20220113 03a CTA Green Line L near Congress St

An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train or el for short) is a railway with the tracks above street level on a

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks). The railway may be a

broad-gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

railway,

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 ...

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

, or a suspension railway. Elevated railways are normally found in urban areas that would otherwise require impracticably many

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

s. Usually, the tracks of elevated railways that run on steel viaducts can be seen from street level.

History

The earliest elevated railway was the

London and Greenwich Railway The London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) was opened in London between 1836 and 1838. It was the first steam railway in the capital, the first to be built specifically for passengers, and the first entirely elevated railway. Origins The idea for ...

on a brick viaduct of 878 arches, built between 1836 and 1838. The first of the

London and Blackwall Railway Originally called the Commercial Railway, the London and Blackwall Railway (L&BR) in east London, England, ran from Minories to Blackwall via Stepney, with a branch line to the Isle of Dogs, connecting the City of London and East End to many ...

(1840) was also built on a viaduct. During the 1840s there were other plans for elevated railways in London that never came to fruition. From the late 1860s onward, elevated railways became popular in US cities. New York's West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway opened in 1868 as a cable-hauled elevated railway and was operated using locomotives after 1871, when it was renamed the New York Elevated Railroad. This was followed in 1875 by the

Manhattan Railway Company The Manhattan Railway Company was an elevated railway company in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City, United States. It operated four lines: the Second Avenue Line, Third Avenue Line, Sixth Avenue Line, and Ninth Avenue Line. History 19 ...

, which took over the New York Elevated Railroad. Other early elevated systems in the US included the

Chicago "L" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated railway, elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the four ...

, which was built by multiple competing companies beginning in 1892, as well as the

Boston Elevated Railway The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a Tram, streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street R ...

in 1901 and the Market–Frankford Line in Philadelphia in 1907. Globally, the

Berlin Stadtbahn The Berlin Stadtbahn is the historic east-west elevated railway of Berlin. It runs from Berlin Ostbahnhof station, Ostbahnhof in the east to Charlottenburg in the City West, west, connecting several of the most major sights of the German capi ...

(1882) and the Vienna Stadtbahn (1898) are also mainly elevated. The first electric elevated railway was the

Liverpool Overhead Railway The Liverpool Overhead Railway (known locally as the Dockers' Umbrella or Ovee) was an overhead railway in Liverpool that operated along the Liverpool Docks and opened in 1893 with lightweight electric multiple units. The railway had a number o ...

, which operated through Liverpool docks from 1893 until 1956. In London, the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated medium-capacity rail system, light metro system primarily serving the redeveloped London Docklands, Docklands area of London and providing a direct connection between London's two major financi ...

is a modern elevated railway that opened in 1987 and has since expanded. The trains are driverless and automatic. Another modern elevated railway is Tokyo's driverless

Yurikamome , formerly the , is an automated guideway transit service operated by ''Yurikamome, Inc.'' in Tokyo, Japan. It connects Shimbashi Station, Shimbashi to Toyosu Station, Toyosu, via the artificial island of Odaiba, a market in which it competes with ...

line, opened in 1995.

Systems

Monorail systems

Most

s are elevated railways, such as the

Disneyland Monorail System The Disneyland Monorail (originally named the Disneyland Alweg Monorail System) is an attraction and transportation line at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It was the first daily operating monorail in the world. Hi ...

(1959), the

Tokyo Monorail The , officially the , is a straddle-beam, Alweg-type monorail line in Tokyo, Japan. It is an airport rail link that connects Haneda Airport, Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) to Tokyo's Ōta, Tokyo, Ōta, Shinagawa, and Minato, Tokyo, Minato ...

(1964), the

Sydney Monorail The Sydney Monorail (originally TNT Harbourlink and later Metro Monorail) was a single-loop monorail in Sydney, that connected Darling Harbour, Chinatown, Sydney, Chinatown and the Sydney central business district, Sydney central business and s ...

(1988–2013), the

KL Monorail The KL Monorail Line is the only operational monorail system in Malaysia. Operated as part of the Rapid KL system by Rapid Rail, a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia, it is one of the components of the Klang Valley Integrated Transit System. Th ...

, the

Las Vegas Monorail The Las Vegas Monorail is a automated monorail mass transit system located adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It connects several large casinos in the unincorporated communities of Paradise, Nevada, Paradis ...

, the

Seattle Center Monorail The Seattle Center Monorail is an elevated railway, elevated straddle-beam monorail line in Seattle, Washington, United States. The monorail runs along 5th Avenue between the Seattle Center and Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle, making n ...

and the São Paulo Monorail. Most

maglev Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation'') is a system of rail transport whose rolling stock is levitated by electromagnets rather than rolled on wheels, eliminating rolling resistance. Compared to conventional railways, maglev trains h ...

railways are also elevated. Schweb02012006-008

Suspension railways

During the 1890s there was some interest in suspension railways, particularly in Germany, with the Schwebebahn Dresden, (1891–) and the

Wuppertal Schwebebahn The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn () is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. The line was originally called in () named after its inventor, Eugen Langen. It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world. Being grade-se ...

(1901). H-Bahn suspension railways were built in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

and

Düsseldorf airport Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the seventh-largest city in Germany, with a 2022 population of 629,047. The Düsse ...

, 1975. The Memphis Suspension Railway opened in 1982. Suspension railways are usually monorail;

Shonan Monorail The is a suspended SAFEGE monorail in the cities of Kamakura and Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the which belongs to Michinori Holdings, and opened on March 7, 1970, the first monorail of its kind in Japan. Trai ...

and

Chiba Urban Monorail The is a two-line suspended monorail system located in Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by , a third-sector company established on March 20, 1979. Investors include the city of Chiba. The first segment (Line 2 fr ...

in Japan, despite their names, are suspension railways.

People mover systems

People mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of driverless grade-separated, mass-transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems that serve as loops or feeder systems, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated systems. Similar to monorails, Bombardier Innovia APM technology uses only one rail to guide the vehicle along the guideway. APMs are common at airports and effective at helping passengers quickly reach their gates. Several elevated APM systems at airports including the

PHX Sky Train The PHX Sky Train is an electric people mover at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. The initial segment opened to the public on April 8, 2013. The first extension to Terminal 3 opened on December 8, 2014, and the se ...

at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; AeroTrain at Kuala Lumpur International Airport; and the Tracked Shuttle System at

London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

, United Kingdom.

Modern systems

Rapid transit, light rail or commuter rail systems

Africa

Addis Ababa Light Rail The Addis Ababa Light Rail () is a light rail system in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the first light rail and rapid transit in eastern and sub-saharan Africa. A line running from the city centre to industrial areas in the south of the city was ...

Cairo Metro The Cairo Metro (, lit. "Cairo Tunnel Metro" or ) is a rapid transit system in Greater Cairo, Egypt. It was the first of the three full-fledged metro systems in Africa and the first in the Middle East to be constructed. It was opened in ...

(Line 3) * Lagos Metro Roosevelt-avenue-queens-nyc cars driving-under-elevated-railway-line 1980s

Americas

* Baltimore Metro (west of Mondawmin) *

BART Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...

(partial) *

(except for underground sections of the Red Line and Blue Line and at-grade sections of the Brown Line, Purple Line, Pink Line, and Yellow Line) * Cleveland Red Line (partial) * Dallas Green Line (north branch) * Boston Green Line (partial) *

Guadalajara light rail system Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Line 3 (partial under construction) *

Lima Metro The Lima and Callao Metro () is a rapid transit system that serves the cities of Lima and Callao, which make up the Lima metropolitan area. The existing metro lines (1 and 2) currently link the district of Villa El Salvador in the south of Lim ...

(partial) * Market–Frankford Line (underground in Center City Philadelphia and West Philadelphia up to 40th Street Station but elevated elsewhere) *

Medellín Metro The Medellín Metro (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Metro de Medellín'') is a rapid transit system that crosses the Metropolitan Area of Medellín from North to South and from Centre to West. It first opened for service on 30 November 1995. As one ...

MARTA Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), an Italian river that flow ...

(partial) * Montreal REM (partial, not fully) *

Metrorrey Metrorrey, officially Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey, is a rapid transit system that serves the Monterrey metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Monterrey. It is operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey, which is part ...

(partial) *

Mexico City Metro The Mexico City Metro () is a rapid transit system that serves Greater Mexico City, the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in the State of Mexico. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is the Lis ...

(partial) *

Miami Metrorail Metrorail is a rapid transit system in Miami and Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Metrorail is operated by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County. Opened in 1984, it is Florida's only rapid transit ...

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

(partial, 40% of tracks) * Panama City Metro * PATCO (partial) *

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...

(partial) *

Santiago Metro The Santiago Metro () is a rapid transit system serving the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile. It currently consists of seven lines (numbered 1-6 and 4A), 143 stations, and of revenue route. The system is managed by the state-owned Metro S. ...

(partial) *

Skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...

, Honolulu * SkyTrain, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (partial) *

Tren Urbano The ''Tren Urbano'' (English language, English: Urban Train) is a List of automated urban metro subway systems, automated rapid transit system serving the San Juan–Bayamón–Caguas metropolitan area, main metropolitan area of Puerto Rico ...

Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...

(partial) * UP Express (partial), an airport express train connecting Lester B. Pearson International Airport to Toronto Union Station in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Asia

* Bangalore metro BTS Skytrain 20190825 03

* Bishan SkyShuttle * BTS Skytrain, two elevated rapid transit lines in Bangkok *

Chennai Metro The Chennai Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Chennai, India. Operated by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) – a joint venture between the Government of India and the State Government of Tamil Nadu, the network consists o ...

Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System The Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System, commonly referred to as Chennai MRTS, is a metropolitan rail transit system in Chennai, India. It is operated by Southern Railway of the state-owned Indian Railways. Opened in 1995, it was the first elev ...

Chongqing Rail Transit The Chongqing Rail Transit (branded as CRT; also known as Chongqing Metro) is the rapid transit system in the city of Chongqing, China. In operation since 2005, it serves the transportation needs of the city's main business and entertainment ...

( Line 3) * Daegu Metro ( Line 3) * Danhai Light Rail *

Delhi Metro The Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system that serves Delhi and the adjoining satellite cities of Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida, Bahadurgarh, and Ballabhgarh in the National Capital Region (India), National Capital Region of India. The system cons ...

( Yellow Line, Green Line, Red Line) *

Dhaka Metro Rail The Dhaka Metro Rail () is a rapid transit, mass rapid transit system serving Dhaka (currently from Uttara North to Motijheel), the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is operated by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL). Toget ...

Dubai Metro The Dubai Metro () is a rapid transit system in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The metro system consists of a network of two main lines: the Red Line and the Green Line. A third line, the Blue Line, is scheduled to open in 2029. Du ...

Hanoi Metro The Hanoi Metro () is a rapid transit system in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. Owned by Hanoi, Hanoi's People Committee and operated by Hanoi Metro Company (HMC), it is the first operational rapid transit system in Vietnam. The system includ ...

, Vietnam *

Ho Chi Minh City Metro The Ho Chi Minh City Metro (HCMC Metro, ) is a rapid transit system in Ho Chi Minh City, the most populous city in Vietnam. The system currently consists of one operational line, Line 1 which opened on 22 December 2024 from Bến Thành Market ...

, Vietnam (partial) * Hong Kong MTR (

Kwun Tong Line The Kwun Tong line () is a rapid transit line of the MTR network in Hong Kong. Starting at Whampoa station, Whampoa in Hung Hom and ending at Tiu Keng Leng station, Tiu Keng Leng in Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung Town, Sai Kung, the route has 1 ...

Tsuen Wan Line The Tsuen Wan line () is one of the ten lines of the rapid transit, metro network in Hong Kong's MTR. It is indicated in on the MTR map. There are 16 stations on the line. The southern terminus is Central station (MTR), Central statio ...

Tuen Ma Line The Tuen Ma line () is a commuter rail / rapid transit line that forms part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. It is in length, making it the longest line of the MTR network. It has a total of 27 stations, more than a ...

East Rail Line The East Rail line () is one of the ten lines that form MTR, the rapid transit, mass transit system in Hong Kong. The railway line starts at Lo Wu station, Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau station, Lok Ma Chau, both of which are Border checkpoint, b ...

South Island Line The South Island line () is a rapid transit line of Hong Kong's MTR metro system. This line connects the Hong Kong business district from Admiralty station to the Southern District of Hong Kong Island and the island of Ap Lei Chau, wh ...

and

Tung Chung Line The Tung Chung line () is one of the ten lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong, linking the town of Tung Chung with central Hong Kong. It was built in the 1990s as part of the Airport Railway project, part of the construction of the new ...

) (all partial) *

Hyderabad Metro The Hyderabad Metro is a rapid transit system, serving the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is the Urban rail transit in India#List of systems, third longest operational metro network in India after Delhi Metro and Namma Metro (Bengalur ...

Jabodebek LRT The Jabodebek LRT, formerly known as Greater Jakarta LRT is a fully automated light rapid transit system in Greater Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, as well as the adjacent areas of West Java, within the Jakarta Metropolitan area. It was i ...

Jakarta LRT The Jakarta Light Rapid Transit or Jakarta LRT (, lit. "Jakarta Integrated Rail Line") is one of the light rapid transit systems in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. It is conceived and built by the Jakarta provincial government. The firs ...

Jakarta MRT The Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit ( ''Jakarta'') or Jakarta MRT (, stylized as ''mrt jakarta'') is a rapid transit system in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. The system is operated by PT Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta (Perseroda), a municipall ...

(North-South Line, partial) Beautiful Kochi Metro Train

* Kochi Metro *

Kolkata Metro The Kolkata Metro is a Urban rail transit in India, rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the Kolkata metropolitan area, Kolkata Metropolitan Region in West Bengal, India. Opened in 1984, it was the first operational rapid trans ...

(future line 5 and 6, later is under construction) *

Lahore Metro Lahore Metro is an automated rapid transit system in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan and the first driverless metro in Pakistan. Four metro lines have been proposed, of which the Orange Line is operational. It is also Pakistan's first metro line syste ...

( Orange Line) *

Manila Light Rail Transit System The Manila Light Rail Transit System, commonly known as the LRT, is an urban rail transit system that primarily serves Metro Manila, Philippines. Although categorized as a light rail system because it originally used light rail vehicles, it pre ...

Navi Mumbai Metro The Navi Mumbai Metro is a rapid transit system in the city of Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The planning and construction of the Navi Mumbai Metro was overseen by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). The system is planne ...

Mumbai Metro The Mumbai Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region in Maharashtra, India. While the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited is responsible for all metro rail projects being develope ...

Mumbai Monorail The MMRDA Mumbai Monorail is a monorail line in the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, built as part of a major expansion of public transport in Mumbai, public transport in the city. The project is operated by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region De ...

Nagpur Metro Nagpur Metro is a rapid transit system for the city of Nagpur, located in the state of Maharashtra, India. The system consists of 2 colour-coded lines serving 37 stations, with a total length of 38.2 kilometres (23.7 mi). It is the List of ...

Rapid Metro Gurgaon Rapid Metro Gurgaon is a light metro system serving the city of Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Rapid Metro connects the commercial areas of Gurgaon, and acts as a feeder link to the Delhi Metro with an interchange with its Yellow Line (Delhi Metro), ...

Rapid Rail Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd is the operator of the rapid transit (metro) system serving Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley area in Malaysia. A subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia, it is the sole operator of five rapid transit lines which collectively form t ...

, the operator of the rapid transit (metro) system serving

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

and the

Klang Valley Klang Valley () is an urban agglomeration in Malaysia that is centered in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and including their adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. It is the urban area of the much larger Ku ...

area in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. *

Singapore MRT The Mass Rapid Transit system, locally known by the initialism MRT, is a rapid transit system in Singapore and the island country's principal mode of railway transportation. After two decades of planning the system commenced operations in Nove ...

( North–South Line and East–West Line) (all partial) *

Singapore LRT The Light Rail Transit system, locally known by the initialism LRT, are a series of localised automated guideway transit (AGT) systems in Singapore which acts as feeder services to the heavy rail Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), and together forms th ...

(

automated people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small-scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks ...

(APM)) *

New Taipei Metro New Taipei Metro () is a transit system serving New Taipei City, New Taipei, Taiwan, operated by . The Danhai light rail, Ankeng light rail, and Circular line (New Taipei Metro), Circular line are currently in operation, while the Sanying line i ...

( Circular line, north branch of Tamsui–Xinyi line, and

Wenhu line The Wenhu or Brown line (code BR) is a metro line in Taipei operated by Taipei Metro, named after the districts it connects: Wenshan and Neihu. It is an automated medium-capacity rubber-tyred metro line and is long, serving a total of 24 st ...

) *

Doha Metro The Doha Metro (, ''Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Mitru ad-Dawha'') is a rapid transit system in the Doha Metropolitan Area of Qatar's capital city Doha, which became operational on 8 May 2019. It has three lines with an approximate overal ...

(all partial except Gold Line which is fully underground.) *

Riyadh Metro The Riyadh Metro (, ) is a rapid transit, rapid transit system serving Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Part of the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport, it is the longest driverless metro in the world. The system consists of s ...

(except Green Line which is fully underground.) * Line 1 (Pingshan SkyShuttle)

Europe

Kantstr s-bahn upper-west waldorf-astoria 2023-01-29

Amsterdam Metro The Amsterdam Metro () is a rapid transit system serving Amsterdam, Netherlands, and extending to the surrounding List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipalities of Diemen and Ouder-Amstel. Until 2019, it also served the municipality o ...

(except Line 52) *

Berlin S-Bahn The Berlin S-Bahn () is a rapid transit railway system that services the reigon in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It has been in operation under the name since December 1930, having been previously called the special tariff are ...

(

and Siemensbahn) *

Berlin U-Bahn The Berlin U-Bahn (; short for , "underground railway") is a rapid transit system in Berlin, the capital and largest city of Germany, and a major part of the city's public transport system. Together with the Berlin S-Bahn, S-Bahn, a network of ...

( U1 and U2 lines) * Charleroi light rail (partial) * Cologne Stadtbahn (line 13, partial) * Copenhagen Metro (partial) * Devon Metro (partial) *

(partial) *

Frankfurt U-Bahn The Frankfurt U-Bahn is a Stadtbahn ( premetro) system serving Frankfurt, Germany. Together with the Rhine-Main S-Bahn and the tram network, it forms the backbone of the public transport system in Frankfurt. Its name derives from the German te ...

( U1) (partial) *

Hamburg U-Bahn The Hamburg U-Bahn is a rapid transit system serving the cities of Hamburg, Norderstedt, and Ahrensburg in Germany. Although referred to by the term U-Bahn (the "U" commonly being understood as standing for "underground"), most of the system ...

( U3 line) *

Lille Metro The Lille Metro () is a driverless light metro system located in Lille, France. It commenced operations on 25 April 1983 and was the first system to implement the Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL, ) technology. While sometimes cited as the ...

(partial) *

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...

(

Windrush line The Windrush line is the service operated by London Overground on the East London line and South London line, running north to south through the East and South areas of London. The East London line was previously a line of the London Undergrou ...

) (

partial Partial may refer to: Mathematics *Partial derivative, derivative with respect to one of several variables of a function, with the other variables held constant ** ∂, a symbol that can denote a partial derivative, sometimes pronounced "partial d ...

) *

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

(partial) *

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a rapid transit system in the Moscow Oblast of Russia. It serves the capital city of Moscow and the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy, and Kotelniki. Opened in 1935 with one l ...

( Butovskaya line) *

Paris Metro Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

( Line 1, Line 2, Line 5, Line 6, Line 8 and Line 13) (all partial) *

Rhine-Main S-Bahn The Rhine-Main S-Bahn system is an integrated rapid transit and commuter rail, commuter train system for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, which includes the cities Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Offenbach am Main, Hanau and Darmstadt. The ...

( S3, S4, S5, S6) (partial) *

Rotterdam Metro The Rotterdam Metro () is a rapid transit system operated in Rotterdam, Netherlands and surrounding municipalities by RET. The first line, called ''Noord – Zuidlijn'' (North – South line) opened in 1968 and ran from Centraal Station to Zu ...

(partial) *

Vienna S-Bahn The Vienna S-Bahn is a suburban commuter rail network in Vienna, Austria. As opposed to the city-run urban metro network, the Vienna U-Bahn, it extends beyond the borders of the city, is operated by the Austrian Federal Railways, ÖBB (Austria ...

( Vienna Stadtbahn) *

Vienna U-Bahn The Vienna U-Bahn () is a rapid transit system serving Vienna, Austria. The five-line network consists of of route, serving 109 stations. 459.8 million passengers rode the U-Bahn in 2019. The modern-day U-Bahn opened on 25 February 1978, after ...

( U6 line) *

Wuppertal Suspension Railway The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn () is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. The line was originally called in () named after its inventor, Eugen Langen. It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world. Being grade- ...

Oceania

Metro Trains Melbourne Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the operator and brand name of train services on the electrified metropolitan rail network serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest urban rail network in Au ...

, mainly built by the Level Crossing Removal Project * Sydney Metro Northwest Line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (between Bella Vista and Tallawong) Forest Hills El 1910

Disused

Atlantic Avenue Elevated The Atlantic Avenue Elevated was an elevated railway around the east side of Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, providing a second route for the Boston Elevated Railway's Main Line Elevated (now the MBTA's Orange Line) around the Washington Stre ...

Charlestown Elevated The Charlestown Elevated was a segment of the MBTA Orange Line rapid transit line that ran from the Canal Street Incline in downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Charlestown to a terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. It opened in June 1901 an ...

Washington Street Elevated The Washington Street Elevated was an elevated segment of Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway system, comprising the southern stretch of the Orange Line. It ran from Chinatown through the South End and Roxbury, ending ...

, Causeway Street Elevated * Elevated railways operated by the

Interborough Rapid Transit Company The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT ...

and

Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using ...

in New York City *

* The elevated Airport line of Kolkata Suburban Railway, closed in 2016 for reconstruction relating Kolkata Metro line 4 *

Line 3 Scarborough Line 3 Scarborough, originally known as Scarborough RT (the SRT), was a medium-capacity rapid transit line that was part of the Toronto subway system of the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The line ran entirely within ...

, a medium capacity metro rail line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (ceased operation in July 2023 due to derailment and age, will be replaced by an extension of Line 2) H bahn dortmund1

People mover

Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover The PeopleMover is an attraction in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. Designed as an urban mass-transit system of the future, vehicles take passengers on a grand circle tour of the realm ...

, a people mover at and around

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, United States *

AirTrain JFK AirTrain JFK is an elevated people mover system and airport rail link serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in New York City. The driverless train, driverless system operates 24/7 service, 24/7 and consists of three lin ...

, a people mover at and around

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York, United States * ATL Skytrain, a people mover at

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the primary international airport serving Atlanta and its Metro Atlanta, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is located south of the Down ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia, United States *

Changi Airport Skytrain The Changi Airport Skytrain is an automated people mover system (APM, also called PMS) that connects Terminals 1, 2 and 3 at Singapore Changi Airport. Opened in 1990, it was the first driverless and automated system of its kind in South East A ...

, an inter-terminal people mover at Changi International Airport in Singapore *

Detroit People Mover The Detroit People Mover (DPM) is a Elevated railway, elevated People mover, automated people mover system in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States. The system operates in a one-way loop on a single track encircling downtown Detroit, using ...

, an urban transit people mover in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan, United States * H-Bahn, an inter-terminal automated people mover in

and

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany *

Jacksonville Skyway The Jacksonville Skyway is an automated people mover in Jacksonville, Florida. It opened in 1989 and is operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). The skyway has three stations in Downtown Jacksonville and was extended in 1 ...

, an automated people mover in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, United States *

Metromover Metromover is a fare-free automated people mover system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves the Downtown Miami, Brickell, Park West and Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods. Metromover con ...

, a people mover at

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Florida, United States *

, a people mover at

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a civil-military public international airport east of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport; among the largest commercial airports ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, United States

Proposed designs

* Phnom Penh SkyTrain (Cambodia) * Managua Metro (Nicaragua) * San Salvador Metro (El Salvador) * Ljubljana Metro (Slovenia) *

Transperth Transperth is the public transport system for Perth and surrounding areas in Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation, and consists of train, bus and ferry services. Bus operat ...

Armadale line The Armadale line is a partially-closed suburban railway service in Perth, Western Australia, operated by the Public Transport Authority as part of the Transperth system. The Armadale line is long, and starts at Perth station, heading south ...

will be partially elevated by the Victoria Park-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project

References

{{Authority control Railways by type

History

Systems

Monorail systems

Suspension railways

People mover systems

Modern systems

Rapid transit, light rail or commuter rail systems

Africa

Americas

Asia

Europe

Oceania

Disused

People mover

Proposed designs

See also

References