In the US a "streetcar" is a small tram with frequent stops in a limited area, and "light rail" usually means a large tram (with the ability to couple cars) with widely spaced stops (replicating a subway/metro/commuter rail style service). The Americans call both "trains".
Los Angeles has 1 subway (totally underground) and 4 light rail lines. I initially believed that the Los Angeles light rail system would be like a tram system in a big European city, but that is not the case, it is more of a hybrid metro/tram system and I believe it is a good example to follow should the Adelaide O-Bahn be replaced by light rail.
The Blue Line is a microcosm of the system in general....32 kilometres long!! running between downtown LA (the LA CBD) to Long Beach.
The train starts underground at the Metro Center interchange, then surfaces onto the streets of the southern edge of the CBD before heading into south-central LA for about 1 kilometre before running along it's own right of way for 20 kilometres (LA had a huge tram system pre-WW2 and the modern light rail routes usually follow an older path) and finally returning to the streets in Long Beach. All major intersections are grade separated, there are some crossings but these are minor streets. The "stops" feel more like train stations with appropriate level of design and safety.
Blue Line train at Long Beach Terminus
Train passing new apartments, note the length of the train
Other LA light rail lines go down the centre of 12 lane freeways, really not a very pleasant travelling experience when you are waiting on an island platform with thousands of cars going by and the stations are always "distant" from housing and employment centres.
The Gold line train heads down a suburban street on its way to Pasadena! The route is an old LA streetcar pathway which must have had some its space sold off for housing, so instead of building an expensive tunnel, they merely sent the train down the street (very slowly of course). The street itself is restricted to local traffic.
Gold Line train in Pasadena
Expo Line train at Culver City
PORTLAND (Oregon) is about the size of Brisbane (2.2 million) and has 4 light rail lines. Similar setup to Los Angeles except in the centre of town they all run along the street (slowly)...sound familiar.
When the trains leave the inner city they speed up considerably and the distance between stations increases. The train station at the airport was about 30 metres from the exit door.....great service in a beautiful city.
Portland also runs an inner city streetcar, which travels slowly, stops too often and is not frequent enough although it services the newly renovated Pearl district and the South waterfront, very successful inner city urban renewal schemes.
Light rail in centre of Portland
Different line
Portland Streetcar (ie small tram)
(All photos are mine)
