| Well-integrated
urban transit systems generally incorporate rail lines. Light rail vehicles, known in
America as trolleys or streetcars and in Europe as trams, are smaller than heavy rail
trains, and can handle tighter curves and steeper inclines. Whereas heavy rail lines are
always grade-separated, most light rail lines run along streets for at least part of their
route, and some share those streets with other traffic. Although light rail almost
disappeared from British and American cities in the mid-twentieth century, many successful
light rail lines have been built recently in cities such as Manchester and Sheffield in
England and Baltimore and Dallas in the USA. |
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