Inter-city rail

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Inter-city rail services are

and comfortable carriages to serve long-distance travel.

Inter-city rail sometimes provides international services. This is most prevalent in Europe because of the proximity of its 50 countries in a 10,180,000 square-kilometre (3,930,000 sq mi) area.^[1] Eurostar and EuroCity are examples. In many European countries, the word InterCity or Inter-City is an official brand name for a network of regular-interval and relatively long-distance train services that meet certain criteria of speed and comfort. That use of the term appeared in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and has been widely imitated.

Speed

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The speeds of inter-city rail lines are quite diverse, ranging from 50 km/h (31 mph) in a mountainous area or on undeveloped tracks to 200–350 km/h (124–217 mph) on newly constructed or improved tracks. As a result, Inter-city rail may or may not fall into the category of higher-speed rail or high-speed rail. Ideally, the average speed of inter-city rail service would be faster than 100 km/h (62 mph) in order to be competitive with car, bus and other methods of transport.

Distance of inter-city rail

• 50–100 km

The distance of an inter-city rail journey is usually at least 50–100 km (30–60 mi), although in many large metropolitan areas commuter and regional services cover equal or longer distances. Examples of countries with relatively short intercity rail distances with service patterns comparable to regional rail include Belgium, Israel, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.

• 100–500 km

A distance of 100–500 km (60–300 mi) is a common journey distance for inter-city rail in many countries. In many cases, railway travel is most competitive at about two to three hours journey time. Inter-city rail can often compete with highways and short-haul air travel for journeys of this distance. Most major intercity railway routes in Europe, such as London to Birmingham, Paris to Lyon, and Lisbon to Porto cover this range of distances.

• 500–1,000 km

In journeys of 500–1,000 km (300–600 mi), the role of inter-city rail is often replaced by faster

are common for this distance.

• 1,000 km or more

In some countries with a dense rail network, large territory, or less air and car transport, such as China, India, and Russia, overnight long-distance train services are provided and used practically.

In many other countries, such long-distance rail journey has been replaced by air travel except for tourism or hobbyist purposes, luxury train journeys, or significant cost benefit.

in Australia are examples.

Faster high-speed rail of at least 250 km (160 mi) per hour, such as the

in Japan (1,030 km or 640 mi in 4 hours), may play a significant role in long-distance travel in the future.

Inter-city rail by country

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2009)

Africa

Railways in Africa are still developing or not practically used for passenger purposes in many countries, but the following countries have inter-city services between major cities:

• Algeria:
  SNTF
• Egypt: Egyptian National Railways
• Kenya:
  Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway
• Morocco: ONCF (in French - Office National des Chemins de Fer du Maroc, National Office for Railways of Morocco)
• South Africa: Shosholoza Meyl
• Tunisia:
  Tunisian Railways
  (SNCFT)

Asia

East Asia

China

Trains run by China Railway link almost every town and city in the People's Republic of China, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Xi'an, and onwards from Shenzhen across the border to Kowloon, in Hong Kong. New high-speed lines from 200–350 km/h (124–217 mph) operation are constructed, and many conventional lines are also upgraded to 200 km/h (124 mph) operation. Currently there are seven High-Speed Inter-City lines in China, with up to 21 planned. They are operated independently from the often parallel High-Speed-Rail-Lines.

Japan

Super Ōzora in Japan

Fukuoka

and many more.

Many other cities are covered by a network of JR's

that operate "limited express" inter-city services.

Hong Kong

Inter-city railway services crossing the Hong Kong-China border (often known as through trains) are jointly operated by Hong Kong's MTR Corporation Limited and the Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China. Currently, Hung Hom station is the only station in the territory where passengers can catch these cross-border trains. Passengers are required to go through immigration and customs inspections of Hong Kong before boarding a cross-border train or alighting from such a train. There are currently three cross-border train services on the conventional line:

• Between Hong Kong and Beijing (Beijing–Kowloon through train)
• Between Hong Kong and Shanghai (Shanghai–Kowloon through train)
• Between Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Guangzhou–Kowloon through train)

A new border-crossing service, the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link, has been approved and has been granted HKD 6.6 billion in funding by the Legislative Council's Finance Committee. The line has been opened in 2018 with a new station West Kowloon Terminus in the city centre.

Taiwan

. Taiwan High Speed Rail, opened in 2007, covers the most populated west-coast corridor. Chinese：對號列車

There are Chu-kuang express (莒光號) and Tze-chiang limited express (自強號).

South Korea

Almost every major town and city in

, which was built using French TGV technology.

South Asia

Bangladesh

India

All long-distance journeys generally require a reservation, although unreserved travel is allowed in some trains.

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Southeast Asia

Burma

Cambodia

There is only one train service in Cambodia, from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, stopping at Doun Kaev (Takeo) and Kampot.^[4]

Indonesia

In Indonesia,

between the Western Javanese cities of Jakarta and Bandung which aims to reduce travel times and alleviate congestion.

Laos

In recent years construction has started on a China-funded higher-speed railway link, the Boten–Vientiane railway, commonly referred to as the China-Laos Railway. A fully electrified higher-speed railway line, it is part of a long-term goal of connecting China with the rest of Southeast Asia. The line runs from Boten near the China-Laos border to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, using CRRC high/higher-speed EMU trains.

Malaysia

(ETS).

Philippines

As of February 2020, the Philippine National Railways does not have a regular inter-city rail service although the agency is planning on rebuilding new railway lines. Prior to the 1970s, the main island of Luzon had a relatively expansive narrow-gauge railway network, but government prioritization towards highway construction and the effects of multiple natural disasters gradually led to the decline and abandonment of most intercity rail services. Until the 2000s, PNR had two inter-city rail services: the Bicol Express and the Mayon Limited. The Bicol Express leaves Manila and passes through Manila, Pasay, and Muntinlupa and the provinces of Laguna, Quezon, and Camarines Sur before arriving at Naga. The trip takes 10 hours, or 600 minutes.^[5] The Mayon Limited connects Minola and Ligao in 10+1⁄2 hours.^[6] However, the now 2022, successful North-South Commuter Railway is under construction until 2023. A new railway in the Philippines is planned in the future.

Thailand

Thailand has a sizable meter-gauge intercity rail network radiating outwards from Bangkok, transporting around 60 million passengers every year. Construction is underway to connect Bangkok with Nakhon Ratchasima using a dedicated high speed rail line.

Vietnam

Trains in

.

Southwest Asia

Iran

Israel

service pattern, with many short stops at stations between the major city centres.

Europe

Western and Central Europe

In Europe, many long-distance inter-city trains are operated under the InterCity (often simply IC) brand. InterCity (or, initially, "Inter-City" with a hyphen) was first conceived as a brand name by British Rail for the launch of its electrification of the major part of the West Coast Main Line in 1966, which brought new express services between London and the major cities of Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool. It later became the name of one of British Rail's new business sectors in the 1980s and was used to describe the whole network of main-line passenger routes in Great Britain, but it went out of official use following privatisation. The introduction of the British Rail Class 43 (HST) helped InterCity become an iconic brand in the 1970s.

The principal network of international express trains in continental Europe is called EuroCity, even though some InterCity trains also cross borders.

(Germany-Austria–Czechia/Hungary).

In

Northern Ireland Railways

.

Central and Eastern Europe

Poland

The Polish State Railways (PKP), a state-owned corporate group, is the main provider of railway services. The PKP group holds an almost unrivaled monopoly over rail services in Poland since it is both supported and partly funded by the national government.

As of 2018, foreign services operate on the Polish Railways network. These include EuroCity and EuroNight trains operating between Western and Eastern European destinations, including by the EN 440/441 from Berlin via Warsaw to Moscow operated by Talgo train of Russian Railways company.

In 2019, new

..

Russia

Russia has a dense network of long-distance railways all over its vast territory, the longest and most famous being the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok. Long-distance train routes of more than 1,000 or 2,000 km (621 or 1,243 mi) are common, with many trips taking two or three days. Speed is relatively low: trains average 60 or 70 km/h (37 or 43 mph).

North America

Canada

lack connections to the extant Via Rail network, and passenger rail usage outside of the Quebec City - Windsor Corridor is infrequent and geared towards the tourism market.

International trains, run jointly by Amtrak and Via Rail, connect New York City with Toronto. Amtrak also operates the Adirondack between New York City and Montreal, and the Amtrak Cascades service linking Vancouver and Seattle. In addition, the White Pass and Yukon Route links Skagway and Whitehorse on an isolated northern route.

Other inter-city passenger rail operators include the

.

Mexico

In Mexico, the federal government discontinued almost all scheduled inter-city passenger trains in June 2001. Ferromex operates trains on three routes: Chihuahua City to Los Mochis, Torreón to Felipe Pescador, and Guadalajara to Amatitán. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has proposed intercity trains, including from Mexico City to Toluca (construction began July 7, 2014), the Peninsular train from Yucatán to Riviera Maya, and the Mexico-Querétaro high-speed train from Puebla to Tlaxcala and Mexico City with future expansion to Guadalajara. In recent years, passenger trains have seen a revival, with the construction of the tourist-oriented Tren Maya route traversing the Yucatan Peninsula.

United States

There was a dense system of inter-city railways in the

is infrequent and rarely used relative to networks in Europe and Japan.

Passenger lines in most of the United States are operated by the quasi-public corporation Amtrak. The separate Alaska Railroad, which is also government-owned, runs passenger trains in Alaska, and the privately owned Brightline rail service operates in Florida. The California High-Speed Rail system began construction in 2015 and aims to connect major job centers in California.

Multiple new rail corridors have been identified for private development throughout the country. These include the Brightline West corridor from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, California, the Texas Central Railway between Dallas and Houston in Texas, and others.

Oceania

Australia

In Australia, the national interstate network operated by Journey Beyond connects all mainland Australian capital cities except Canberra. However, it is catered towards the luxury tourism market. NSW TrainLink operates interstate services from Sydney to Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane. Intrastate inter-city trains that traverse shorter distances are operated by V/Line, NSW TrainLink, Queensland Rail and Transwa. Many of Australia's inter-city trains are not true inter-city services, given their leisurely average speed and primary role to transport people between regional areas and the nearest capital city or for the tourist market. As a result, Australian networks refer to these services as country or regional trains. The fastest intercity trains in regular service are the Queensland Rail Tilt Train, NSW TrainLink XPT, V/Line VLocity and Transwa WDA/WDB/WDC class, all of which have a top service speed of 160 km/h.

In Australia, electrified interurban commuter railway systems are used to connect urban areas separated by long distances and use

equipment:

• In
  South Coast
  . NSW TrainLink brand its interurban commuter services as "Intercity".
• In
  Rosewood
  in the west.
• In Perth, an electric interurban rail line running down the middle of the Kwinana Freeway to serve Mandurah opened on December 23, 2007.

On these systems, services either run as limited-stop expresses in the suburban area or as shuttles terminating where the suburban lines end.

A large-scale non-electric project of four regional lines known as the

. Current interurban and intercity journeys outside the suburban area are often locomotive-hauled, particularly for longer distance services, due to Victoria's lack of electrification outside of Melbourne.

New Zealand

In

towards freight, these passenger services primarily cater the tourist market, similar to long-distance routes in Australia.

Other current commuter passenger services include the Capital Connection, Te Huia and the Wairarapa Connection. A network of regional and long-distance rail passenger services until the mid-twentieth century has largely been replaced by air or bus services.

South America

A few countries of South America were once interconnected by international train services, but today they are almost non-existent, with the noticeable exceptions of Argentina and Chile. Most governments in the continent have favored roads and automobile transportation since the mid-20th century.

Argentina

. Trains in Argentina are experiencing a revival, since the government intends to re-establish long-distance passenger trains between major cities.

Bolivia

Inter-city train services in

and Argentina.

Brazil

Brazil's inter-city services operate on two routes, one from Vitória to Belo Horizonte (Vitória-Minas Railway) and another from Parauapebas to São Luís. A third service was proposed by São Paulo state government to operate from São Paulo to Americana.^[7]

Chile

, reaching around 150 km/h (93 mph).

See also

• Express train
• Limited-stop
• Lists of named passenger trains
• Longest train journeys
• PKP Intercity
• Railway electrification systems
• Railway stations in the Netherlands#Categories (spelling: "intercity")
• Terminal station

References

• Overseas Timetable: Independent Traveller's Edition, Winter 2008/9; Thomas Cook Publishing
• European Rail Timetable: Independent Traveller's Edition, Winter 2008/9; Thomas Cook Publishing

External links

• The Man in Seat 61 Information on train travel worldwide
• Tips for rail travel travel guide from Wikivoyage