Urban rail transport forms a vital part of transportation in major Australian cities.
Definitions
The Commonwealth government
Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics and industry peak body Australasian Railway Association, who jointly publish the ''Trainline'' statistical report categorise Australian passenger systems as "urban" or "non-urban".
Urban networks are further classified as "
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
" or "
heavy rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleratio ...
".
includes established tram networks in Melbourne and Adelaide continuously operating in various forms since the 19th century, as well as networks in other cities newly constructed after the cessation of tram operation. Heavy rail networks primarily describe passenger operations over parts of mixed-traffic rail systems centred on capital cities and also includes the
Sydney Metro system, which operates on its own dedicated corridor.
Non-urban passenger networks are classified according to their passenger task. "Inter-city" or "regional" networks are defined to be those whose primary market "...include
daily commuting or day return business or leisure travel" to major cities and are therefore included in this article. Other markets, such as long-distance operations between cities and regional centres, tourist-focused and heritage services, are excluded from this list.
Urban rail systems
Average daily patronage, where possible, is taken from the last calendar or financial year. System lengths are given in route kilometres. The largest, most extensive urban (as distinct from interurban) system is found in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, while the system with the highest patronage is found in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. Patronage figures are for 2018–19 unless otherwise stated.
See also
*
Rail transport in Australia
*
History of rail transport in Australia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commuter Rail In Australia
Passenger rail transport in Australia