october 2015
light rail in figures
statistics brief
worldwide outlook
Light Rail Transit (LRT) and tramway systems
are in operation in 388 cities, the majority of
which in Europe (206) and Eurasia (93), followed
by Asia (41) and North America (36). Germany
and Russia alone feature 123 systems (31% of
total). This represents 2,300 lines for a total of
15,600 km of track. Together, LRT carries apLight Rail Transit Around The World
1
proximately 13.6 billion passengers every year
(45 million daily). Regions like the Middle East
& North Africa (MENA) and Asia are developing
new infrastructure at a fast pace, while Africa
and South America are starting to consider LRT
as suitable solution, complementary to metro and
Bus Rapid Transit.
The countries which reflect most this renaissance since 1985 are the
USA (23 systems), France (22 systems), Spain (16 systems1 ) and Turkey (8 systems).
What is Light Rail?
Light Rail covers a wide range of mainly surface rail systems with enhanced service quality in terms of frequency, speed and reliability;
pleasant design for stations and vehicles and advanced IT. Furthermore, given the higher capacity, Park and Ride facilities are used
around stations. However, as opposed to fully fledged metros, LRTs
are not entirely segregated from individual traffic.
With its broad definition and wide-ranging scope of performance, LRT
is versatile and suited to carry out various functions in the mobility
pattern of cities. It can work as classical (modernised) tramways with
extensive street-running sections and priority measures, as a new largely segregated LRT, as quasi-metro rapid transit, or in specific cases
as tram-train. LRT can form the public transport backbone in a city,
but it can also serve as a feeder to higher capacity metros or commuter railways; it can provide radial access from outskirts to the Central
Business District, or orbital connectivity between suburbs.
A number of older systems have been closed down in the same period,
mainly in the former Soviet Union (8 systems), Romania (4 systems)
and Egypt (1 system).
Patronage
With over 13.5 billion journeys per year (see map), LRT represents 3%
of the number of public transport passengers worldwide.
The most used systems are found in Budapest (396 million passengers
per year), Vienna (363 million), Bucharest (322 million), Prague (317
million) and Saint Petersburg (312 million).
LRT systems with the highest number
of annual passengers (millions)
396
363
350
322
300
317
312
264
250
252
200
210
205
204
Zagreb
450
400
Zürich
While tramways were running in a large number of cities in the then
developed world in the 1920s and 1930s, many systems were scrapped in the post-World War II period. Since the early 1980s there has
been a revival with LRT systems opened in 42 cities between 1985
and 2000 and in another 78 since 2000. To date, 850 km of track
infrastructure are under construction and another 2,350 at the planning stage.
Cologne
A remarkable renaissance
150
100
New systems in operation 1985-2015
50
Florence
Shanghai
Adana
Mashhad
2015
2011-12
2013-14
2009-10
2
1
Note that two recently opened systems have been temporarily closed down due to the economic downturn and insufficient patronage.
Moscow
Warsaw
Prague
Bucharest
Vienna
Budapest
+45%
Listed cities are non-exhaustive
examples: 25 of 121 new systems
2007-08
2005-06
1999-00
1997-98
1995-96
1991-92
2001-02
Birmingham
Saarbrücken
Salt Lake City
Paris
Hong Kong Rouen
Strasbourg
Tuen Mun
1993-94
1987-88
Tunis
Buffalo
Nantes
Dublin
Barcelona
2003-04
Porto
Dallas
Addis Ababa
Algiers
Rabat
Dubai
St. Petersburg
Madrid
Seville
Tianjin
1989-90
395
385
375
365
355
345
335
325
315
305
295
285
275
265
1985-86
Total number of LRT systems
0
LRT network characteristics
Interstation distance (m)
193
192
183
181
178
172
150
156
151
100
7.0
km
7.1
km
6.7
km
16
14
12
10
8
6
400
4
435
406
485
WORLD
527
Asia
Pacific
551
Europe
926
MENA
990
Eurasia
200
240
200
6.2
km
600
0
245
5.2
km
800
300
250
14.4
km
North
America
Longest LRT networks (km of track)
9.9
km
1,000
Interstation distance (m)
The longest systems are found in Melbourne (245 km), Saint Petersburg (240 km), Cologne (193 km), Berlin (192 km) and Katowice (183
km).
1,200
Line length (km)
Line length (km)
In parallel to the increase in the number of systems, many cities have
invested to expand their network. Today there are 15,618 km of track
infrastructure and around 32,245 stations/stops. This translates into
an average distance between stops of 484 m.
South
America
Infrastructure
2
0
If we compare LRT patronage to network size, we can identify the
most intensely used networks (annual passengers per km of available
infrastructure). The top 5 are: Hong Kong Tuen Mun, Istanbul, Tokyo,
Sarajevo, and Zagreb.
50
3
4,813
4,294
4,000
3,920 3,840
3,517
2,826 2,808 2,771
2,538 2,475
Hong Kong
tram
Budapest
Brno
Zürich
Jerusalem
Zagreb
0
Tokyo
2,000
Sarajevo
The low average line length also require some explanation: the linear
kilometres collected represent (physical) track length. However, as
many lines share (part of) the alignment, the average length depicted
below is lower than the actual distance between termini.
6,000
Istanbul
On a continental scale, LRT networks can be characterised by their
respective average line length and distance between stations, as
shown below. This relates to typical geographical and urban shapes and
layouts of human settlements in cities (housing, CBD, jobs, recreational etc.): the sprawling nature of American cities contrasts with the
more compact nature of cities in Europe, Asia or Eurasia. The average
distance between stations is typically half of that of metros and reflects a functionality of serving the territory more densely, particularly
in the cases where most stations are at grade level.
Busiest LRT networks (thousands of annual
passengers per km of track)
Hong Kong
Tuen Mun
Lodz
Budapest
Milan
Vienna
Moscow
Katowice
Berlin
Cologne
St. Petersburg
Melbourne
0
Fleet
Methodology
The world fleet is slightly above 36,000 Light Rail Vehicles. The age
structure of the fleet varies significantly between continents and
countries. In Western Europe and North America, LRVs will on average be below 20 years, as systems were recently opened or major
fleet renewal has taken place. Eastern Europe is in a transition phase,
while Eurasia is the continent with the oldest average age and where
investment in fleet renewal is the most needed.
If we assume a useful life of 35 years, it would mean that in excess of
1,000 tram and light rail vehicles need to be produced every year for
mere fleet renewal. Analysis of production figures between 1987 and
2014 suggest that only around 400-450 LRVs and trams are rolled
out each year. In addition there is the second hand market and the
business of LRV refurbishment. Nevertheless, these statistics point
out to a worrying ageing of assets, at least in some parts of the world.
Data collection: the data for this statistics brief was collected over a
one year period, between summer 2014 and summer 2015. The figures presented reflect the latest year for which data was available.
Infrastructure: track refers to the rail infrastructure for LRT running
in both directions.
Lines: Number of lines in the LRT network; branch lines are considered when the branch infrastructure is proportionately relevant with
regards to the length of the full line.
Vehicle fleet: only motorised LR vehicles which cannot be decoupled
were considered, using the following rules: rigid unarticulated short
tram = 1LRV; articulated tram = 1 LRV; a multi-articulated longer
tram = 1 LRV; any unit operated in double traction = 2 LRVs.
Largest LRT fleets (NUMBER OF VEHICLES)
920
919
800
833
700
526
520 500
481
481
455
Milan
Bucharest
Yekaterinburg
500
Melbourne
612
600
Vienna
900
Warsaw
1,000
400
300
200
100
Budapest
St. Petersburg
Moscow
Prague
0
This is a publication of the International Association of Public Transport. UITP has over 1,400 member companies in 96 countries throughout
the world and represents the interests of key players in this sector. Its membership includes transport authorities, operators, both private and
public, in all modes of collective passenger transport, and the industry. UITP addresses the economic, technical, organisation and management
aspects of passenger transport, as well as the development of policy for mobility and public transport world-wide.
For further information please contact: LRT Laurent Dauby, [email protected], UITP statistics Mircea Steriu, [email protected].
rue Sainte-Marie 6, B-1080 Brussels | Belgium | Tel +32 (0)2 673 61 00 | Fax +32 (0)2 660 10 72 | [email protected] | www.uitp.org