviation FS) is Italy's national state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estat ...
have found themselves having to quickly increase the capacity of their services with Carrozze Due Piani Tipo 1979 (see :it:Carrozza Due Piani). Today, double-decker coaches are also in use by private railway companies
Ferrovie Nord Milano 450px, Map of the main branch of the FNM lines. FNM operates also the Brescia-Edolo railway in eastern Lombardy">Edolo.html" ;"title="Brescia-Edolo">Brescia-Edolo railway in eastern Lombardy, not shown in map. Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM S.p.A.) is ...
and
Ferrovie del Sud Est Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE) is a railway company in Apulia region, Italy. The company operates in the ''comuni'' south of Lecce and in the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto. The company also operates bus lines. In August 2016 its network ...
. The types of double-decker train is circulating today in Italy are: ''Rock'' (''Caravaggio'')'', Vivalto'', '' TAF'', '' TSR''.


Japan

In Japan, double-decker trains are used either to show better scenery, or to increase seat capacity. In
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
area commuter trains, double-decker cars are generally used as ''Green Cars'', the cars with better accommodations than the regular commuter cars. The first Japanese double-decker train appeared in 1904. It was Type 5 train of Osaka City Tram. The
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 ...
20100 Series EMUs were built in 1962 and designed for school excursion. Sightseeing trains that feature double-decker carriages include the
JR Shikoku 5000 series The is a suburban electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) in Shikoku, Japan. Seven 2-car sets were introduced in 2003 by JR Shikoku along with the JR West 223-5000 series. 223-2000 series cars ...
,
Keihan 8000 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) limited express train type operated by the private railway operator Keihan Electric Railway in Japan since 1989. Formations , the fleet consists of ten eight-car trains, formed as follows with four motore ...
, JR Central
371 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) in Japan between 1991 and 2014. Originally used on '' Asagiri'' limited express services in conjunction with Odakyu Electric Railway, from 20 ...
, and
Odakyu 20000 series RSE The (Resort Super Express) is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated between 1991 and March 2012 by the private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway on '' Asagiri'' limited express services in Japan. Operations Up until 16 Ma ...
. The first JNR/JR double-decker trains were 200 series Shinkansen and 100 series Shinkansen, for Shinkansen lines. JR East introduced the
215 series Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * 15 (Buckcherry album), ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * 15 ...
double-deck EMUs for ''
Home Liner is the generic name given to limited-stop commuter train services operated by railway companies in Japan, which require the purchase of a supplementary or in addition to the base fare ticket. The supplementary ticket guarantees passengers a sea ...
'' services in 1992. JR East also introduced
E1 Series Shinkansen The was a high-speed Shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan from July 1994 until September 2012. They were the first double-deck trains built for Japan's Shinkansen. They were generally, along with thei ...
and
E4 Series Shinkansen The was a high-speed shinkansen train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. They were the second series of completely bi-level Shinkansen trainsets to be built in Japan (the other being the E1 series). They previousl ...
for its Shinkansen Lines; the trains are doubled decked to increase their capacities. This includes JR West
285 series The is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) on the overnight '' Sunrise Izumo'' and '' Sunrise Seto'' limited express services in Jap ...
EMUs for ''
Sunrise Izumo The is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 1998. Operations The ''Sunrise Izumo'' runs daily between and in Shima ...
''/''
Sunrise Seto The is an overnight sleeping car train service in Japan operated jointly by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since July 1998. Operations The ''Sunrise Seto'' runs daily between and in Kagawa ...
'' and JR East E26 series cars for '' Cassiopeia'' services.


Russia

In 2012, a prototype double-decker rail carriage was made at the TVZ Tver Carriage Building Factory for the RZD
Russian Railways Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both manag ...
company. This prototype carriage is a sleeping car with four-berth compartments and a total capacity of 64 passengers.
Russian Railways Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both manag ...
ordered double-decker sleeper carriages from
Transmashholding CJSC Transmashholding (russian: Трансмашхолдинг) is the largest manufacturer of locomotives and rail equipment in Russia and after merging with LocoTech service the fourth largest engineering company in the field of transport ...
for the Adler-Moscow train service. they were expected to be delivered in time for the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi. RZD offers low platforms for Moscow-Adler route. Train number, route, start date and types of carriages No. 103/104 Adler – Moscow 30 October 2013, Coupe, SV, 1 pair of trains per day No. 5/6 No. 7/8 St. Petersburg- Moscow 1 February 2015 1 Feb 2016 Coupe 2 pairs of trains per day No. 23/24 Moscow – Kazan 1 June 2015, Coupe, SV, 1 pair of trains per day No. 45/46 No. 69/70 (summer 2016) Moscow – Voronezh on 31 July 2015, Sessile, 1 pair of trains per day (2 pairs of trains from the summer of 2016) No. 49/50 Moscow – Samara 3 December 2015 3Coupe, SV, 1 pair of trains per day No. 35/36 St. Petersburg- Adler On 28 May 2016, the seventh double-decker train left Adler for St. Petersburg. On 2 August 2017, the eighth double-decker train left Kislovodsk for Moscow. On 14 September 2017, the ninth double-decker train left Rostov-on-Don for Adler. On 27 October 2017, Aeroexpress began operating motor-car (locomotive-less) high-speed double-decker trains ESH2 developed by the Swiss company Stadler on the route Moscow—Domodedovo Airport and Moscow—Vnukovo Airport. Subsequently, from November 2019, the trains were transferred to the Odintsovo—Sheremetyevo Airport route (Odintsovo-Belorussky railway Station in the MDC mode). On 9 December 2018, the tenth double-decker train left Izhevsk for Moscow. Since 3 December 2019, the Karelia branded train (Petrozavodsk-Moscow-Petrozavodsk) has been running with an updated composition of double-decker cars. Since 9 December 2019, the branded train "Sura" (Penza—Moscow—Penza) runs with an updated composition of double-decker cars. from 25 December 2019, the train No. 28 "Tavria" Moscow — Simferopol was appointed with a composition of double-decker cars. Since 25 December 2019, trains No. 737-742 Moscow - Bryansk have been running with an updated composition of double-decker cars. Since 12 October 2020, the Murmansk — Saint Petersburg train No. 21/22 has been running with an updated composition of double-decker cars. Since 16 October 2020, train No. 743/744 Moscow — Smolensk has been assigned with a composition of double-decker cars.


Slovakia

ZSSK operates 19 electric multiple units of Class 67

and 10 push-pull train, push-pull units of Class 951 manufactured by
Škoda Transportation Škoda Transportation a.s. is a Czech engineering company that continues the legacy of Škoda Works' rolling stock manufacturing that started at the end of 19th century in Plzeň. Following the first world war, the Works commenced locomotive p ...
. These trains mostly operate services between
Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of ...
and Košice (Žilina – Trenčín, Žilina – Košice, Košice – Prešov and some others) and around Bratislava (between
Kúty Kúty, (german: Kutti; hu, Jókút) is a village and municipality in Senica District in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia. History The village was first mentioned in 1392 under the name Kuth. And in 1498 as Kwhty. Kút is equal to Corner ...
and
Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...
). As of 2016 some of units 951, usually with locomotive of class 350 (Škoda 55E), are used at international train service on Bratislava ( SK) –
Břeclav Břeclav (; german: Lundenburg) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Town parts of Charvátská Nová Ves and Poštorná are administrative parts of Břeclav. Etymol ...
( CZ) main line.


Sweden

SJ AB operates 43 double-decker EMUs built by Alstom and designated class X40. The EMU comes in a two-coach version and a three-coach version. The trains are mainly used in regional trains in the areas around lake Mälaren and in the trains between Gävle and
Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...
. It has a maximum speed of and is equipped with
wireless internet Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
. Between 1966 and 1990 SJ used DMUs of class Y3 with double-decker end cars and normal cars in between. Due to the distinct humps on the endcars it was nicknamed "the camel".


Switzerland

Double-decker commuter trains are used by 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, ...
. Three types of trains are used, an older type consisting of an electric locomotive with double-decker cars, and
Electric Multiple Units An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...
where the motors are on board the car. From 2010 onwards, a third type – the Stadler KISS – has entered service. The Swiss Federal Railways also operate the
IC 2000 The IC 2000 is a double-deck train in Switzerland and is run by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FFS) as part of its InterCity service. Top speed is 200 km/h. The train set can be composed of up to 10 coaches and provides close to 1,000 sea ...
double-decker passenger coaches in most of Switzerland for high speed
InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
and InterRegio services. After massive delays, they are introducing the Bombardier TWINDEXX from 2019 on. Both these high speed trains feature passages on the upper level only, which makes them incompatible with single level coaches, IC2000 are however still used in combination with single level coaches during rush hours.


Ukraine

In 2012, as part of preparation for
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
,
Ukrainian Railways Ukrainian Railways ( uk, Укрзалізниця, Ukrzaliznytsia, abbreviated as UZ) is a state-owned joint-stock company of rail transport in Ukraine, a monopoly that controls the vast majority of the railroad transportation in the country. ...
bought two EJ675
EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the g ...
manufactured by
Škoda Transportation Škoda Transportation a.s. is a Czech engineering company that continues the legacy of Škoda Works' rolling stock manufacturing that started at the end of 19th century in Plzeň. Following the first world war, the Works commenced locomotive p ...
. These trains are used on inter-regional (''Intercity''), now (from 2015-2019) services on
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.electric multiple units An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...
operate at a maximum speed of 160 km/h, but are capable of achieving speeds of up to 180 km/h. Train operation is discontinued in 2019.


United Kingdom

In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, due to the small loading gauge, the railway system cannot accommodate double-deck trains. A modest attempt at double decking was made in 1948 on the Southern Railway with the two trains of the Bulleid 4DD class. Although innovative, with stepped compartments, where the bottoms of the upper seats are above the heads of the people on the lower level, but the feet of the people above are not, the loading gauge severely restricted their use and they were removed from service in 1971.
Double-decker tram A double-decker tram or double-deck tram is a tram that has two levels or decks. Some double-decker trams have open tops. Double-deck trams were once popular in some European cities, like Berlin and London, throughout the British Empire coun ...
s, taller than the railway loading gauge, were common in British cities. When trams were replaced between the 1930s–1960s, their replacement would be double-decker buses.


United States

Bilevel passenger rail cars used in the United States are manufactured by Bombardier, Kawasaki,
Colorado Railcar Colorado Railcar was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock—railcars and diesel multiple unit commuter vehicles. Both products came in single- and double-level versions. It shut down in 2008, with its assets being purchased by US Railcar. His ...
(today
US Railcar US Railcar is a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock, including Passenger car (rail), passenger cars, and diesel multiple units. It was formed in 2009, and is the successor company to Colorado Railcar after that company shut down in December 20 ...
), and several others, with the former two having produced the majority of the high platform "split level" commuter rail cars in use in the northeastern states.
Colorado Railcar Colorado Railcar was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock—railcars and diesel multiple unit commuter vehicles. Both products came in single- and double-level versions. It shut down in 2008, with its assets being purchased by US Railcar. His ...
produced bilevel DMUs and
Ultra Dome The Ultra Dome is a bilevel dome coach manufactured by Colorado Railcar for various operators between 1988–2007. Colorado Railcar, and its predecessor Rader Railcar, constructed a total of 44 cars. All 44 were purchased by touring companies i ...
passenger cars. Colorado Railcar cars measure in height and have steps that enter to a lower deck that is above the rail. Other designs, including
rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...
made by
Colorado Railcar Colorado Railcar was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock—railcars and diesel multiple unit commuter vehicles. Both products came in single- and double-level versions. It shut down in 2008, with its assets being purchased by US Railcar. His ...
, Budd, Pullman-Standard, Bombardier and others have an entrance on the lower deck rather than an intermediate level.
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
Superliners are double-decker cars of this variety, with the entrance a step or so up from the lowest station platform level, or at the level of slightly higher platforms, and allow passage from car to car on the upper level. Some operators in the United States use a specific design of bi-level car known as a "gallery car" (see below).


Long-distance trains

Most of
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
's intercity passenger trains operating to points west of Chicago use Superliners, as do select trains east of Chicago, like the
Capitol Limited The ''Capitol Limited'' is a daily Amtrak train between Washington, D.C., and Chicago, running via Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Service began in 1981 and was named after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's ''Capitol Limited'' which ended in 197 ...
and
Auto Train ''Auto Train'' is an scheduled daily train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando). ''Auto Train'' is the only motorail service i ...
. In addition, Alaska Railroad operates passenger trains with a mix of traditional passenger equipment and large fleets of
Colorado Railcar Colorado Railcar was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock—railcars and diesel multiple unit commuter vehicles. Both products came in single- and double-level versions. It shut down in 2008, with its assets being purchased by US Railcar. His ...
Ultra Domes (sometimes as many as 15 in one train) owned by several major cruise ship lines.


Northeastern United States

Most passenger rail lines in the Northeast have a loading gauge that can only accommodate cars or less in height. This is due to
structure gauge A structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is a diagram or physical structure that sets limits to the extent that bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure can encroach on rail vehicles. It specifies the height and width of pl ...
restrictions such as
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
s and
tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
s that are too low, and may also have electrified lines overhead. Nevertheless, commuter railroads such as the Long Island Rail Road,
New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
,
MARC Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...
, and MBTA all use bilevel railcars built to unique designs to clear specific
structure gauge A structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is a diagram or physical structure that sets limits to the extent that bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure can encroach on rail vehicles. It specifies the height and width of pl ...
problems on those systems. The bilevels used on LIRR, MARC, and MBTA were built by Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc., while the bilevel cars used by NJ Transit were built by Bombardier. Recently Hyundai Rotem has built additional new cars of a similar design for MBTA. In each of these agencies' bilevel cars, two levels are present between the trucks of the car. At each end, stairs lead from both levels to a common floor which is located at standard height over the trucks. All LIRR bilevel passenger rail cars have two wide quarter-point doors on each side, for high level platforms only. The bilevel cars used by NJ Transit and Exo have four doors on each side, two quarter-point doors at high level platform height and one at each end vestibule, with traps used to reach low level platforms. The bilevel cars used by MBTA have side doors with traps at each end vestibule. MARC operates both of the latter two types of cars. The Superliners used for many Amtrak intercity services do not fit in these systems. Single-deck
Viewliner The Viewliner is a single-level railroad car type operated by Amtrak on most long-distance routes operating east of Chicago. The first production cars, consisting of an order of 50 sleeping cars, entered service in 1994. From 2015-2016, 70 View ...
s and Amfleet IIs are used instead.


California

Due to the typically-generous clearances on California railroads due to freight railroads expanding clearances to accommodate double-stacked containers, bilevel cars are common in the state. The
California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacr ...
owns 88 California Cars, which are based on the Superliner body shell, but with high-density interiors suitable for corridor trains. These cars, along with 39 owned directly by Amtrak, are dedicated to state-subsidized
Amtrak California Amtrak California is a brand name used by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Division of Rail for three state-supported Amtrak commuter rail routes in Californiathe ''Capitol Corridor'', the ''Pacific Surfliner'', and the ...
routes including the San Joaquin,
Capitol Corridor The ''Capitol Corridor'' is a passenger train route in Northern California operated by Amtrak between San Jose, in the Bay Area, and Auburn, in the Sacramento Valley. The route is named after the two points most trains operate between, San J ...
and
Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The service carried 2,924,117 passengers during fiscal year 2016, a 3.4% increase from F ...
routes. The Surfliner also serves Amtrak's California lines. Metrolink, which serves Southern California, has 137 active
Bombardier BiLevel Coach The Bombardier BiLevel Coach is a bilevel passenger railcar currently built by Alstom and previously by Bombardier, Hawker Siddeley Canada, the Canadian Car and Foundry (Can Car), and the UTDC. Used by North American commuter rail operators ...
es (Sentinel Fleet) and 137 Hyundai Rotem bi-level cars (Guardian Fleet).
Caltrain Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...
in the Bay Area uses both Bombardier BiLevels and Nippon Sharyo gallery cars. From 2022, bilevel Stadler KISS electric multiple units will run on the newly electrified network.


Florida

Southeast Florida's
Tri-Rail Tri-Rail is a commuter rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida, United States. The ''Tri'' prefix in the name refers to the three counties served by the railroad: Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade. Tri-Rail ...
commuter service between Miami and West Palm Beach uses the
Bombardier BiLevel Coach The Bombardier BiLevel Coach is a bilevel passenger railcar currently built by Alstom and previously by Bombardier, Hawker Siddeley Canada, the Canadian Car and Foundry (Can Car), and the UTDC. Used by North American commuter rail operators ...
and
Rotem Commuter Cars Rotem Commuter Cars are a series of multi-level passenger rail cars for commuter rail operations manufactured by Hyundai Rotem. Hyundai Rotem began marketing commuter rail cars in 2006 to compete with rail car manufacturers in North America agai ...
.
SunRail SunRail is a commuter rail system in the Greater Orlando, Florida, area. Services began on May 1, 2014. The system comprises 16 stations along a former CSX Transportation line connecting Volusia County and Osceola County through Downtown Orland ...
, which serves the Greater Orlando area, also uses Bombardier BiLevel coaches.


Illinois

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...
has a large fleet of gallery cars, and
Highliner II The Highliner is a bilevel Electric Multiple Unit railcar. The original series of railcars were built in 1971 by the St. Louis Car Company for commuter service on the Illinois Central Railroad, in south Chicago, Illinois, with an additional bat ...
gallery electric multiple units (EMUs). The NICTD South Shore Line fleet also includes very similar gallery EMUs. Chicago does not have the loading gauge problems that affect passenger rail lines in most northeastern states because it has very few railroad tunnels for the lines of these passenger trains except for a brief distance in the city. In January 2021, the Metra board approved the purchase of 200 of a new design of multilevel car from Alstom, with options for up to 300 more. Former Metra coaches were operated by a number of other agencies in the first two decades of the twenty-first century; as of 2021, they are still used for Nashville's
WeGo Star The WeGo Star (formerly the Music City Star) is a commuter rail service which runs between Nashville and Lebanon, Tennessee. The service uses the existing track of the Nashville and Eastern Railroad. The line stops at seven stations: Riverfro ...
(formerly branded as the Music City Star).


Massachusetts

The MBTA is the public agency responsible for operating most
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
services in Greater Boston. Its MBTA Commuter Rail system currently uses 213 bilevel passenger cars made by Kawasaki and Hyundai Rotem.


New Mexico

The New Mexico Rail Runner Express utilizes Bombardier BiLevel cars on its route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Belen, New Mexico.


Virginia

Virginia Railway Express operated 13 Kawasaki bi-level cars between 1999 and 2008, after which they were sold to
MARC Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...
(these cars were originally procured as an option on MARC's larger order). From 2001, VRE also operated a number of ex-Metra Pullman Company, Pullman-Standard Pullman Gallery Car, gallery cars. These were all gradually replaced by new Sumitomo Group, Sumitomo/ Nippon Sharyo gallery cars between 2006 and 2018.


Other countries


Asia

In Iran, the Tehran-Hashtgerd suburban commuter line is served with electric push-pull hauled trainsets with double-decker carriages manufactured by Wagon Pars in Iran. In the Philippines, bilevel trams ran on the ''Tranvias'' of Manila. These were push–pull trains carried by lightweight steam locomotives. There were also double-deck sleeping cars used on the ''Bicol Express'' until 2014. In South Korea, ITX-Cheongchun, the express train of Korail uses double-decker cars along with single-decker ones. In Vietnam, the train operated by Vietnam Railways between Saigon and Phan Thiet occasionally carries double deck carriages to fulfil extra demand.


Europe

In Germany, Bombardier Double-deck Coach, Bombardier's double-deck rail cars are also used extensively on suburban trains by the Deutsche Bahn, DB. The same rail cars serve some of the routes on the
Israel Railways Israel Railways Ltd. , dba Israel Railways ( he, רַכֶּבֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Rakevet Yisra'el''), is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. Isra ...
network, hauled by diesel locomotives and include electric generators housed in the control car. In the Netherlands, there are two types of double-deck trains in use, the NS VIRM, VIRM and the NS DD-AR, DDZ. The VIRM, is an example from the Netherlands, of High platform (split level) double-decker cars. It is one step up from the station platform to the entrance, and from there seven steps upstairs or four steps downstairs. There are two retired types of double-deck trains, the DDM-1 and the NS DD-AR, DD-AR who were retired from regular service on 15 December 2019. In Portugal, CP Urban Services and Fertagus use double-deck trains around Lisbon in commuter rail services. In Spain, several lines of Cercanías (Renfe's commuter rail service) use double-deck trains. In Romania, some regional trains use bilevel cars. Over 200 bi-level cars were imported from Waggonbau Görlitz starting with the early 1980s.


Gallery cars


Design

Because the two levels are separate on most bi-level cars, there is a physical limitation on a single Conductor (railroad), conductor, as it can be difficult for them to check and sell tickets to passengers on the two levels. Gallery cars feature upper levels, which are "mezzanine (architecture), mezzanines" or "balconies" running along both sides of the car, with an open area between them. The split balcony enables conductors walking along on the lower level to easily reach up and punch or validate tickets of the passengers seated on the mezzanine level. Passengers can place their tickets in clips along a lengthwise panel, located slightly above the conductor's head and within easy reach. The conductor can then check all tickets and move to the next car. Most gallery cars have four separate galleries with four separate stairwells to the main level (one gallery on each side, split in the middle by the central vestibule). These stairwells are adjacent to the central vestibule where the exterior doors are situated. There is typically a low first step at the vestibule entrance to the car, which is above the head of the rail. However, Highliner, Metra Electric Highliner (now retired) and Highliner, Highliner II have high-level entrances for the high-level platforms on that line. Highliner, NICTD South Shore Line Bi-Levels are similar to the Metra Highliner IIs but have entrances at the end of the rail car opposite the cab with a stairwell and trap doors for low-level platforms and a station stop in the middle of 11th street in Michigan City, Indiana.


Manufacturers and operators

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy was the first railroad to receive gallery cars, built by the Budd Company#Railroads, Budd Company in 1950. In total, 141 cars of this design were delivered to the CB&Q (and its successors) between 1950 and 1978. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, Milwaukee Road ordered a revised design of gallery car from Budd in 1961, and production ran until 1980. Over 250 of this design were produced, including a small batch for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, Rock Island Line. Most of these Budd gallery cars are still in service with
Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...
. The design was also licensed to Canadian Vickers, who built 9 cars for Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian Pacific in 1970 for commuter service in Montreal. In 1955, the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, Chicago and North Western ordered 16 gallery cars from the St. Louis Car Company. Unlike the stainless steel Budd cars, these cars have smooth, painted steel bodyshells. Further orders were built by Pullman Company, Pullman-Standard between 1956 and 1970, with minor revisions to the design, including a Control car, cab car variant from 1960 onwards. Over 250 were built for the C&NW, Rock Island Line and their successors, a small number of which remain in service. After initial retirement from Metra in the late 1990s, many of these cars were acquired by other commuter rail agencies across the United States, including (among others) FrontRunner, UTA FrontRunner,
MARC Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...
, Music City Star and Virginia Railway Express. Southern Pacific Transportation Company, Southern Pacific also acquired 46 Pullman-Standard gallery cars for the Peninsula Commute service in San Francisco in three orders: 1955, 1957 (built by American Car and Foundry Company, American Car and Foundry to Pullman-Standard designs) and 1968. To replace the Southern Pacific gallery cars,
Caltrain Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...
acquired new gallery cars from Nippon Sharyo in 1985. A second batch followed in 1999-2000. Further orders for this design were placed by
Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...
and Virginia Railway Express between 2002 and 2008. Follow-on contracts included options for additional cars, the last of which were delivered in 2020. Morrison-Knudsen#MK Rail, Morrison-Knudsen/Amerail had also built similar gallery cars for Metra between 1992 and 1998, using bodyshells provided by Nippon Sharyo.


Highliner electric multiple unit

The Highliner and Highliner II, along with similar vehicles in the NICTD South Shore Line fleet, are electric multiple units formed of gallery cars. The Highliner I was built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1971 for the Illinois Central Railroad, Illinois Central, with additional cars built by Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier in 1978-1979. These were replaced by Highliner II EMUs built by Nippon Sharyo in 2005.


See also

*Autorack ** Double-stack rail transport ** Piggyback (transportation) * Double-decker bus *
Double-decker tram A double-decker tram or double-deck tram is a tram that has two levels or decks. Some double-decker trams have open tops. Double-deck trams were once popular in some European cities, like Berlin and London, throughout the British Empire coun ...
* Super Dome (railcar)


References


External links


Double Deck Train in China
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilevel Car Double-decker rail vehicles