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Regional rail systems, or commuter rail systems, usually provide a rail service through a central business district area into suburbs or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a daily basis. The trains providing such services may be termed commuter trains. The development of commuter rail services has become popular today, with the increased public awareness of congestion, dependence on fossil fuels, and other environmental issues, as well as rising automobile costs.
Commuter trains are usually optimized for maximum passenger volume, in most cases without sacrificing too much comfort and luggage space, though they seldom have all the amenities of long-distance trains. The general range of commuter trains varies between 15 to 180 km (9 and 111 miles), with operating speeds from 55 - 175 km/h (30 to 110 mph). Passenger coaches are either single- or double-level cars, with a capacity of between 80 and 110 passengers for single-level cars and 145 - 170 for double-level cars.
In general, commuter trains are built to heavy rail standards, differing from light rail or metro systems by:
Their ability to coexist with freight or intercity services in the same right-of-way can drastically reduce system construction costs. However, frequently they are built with dedicated tracks within that right-of-way to prevent delays.
Generally such trains run on the local standard gauge track, e.g. 1435 mm (4 ft 8 ½ in). Some broader gaugeGauge is also the stage name of an actress in adult films. Gauge (sometimes spelled gage is used with differing meanings in mechanics, engineering, mathematics and physics. In mechanics, a pressure gauge is a device for indicating liquid or gas pressure,s include 1520/1524 mm ( RussiaThe Russian Federation ( Russian: , transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija , or Russia (Russian: , transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. With and countries of the former Russian Empire), 1600 mm ( IrelandThe island of Ireland ire in Irish, Airlann in Ulster Scots) is the third-largest island in Europe. It lies on the west side of the Irish Sea, close to the island of Great Britain. It is composed of the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Irelan, BrazilThis article is about Brazil, the country. For other article subjects named Brazil see Brazil (disambiguation). The Federative Republic of Brazil Republica Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America., and parts of Australia), 1668 mm ( SpainThe Kingdom of Spain is a country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It inc and PortugalRepublica Portuguesa ( In Detail) National motto: None Official language Portuguese 3 Capital Lisbon President Jorge Sampaio Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes Area Total % water World ranking: 109th 92,391 km²0. 5 % Population Total ( 2004) Density World), 1676 mm ( Pakistan, India, and Argentina). Light rail systems may run on a narrower gauge. Narrow gauge trains generally run on either 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) track or on the metre gauge (39.37 inches). Examples of countries using narrow gauge are Japan, Switzerland and India. Ireland uses what is usually standard gauge, 1435 mm (4 ft 8½ in), as a "narrow gauge" for its Luas tram system.
In some cases, hybrids between a train and a metro have been created. They run underground in the dense city centres and on ordinary outdoor tracks in lower-density areas. Examples include the Madrid Cercanías network, the Paris RER, lines 6-8 of the Barcelona Metro, the S-Bahn systems of Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, and Zürich, and the rail systems of Sydney and Melbourne.
In some European countries the distinction between commuter trains and long-distance / intercity trains is very hard to make, because of the relatively short distances involved. For example, so called "intercity" trains in Belgium and the Netherlands carry many commuters and their equipment, range and speeds are similar to those of commuter trains in some larger countries.