Bi-directional vehicle

A bi-directional vehicle is a

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles ( motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles ( trains, trams ...

that can be driven in either direction, forwards or backwards. Usually, the term refers to rail vehicles, such as trains or

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

s, and some airside transfer buses, that are equipped with driver's cabs at both ends. These vehicles generally have entry and exit doors on either side of the vehicle. One major benefit of bi-directional vehicles is the ability to reverse direction at a

terminal station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing ...

with a stub-end track. On a system using double track, a crossover switch is often used to move the vehicle to the other track. This situation contrasts with the use of uni-directional vehicles, which requires the use of a balloon loop, triangle junction, or

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

to reverse direction. Aside from eliminating the need for complicated railway infrastructure to turn vehicles around, the presence of doors on either side of the vehicle enable the use of

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular ...

s. These extra doors come at the cost of reduction of seating on board the vehicle. Rail transport Vehicles by type {{rail-transport-stub