Designers Widen The Urban Rail Options

Far from being rendered obsolete by car and bus, or squeezed out by rising costs, the pace, of metro construction has accelerated dramatically through three decades-· and this trend is continuing. Once categorised by planners as suitable only for the most densely travelled corridors, urban rail is now appreciated as offering a continuous spectrum of choice from fully segregated metro and regional rail systems through to the streetcar or tram. Provided large and medium-sized citied have sound transport policies, there will usually be an important role for rail transit.