View source for Interurban

{{short description|Type of electric railway which runs within and between cities or towns}}
{{Redirect|Interurbans|the publishing company once known by that name |Interurban Press}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2015}}
[[File:PennsLanding.jpg|thumb|right|An interurban car from the [[Philadelphia and Western Railroad|Philadelphia & Western Railroad]], which survived long in the interurban business]]
The '''interurban''' (or '''radial railway''' in Canada) is a type of [[electric railway]], with [[tram]]-like electric self-propelled [[railcar]]s which run within and between cities or towns.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-10-06 |title=Before Interstates, America Got Around on Interurbans |language=en |publisher=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-10-06/long-gone-interurban-trains-could-signal-a-rail-revival |access-date=2023-03-03}}</ref> The term ''interurban'' is usually used in North America, with other terms used outside it. They were very prevalent in many parts of the world before the Second World War and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, their cars that ran on the rails, and their service. In the United States, the early 1900s interurban was a valuable economic institution when most roads between towns, many town streets were unpaved, and transportation and haulage was by horse-drawn carriages and carts.

The interurban provided reliable transportation, particularly in winter weather, between towns and countryside. In 1915, {{convert|15,500|miles|km}} of interurban railways were operating in the United States and, for a few years, interurban railways, including the numerous manufacturers of cars and equipment, were the fifth-largest industry in the country. With the widespread use of automobiles, most interurbans in North America had stopped operating by 1930. A few survived into the 1950s.

{{anchor|De Lijn Kusttram}}[[File:Kusttram2.jpg|right|thumb|[[Kusttram]], The Belgian Coast Tram, is a European interurban tramway.]]
[[File:090925 Aigle IMG 4089.JPG|thumb|[[Aigle–Sépey–Diablerets railway line]] in [[Switzerland]]]]
Outside of the US, other countries built large networks of high-speed electric tramways that survive today. Notable systems exist in the [[Low Countries]], [[Poland]], and [[Japan]], where populations are densely packed around large conurbations such as the [[Randstad]], [[Upper Silesia]], [[Greater Tokyo Area]], and [[Keihanshin]]. Switzerland, particularly, has a large network of mountain narrow-gauge interurban lines.

In addition, since the early 21st century many [[tram-train]] lines are being built, especially in France and Germany but also elsewhere in the world. These can be regarded as interurbans since they run on the streets, like trams, when in cities, while out of them they either share existing railway lines or use lines that were abandoned by the railway companies.[[File:Keihan 800 series street (24109817045).jpg|right|thumb|The [[Keihan Keishin Line]] is a Japanese interurban.]]

== Definition ==
[[File:Theatrical_District,_Richmond,_Virginia,_1923.jpg|right|thumb|Postcard of electric trolley-powered streetcars in [[Richmond, Virginia]], in 1923, two generations after Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888. The intersection shown is at 8th & Broad streets.]]
The term ''interurban'' was coined by [[Charles L. Henry]], a [[state senator]] in Indiana. The Latin, {{Lang|la|inter urbes}}, means "between cities".{{sfn|Middleton|1961|p=13}} The interurban fit on a continuum between urban [[street railway]]s and full-fledged railroads. [[George W. Hilton]] and John F. Due identified four characteristics of an interurban:{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|p=9}}

* Electric power for propulsion
* Passenger service as the primary business
* Equipment heavier and faster than urban streetcars
* Operation on tracks in city streets, and in rural areas on roadside tracks or private [[right-of-way (transportation)|rights-of-way]]

The definition of ''interurban'' is necessarily blurry. Some town streetcar lines evolved into interurban systems by extending streetcar track from the town into the countryside to link adjacent towns together and sometimes by the acquisition of a nearby interurban system. Following initial construction, there was a large amount of consolidation of lines. Other interurban lines effectively became [[light rail]] systems with no street running whatsoever or they became primarily freight-hauling railroads because of a progressive loss of their initial passenger service over the years.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}

In 1905, the [[United States Census Bureau]] defined an interurban as "a street railway having more than half its trackage outside municipal limits". It drew a distinction between interurban and suburban railroads. A suburban system was oriented toward a city center in a single urban area and served [[commuter railroad|commuter traffic]]. A regular railroad moved riders from one city center to another city center and also moved a substantial amount of freight.

The typical interurban similarly served more than one city, but it served a smaller region and made more frequent stops, and was oriented to passenger rather than freight service.{{sfn|Bureau of the Census|1905|p=5}}

==History==
{{See also|History of trams}}

=== Emergence ===

==== United States ====
[[File:Electric Railways of the Central States 1918.jpg|thumb|right|330px|Ohio and Indiana had the greatest mileage of interurbans in the United States, at {{convert|2798|mi}} and {{convert|1825|mi}}, respectively.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|pp=41–42}} This map shows the network across the [[Midwestern United States]] in 1918.]]
The development of interurbans in the late 19th century resulted from the convergence of two trends: improvements in electric traction and an untapped demand for transportation in rural areas, particularly in the [[Midwestern United States]]. The 1880s saw the first successful deployments of electric traction in streetcar systems. Most of these built on the pioneering work of [[Frank J. Sprague]], who had developed an improved method for mounting an [[Traction motor|electric traction motor]] and using a [[trolley pole]] for pickup. Sprague's work led to widespread acceptance of electric traction for streetcar operations and the end of horse-drawn trams.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|pp=6–7}}

The late 19th-century United States witnessed a boom in agriculture that lasted through the [[World War I]], but transportation in rural areas was inadequate. Conventional steam railroads made limited stops, mostly in towns. These were supplemented by [[Horse and buggy|horse and buggies]] and [[steamboat]]s, both of which were slow and the latter of which were restricted to navigable rivers.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|pp=7–8}} The increased capacity and profitability of the city street railroads offered the possibility of extending them into the countryside to reach new markets, even linking to other towns. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the [[Newark and Granville Street Railway]] in Ohio, which opened in 1889. It was not a major success, but others followed.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|pp=8–9}} The development of the [[automobile]] was then in its infancy, and to many investors interurbans appeared to be the future of local transportation.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|p=12}}

[[File:Interurban Station and Superior Street, South, Toledo, Ohio - DPLA - ab9e3704664fd1b49dfe8af9f2a376a2 (page 1).jpg|alt=Interurban Station and Superior Street, Toledo, Ohio|thumb|Interurban Station and Superior Street, Toledo, Ohio]]
From 1900 to 1916, large networks of interurban lines were constructed across the United States, particularly in the states of Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, Utah, and California.{{sfn|Rowsome|Maguire|1956|pp=119–140}} In 1900, {{convert|2107|mi|km}} of interurban track existed, but by 1916, this had increased to {{convert|15580|mi|km}}, a seven-fold expansion.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|p=186}} Beginning in 1901, it was possible to travel from [[Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin]], to [[Little Falls, New York]], exclusively by interurban.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dippel |first=Beth |url=https://www.sheboyganpress.com/story/news/local/2016/11/04/interurbans-meteoric-rise-then-fall/93291360/ |title=Interurbans' meteoric rise, then fall |newspaper=[[Sheboygan Press]] |date=November 4, 2016}}</ref> During this expansion, "...they almost destroyed the local passenger service of the steam railroad" in the regions where they operated, particularly in Ohio and Indiana.{{sfn|Bruce|1952|pp=407–408}} To show how exceptionally busy the interurbans radiating from [[Indianapolis]] were in 1926, the immense [[Indianapolis Traction Terminal]] (nine roof covered tracks and loading platforms) scheduled 500 trains in and out daily and moved 7 million passengers that year.{{sfn|Rowsome|Maguire|1956|pp=138; 179}} At their peak the interurbans were the fifth-largest industry in the United States.<ref name="tb20070527">{{cite news | url=http://www.toledoblade.com/frontpage/2007/05/27/Toledo-was-hub-of-interurban-100-years-ago.html | title=Toledo was hub of interurban 100 years ago | work=[[Toledo Blade]] | date=27 May 2007 | access-date=5 July 2015 | author=Patch, David | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429122727/http://www.toledoblade.com/frontpage/2007/05/27/Toledo-was-hub-of-interurban-100-years-ago.html | archive-date=29 April 2015}}</ref><ref name=HiltonUnknown>{{Harvnb|Hilton|Due|1960}}{{page needed|date=June 2024}}</ref>

==== Europe ====
In [[Belgium]], a sprawling, nation-wide system of narrow-gauge [[vicinal tramway]]s have been built by the [[NMVB]] / [[SNCV]] to provide transport to smaller towns across the country; the first section opened in 1885. These lines were either electrically operated or run with diesel tramcars, included numerous street-running sections, and inter-operated with local tram networks in the larger cities. Similar to Belgium, [[Netherlands]] constructed a large network of interurbans in the early 1900s called [[:nl:Voormalige streektramlijnen in Nederland|streektramlijnen]].

In [[Silesia]], today Poland, an extensive interurban system was constructed, starting in 1894 with a narrow-gauge line connecting [[Gliwice]] with [[Piekary Śląskie]] through [[Zabrze]], [[Chebzie]], [[Chorzów]], and [[Bytom]]; another connected [[Katowice]] and [[Siemianowice]]. After four years, in 1898, Kramer & Co. was chosen to start electrification on Katowice Rynek (Kattowitz, Ring) - Zawodzie line, after which Schikora & Wolff completed electrification of four additional lines.{{sfn|Soida|1998|p=12-14}} In 1912, the first short {{RailGauge|ussg|al=on|lk=on}} line was built in [[Katowice]].{{sfn|Soida|1998|p=37-38}} In 1913, a separate standard gauge system connecting Bytom with suburbs and villages west of the town was launched.{{sfn|Soida|1998|p=37-38}} After World War I and the [[Silesian Uprisings]], in 1922 the region (and the tram network) was divided between the newly independent Poland and Germany, and international services appeared (the last one ran until 1937). In 1928, further standard gauge systems were established in [[Sosnowiec]], [[Będzin]], and [[Dąbrowa Górnicza]] (the so-called [[Dabrowa Coal Basin]] - a region adjoining the [[Upper Silesian Coal Basin]]). Between 1928 and 1936 most of the original narrow gauge network was converted to standard, which allowed a connection with the new system in Sosnowiec. By 1931, 47,5% of the narrow-gauge network was reconstructed, with {{convert|20|km}} of new standard-gauge track built.

A large network of interurbans started developing around [[Milan]] in the late 1800s; they were originally drawn by horses{{sfn|Cornolò|1980|p=23}} and later powered as steam trams.{{sfn|Cornolò|1980|pp=30–31}} These initial interurban lines were gradually upgraded with electric traction in the early 1900s with some assistance from [[Thomas Edison]].{{sfn|Cornolò|1980|pp=76–77}} By the 1930s a vast network of interurbans, the ''Società Trazione Elettrica Lombarda'', connected Milan with surrounding towns.

In the first half of the 20th century, an extensive tramway network covered [[Northern England]], centered on [[Lancashire|South Lancashire]] and [[West Yorkshire]].{{sfn|Royle|2016|pp=20–21}} At that time, it was possible to travel entirely by tram from Liverpool [[Pier Head]] to the village of Summit, outside [[Rochdale]], a distance of {{convert|52|miles|km}}, and with a short {{convert|7|miles|km}} bus journey across the Pennines, to connect to another tram network that linked Huddersfield, Halifax, and Leeds.<ref name="RochdaleTrams">{{cite magazine |last=Randall |first=D. |year=1954 |title=In the Shadow of the Pennines |magazine=Transport World |page=154}}</ref>

==== Asia ====
[[File:Hanshin-604.JPG|right|thumb|A preserved [[Hanshin Electric Railway]] Type 601 car ]]
The first interurban railway in Japan was the [[Hanshin Electric Railway]], built to compete with mainline steam trains on the [[Osaka]] to [[Kobe]] corridor and completed in 1905. As laws of that time did not allow parallel railways to be built, the line was legally defined as a tramway and included [[street running]] at the two ends, but was based on American interurbans and operated with large tramcars on mostly private right-of-way. In the same year, the [[Keikyu|Keihin Express Railway]], or Keikyu, completed a section of what is today part of the [[Keikyū Main Line]] between [[Shinagawa station|Shinagawa]], [[Tokyo]], and [[Kanagawa Station (Kanagawa)|Kanagawa]], [[Yokohama]]. This line competes with mainline [[Japanese National Railways]] on this busy corridor. Predecessors of the [[Meitetsu]] opened their first interurban lines in 1912, what today form parts of the [[Meitetsu Inuyama Line]] and [[Meitetsu Tsushima Line|Tsushima Line]]. In 1913, the first section of what will become the [[Keiō Line]] opened connecting [[Chōfu]] to just outside [[Shinjuku]] with street running on what is today the [[Kōshū Kaidō]] or [[Japan National Route 20|National Route 20]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=京王電鉄株式会社 |title=『京王ハンドブック2016』 |publisher=京王電鉄広報部 |year=2016 |language=Japanese}}</ref> Kyushu Electric Railroad, predecessor to [[Nishi-Nippon Railroad|Nishitetsu]] opened its first interurban line in 1914 serving [[Kitakyushu]] and surrounding areas, taking heavy inspiration from [[Hanshin Electric Railway]].

=== Diverging fortunes ===
{{more citations needed section|date=December 2020}}

==== Decline in North America ====
[[File:654 with zephyr - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|thumb|right|The last day of electric operation on the [[Sacramento Northern Railway]], February 1965. At left is the ''[[California Zephyr (1949–1970)|California Zephyr]]''.]]
{{see also|General Motors streetcar conspiracy}}
The fortunes of the industry in the US and Canada declined during [[World War I]], particularly into the early 1920s. In 1919 President [[Woodrow Wilson]] created the [[Federal Electric Railways Commission]] to investigate the financial problems of the industry. The commission submitted its final report to the President in 1920. The commission's report focused on financial management problems and external economic pressures on the industry, and recommended against introducing public financing for the interurban industry.<ref>{{cite report |title=Proceedings of the Federal Electric Railways Commission; together with Final Report of the Commission to the President |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1yxtY1frmGEC |date=1920 |publisher=U.S. Federal Electric Railways Commission |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref> One of the commission's consultants, however, published an independent report stating that private ownership of electric railways had been a failure, and only public ownership would keep the interurbans in business.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilcox |first=Delos F. |title=Analysis of the Electric Railway Problem |url=https://archive.org/download/analysisofelectr00wilcrich/analysisofelectr00wilcrich.pdf |date=1921 |publisher=Delos F. Wilcox |location=New York |pages=x-xi |oclc=1039534127}}</ref>

Many interurbans had been hastily constructed without realistic projections of income and expenses.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} They were initially financed by issuing stock and selling bonds.{{sfn|Grant|2016|pp=29, 44}} The sale of these financial instruments was often local with salesmen going door to door aggressively pushing this new and exciting "it can't fail" form of transportation.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} But many of those interurbans did fail, and often quickly.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} They had poor [[cash flow]] from the outset and struggled to raise essential further capital. Interurbans were very vulnerable to acts of nature damaging track and bridges, particularly in the [[Midwestern United States]] where flooding was common. [[Receivership]] was a common fate when the interurban company could not pay its payroll and other debts, so state courts took over and allowed continued operation while suspending the company's obligation to pay interest on its bonds. In addition, the interurban honeymoon period with the municipalities of 1895–1910 was over.

The large and heavy interurbans, some weighing as much as 65 tons, caused damage to city streets which led to endless disputes over who should bear the repair costs. The rise of private automobile traffic in the middle 1920s aggravated such trends. As the interurban companies struggled financially, they faced rising competition from cars and trucks on newly paved streets and highways, while municipalities sought to alleviate traffic congestion by removing interurbans from city streets. Some companies exited the passenger business altogether to focus on freight, while others sought to buttress their finances by selling surplus electricity in local communities. Several interurbans that attempted to exit the rail business altogether ran afoul of state commissions which required that trains remain running "for the public good", even at a loss.<ref name=HiltonUnknown />

Many financially weak interurbans did not survive the prosperous 1920s, and most others went bankrupt during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]]. A few struggling lines tried combining to form much larger systems in an attempt to gain operating efficiency and a broader customer base. This occurred in Ohio in year 1930 with the long [[Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad|Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad]] (C&LE), and in Indiana with the very widespread [[Indiana Railroad]]. Both had limited success up to 1937–1938 and primarily earned growing revenues from freight rather than passengers.{{sfn|Keenan|2001|p=4}} The {{convert|130|mi|adj=on}} long [[Sacramento Northern Railway]] stopped carrying passengers in 1940 but continued hauling freight into the 1960s by using heavy electric locomotives.{{sfn|Rowsome|Maguire|1956|p=176}}

Oliver Jensen, author of ''American Heritage History of Railroads in America'', commented that "...the automobile doomed the interurban whose private, tax-paying tracks could never compete with the highways that a generous government provided for the motorist."{{sfn|Jensen|1993|p=258}} [[William D. Middleton]], in the opening of his 1961 book ''The Interurban Era'', wrote:{{sfn|Middleton|1961|p=6}} {{blockquote|"Evolved from the urban streetcar, the Interurban appeared shortly before the dawn of the 20th century, grew to a vast network of over 18,000 miles in two decades of excellent growth, and then all but vanished after barely three decades of usefulness."}}

Interurban business increased during [[World War II]] due to fuel oil rationing and large wartime employment. When the war ended in 1945, riders went back to their automobiles and most of these lines were finally abandoned.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|p=287}} Several systems struggled into the 1950s, including the [[Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad]] (passenger service ended 1950), [[Lehigh Valley Transit Company]] (1951), [[West Penn Railways]] (1952), and the [[Illinois Terminal Railroad]] (1958). The West Penn was the largest interurban to operate in the east at {{convert|339|mi}} and had provided Pittsburgh-area coal country towns with hourly transportation since 1888.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|p=178}}

By the 1960s only five remaining interurban lines served commuters in three major metropolitan areas: the [[Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad|North Shore Line]] and the [[South Shore Line]] in Chicago, the [[Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company]], the [[New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway]] in northern New Jersey, and the [[Long Beach Line]] in Long Beach and Los Angeles, California (this was the last remaining part of the [[Pacific Electric]] system). The Long Beach Line was cut in 1961, the North Shore Line in 1963; the Philadelphia Suburban's [[SEPTA Route 103|route 103]] and the NYS&W in New Jersey both ended passenger service in 1966.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|p=ix}} Today, only the South Shore Line, [[Norristown High Speed Line]] (SEPTA Route 100), and SEPTA Routes 101/102 remain.

Some former interurban lines retained freight service for up to several decades after the discontinuance of passenger service. Most were converted to diesel operation, although the [[Sacramento Northern Railway]] retained electric freight until 1965.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|p=400}}

==== Consolidation in Europe ====
[[File: Tram Oostende NMVB 2.jpg|right|thumb|NMVB trams at Oostende in 1982, on the surviving [[Belgian Coast Tram]] line. A more recent photo can be seen [[#De Lijn Kusttram|at top]].]]After [[World War II]], many interurbans in other countries were also cut back. In Belgium, as intercity transport shifted to cars and buses; the large sections of the [[vicinal tramway]]s were gradually shut down by the 1980s. At their peak in 1945, the mileage of vicinal tramways reached {{convert|4811|km}} and exceeded the length of the national railway network.

[[File:A404 tramstraat Katwijk.jpg|right|thumb|A [[:nl:Noord-Zuid-Hollandsche Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij|NZH]] 'Blue Tram' at [[Katwijk]]]]
Sprawling tram networks in the [[Netherlands]] extended to neighbouring cities. The vast majority of these lines were not electrified and operated with steam and sometimes petrol or diesel tramcars. Many did not survive the 1920s and 30s for the same reasons American interurbans went ended, but those that did were put back into service during the war years on the parts not yet demolished. One of the largest systems, nicknamed the [[:nl:Blauwe Tram|Blue Tram]], was run by the [[:nl:Noord-Zuid-Hollandsche Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij|Noord-Zuid-Hollandsche Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij]] and survived until 1961. Another, the RTM ([[:nl:Rotterdamse Tramweg Maatschappij|Rotterdamse Tramweg Maatschappij]]), which ran in the river delta south-west of [[Rotterdam]], survived until early January 1966. Its demise sparked the rail-related heritage movement in the Netherlands in earnest with the founding of the [[Tramweg Stichting]] (Tramway Foundation). Many systems, such as the [[Trams in The Hague|Hague tramway]] and the [[Trams in Rotterdam|Rotterdam tramway]], included long interurban extensions which were operated with larger, higher-speed cars. In close parallel to North America, many systems were abandoned starting in the 1950s after tram companies switched to buses.

Instigated by the [[1973 oil crisis|oil crisis]] in the 1970s, the remaining interurban tramways have enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance in the form of the [[:nl:Sneltram|Sneltram]], a modern light rail system that uses high floor, metro-style vehicles and could interoperate into metro networks. Various other interurbans in Europe were folded into local municipal tramway or light rail systems. Switzerland retained many of its interurban lines which now operate as tramways, local railways, S-Bahn, or tram-trains. Milan's vast interurban network was progressively closed in the 1970s but parts of it were reused as the outer parts of the [[Milan Metro]].

==== Evolution in Japan ====
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| footer = [[Mikage Station (Hanshin)|Mikage Station]] in 1910 (above) and 2008 (below). Note the longer platforms and grade separation, which were constructed in 1929.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |title=兵庫の鉄道全駅 私鉄・公営鉄道 |publisher=Kobe Newspaper General Publishing Center |year=2012 |isbn=9784343006745 |location=Japan |language=ja |trans-title=All railway stations in Hyogo Private railways and public railways}}</ref> These improvements were typical evolutions of early interurbans in Japan.
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Development of Japanese interurbans strayed from their American counterparts from the 1920s. The second boom of interurbans occurred as late as the 1920s and 1930s in Japan, with predecessors of the extensive [[Kintetsu Railway]], [[Hankyu]], [[Nankai Electric Railway]] and [[Odakyu Electric Railway]] networks starting life during this period. These interurbans, built with straighter tracks, electrified at 1500V and operated using larger cars, were built to even higher standards than the [[Japanese National Railways]] network at the time. The (former JNR) [[Hanwa Line]] was a wartime acquisition from Nankai, operating 'Super Express' trains on the line at an average speed of {{convert|81.6|kph}}, a national record at the time. The old [[Sendai Station (Miyagi)|Sendai station]] terminus of the Miyagi Electric Railway (the predecessor of the JR [[Senseki Line]]) was situated in a short single-track underground tunnel built in 1925; this was the first stretch of underground railway in all of Asia, predating the [[Tokyo Metro Ginza Line]] by two years. Meanwhile, existing interurbans like the Hanshin Electric Railway started to rebuild their street-running lines into grade-separated exclusive rights-of-way.

After the war, interurbans and other private railway companies received large investments and were allowed to compete not only with mainline trains but also with each other, in order to rejuvenate the country's railway infrastructure and cater to the post-war baby boom. The companies continued their policies of improvement they had followed before the war; lines were reconstructed to allow higher speeds, mainline-sized trains were adopted, street-running sections were rebuilt to elevated or underground rights-of-way, and link lines to growing metro systems were built to allow for through operations. Many of these private railway companies started to adopt standards for full-blown heavy rail lines similar to the national rail network, and, like JR commuter routes, are operated as 'metro-style' commuter railways with mainline-sized vehicles and metro-like frequencies of very few minutes. In 1957, the [[Odakyu Electric Railway]] introduced the [[Odakyu 3000 series SE]], the first in a line of luxurious tourist Limited Express trains named '[[Romancecar]]s'. These units set a narrow-gauge speed record of {{convert|145|kph}} on its runs to the mountain spa resort of Hakone.

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Many private lines were nationalised during the Second World War. The handful that remained in the hands of JNR after the end of the war&nbsp;– including the Hanwa Line, Senseki Line and the [[Iida Line]]&nbsp;– remain outliers on the national JR network, with short station distances, (in the case of the Iida Line) lower-grade infrastructure, and independent termini (such as [[Aobadori Station]] and the upper level of [[Tennōji Station]]).

[[File:Hakkei bunko 001.jpg|thumb|[[Keikyu]] Limited Express trains feature a livery based on the [[Pacific Electric]]. ]]
Today, trackage of the [[List of railway companies in Japan#Major sixteen private railways|major sixteen private railways]], in many places originally designed as American-style interurban railways, has been upgraded beyond recognition into high capacity urban heavy railways. Private railway companies that started out as interurbans such as [[Tokyu Group|Tokyu]], [[Seibu Railway|Seibu]], [[Odakyu Electric Railway|Odakyu]], [[Hankyu]], and [[Tobu Railway|Tobu]]; rail transportation now tends to form only a small part of their extensive business empires, which often include real estate, hotels and resorts, and tourist attractions. For example, the Keikyu network has changed unrecognizably from its early days, operating Limited Express services at up to {{convert|120|kph}} to compete with JR trains, and inter-operating with [[Toei Asakusa Line|subway]] and [[Keisei Electric Railway]] trains on through runs extending up to {{convert|200|km}}; the trains retain a red livery based on the [[Pacific Electric|Pacific Electric's]] 'Red Cars', true to the company's interurban roots. The [[Keiō Line]] did not fully remove the [[street running]] section on the [[Kōshū Kaidō]] outside of [[Shinjuku Station]] until the 1960s, replacing it with an underground section.<ref>{{Cite web |title=【懐かしの私鉄写真】都内に存在した京王と東急の併用軌道 |url=https://trafficnews.jp/post/102355 |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=乗りものニュース |date=2 December 2020 |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=地下化直前の京王線新宿付近（１） - モハメイドペーパーの 何が出てくるか？ |url=http://jorctk.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2012/07/post-9299.html |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=モハメイドペーパーの 何が出てくるか？}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=懐かしの新宿近辺写真 |url=https://tks-departure.sakura.ne.jp/keio-shinjuku2.html |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=tks-departure.sakura.ne.jp}}</ref>

Similar to passenger railway conditions in early 1900s America, intense competition still exists today between [[List of railway companies in Japan#Major sixteen private railways|private railways]] and mainline railways operated by the [[Japan Railways Group]] along highly congested corridors is a hallmark of suburban railway operations in Japan. For example, on the [[Osaka]] to [[Kobe]] corridor, [[JR West]] competes intensely with both [[Hankyu Kobe Line]] and [[Hanshin Main Line]] trains in terms of speed, convenience and comfort.

[[File:Nnr-kitakyusyu1018.jpg|thumb|1000 Series on the [[Nishi-Nippon Railroad|Nishitetsu]] Kitakyushu Line before closing in 2000]]
However, a number of urban lines in Japan did close as late as the 2000s, with networks in [[Kitakyushu]] and [[Gifu]] being shut down.<ref>{{Cite web|title=名古屋鉄道美濃町/田神線跡を訪ねて|url=http://pyoco3.c.ooco.jp/tokai/meitetu/mino/mino.html|access-date=2022-02-13|website=pyoco3.c.ooco.jp}}</ref>

== List of interurban systems ==
===Austria===
Between [[Vienna]] and [[Baden bei Wien]] the [[Badner Bahn]], operates a classic interurban passenger service, in addition to some freight services.<ref name=vantHoogerhuijsUnknown>{{harvnb|van 't Hoogerhuijs|Moerland|2012}}{{page needed|date=June 2024}}</ref> Some interurban lines survive today as local railways in [[Upper Austria]] are such as the [[:de:Linzer Lokalbahn|Linzer Lokalbahn]], [[:de:Lokalbahn Vöcklamarkt–Attersee|Lokalbahn Vöcklamarkt–Attersee]], and [[:de:Lokalbahn Lambach–Vorchdorf-Eggenberg|Lokalbahn Lambach–Vorchdorf-Eggenberg]]. While others operate as extension of as local city tramways such as the [[Traunseebahn]] which is now connected to the [[Gmunden Tramway]].

=== Belgium ===
{{Main|Vicinal tramway}}

Two surviving interurban networks descending from the [[vicinal tramway]]s exist in Belgium. The famous [[Belgian Coast Tram]], built in 1885, traverses the entire Belgian coastline and, at a length of {{convert|68|km}}, is the longest tram line in the world. The [[Charleroi Metro]] is a never fully completed [[pre-metro]] network upgraded and developed from the dense vicinal tramway network around the city.

=== Canada ===
Similar to the United States, in Canada most passenger interurbans were removed by the 1950s. One example of continuous passenger service still exists today, the [[Toronto Transit Commission]] [[501 Queen]] streetcar line. The western segment of the 501 Streetcar operates largely on what was the [[Toronto and York Radial Railway|T&YRR]] Port Credit Radial Line, a radial line that remains intact through [[Etobicoke]] and up to the border of the neighbouring [[City of Mississauga]], unlike other Toronto radial lines which were all abandoned outside of the 1960s boundary of the [[Old Toronto|City of Toronto]].
[[File:J31 769 Bf Karlsruhe Albtalbahnhof.jpg|thumb|Albtalbahnhof in Karlsruhe, where the transition between railway running and street running sections of some lines in the [[Karlsruhe Stadtbahn]] is located]]

===Germany===
In Germany various networks have continued to operate. Karlsruhe revitalized the interurban concept into the [[Karlsruhe model]] by renovating two local railways [[Alb Valley Railway]], which already had interoperability with local tram trackage, and the [[Hardt Railway]]. Other examples include:<ref name=vantHoogerhuijsUnknown />

* Interurban tram routes serving Mannheim, Heidelberg, Weinheim (Route 5), and Bad Dürkheim (Route 4) as part of the [[Trams in Mannheim/Ludwigshafen|Mannheim/Ludwigshafen Tram System]].
* Various interurbans upgraded as part of the [[Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn]] system such as [[Düsseldorf Stadtbahn|Düsseldorf]] to [[Trams in Krefeld|Krefeld]] (U76), and [[Duisburg Stadtbahn|Duisburg]] (U79), [[Trams in Bochum/Gelsenkirchen|Bochum/Gelsenkirchen]] (Route 302), [[Trams in Mülheim/Oberhausen|Mülheim]] to [[Trams in Essen|Essen]], and Essen to Gelsenkirchen (Route 107).
* interurban route between [[Cologne Stadtbahn|Cologne]] to [[Bonn Stadtbahn|Bonn]] (Route 16)
* interurban route between [[Dresden]], [[Radebeul]], [[Coswig, Saxony|Coswig]], and [[Weinböhla]] (Route 4) as part of the [[Trams in Dresden|Dresden Tram System]]

=== Italy ===
[[Trams in Milan|Milan]] operates one remaining interurban tramway to [[Limbiate]] with another interurban route to [[Carate Brianza]]/[[Giussano]], suspended since 2011. These two lines were once part of large network of interurbans surrounding Milan that were gradually closed in the 1970s. As of February 2025, the line to Carate has been being rebuilt, mostly along the original alignment, up to Seregno railway station.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blog.urbanfile.org/2024/04/19/milano-mobilita-metrotranvia-milano-desio-seregno-aprile-2024/ | title=Milano &#124; Mobilità – Metrotranvia Milano-Desio-Seregno: Aprile 2024 | date=19 April 2024 }}</ref>
The line to Limbiate has benn closed since 2022, with similar plans of rebuilding it up to more modern standards.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blog.urbanfile.org/2024/12/28/milano-mobilita-nei-prossimi-mesi-il-via-al-cantiere-per-la-tranvia-milano-limbiate/ | title=Milano &#124; Mobilità – Nei prossimi mesi il via al cantiere per la Tranvia Milano-Limbiate | date=28 December 2024 }}</ref>

===Japan ===
[[File:Fukutetsu 200 019.JPG|thumb|Fukui Railway 200 Series train operating on a street running section]]
[[File:Keihan-Type700.jpg|thumb|Keihan 700 Series streetrunning on the Ishiyama Sakamoto Line]]
In Japan, the vast majority of the [[List of railway companies in Japan#Major sixteen private railways|major sixteen private railways]] have roots as interurban electric railway lines that were inspired by the US. But instead of demolishing their trackage in the 1930s, many Japanese interurbans companies upgraded their networks to [[heavy rail]] standards, becoming today's large private railways. To this day, private railway companies in Japan operate as highly influential business empires with diverse business interests, encompassing department stores, property developments, and even tourist resorts. Many Japanese private railway companies compete with each other for passengers, operate department stores at their city termini, develop suburban properties adjacent to stations they own, and run special tourist attractions with admission included in package deals with rail tickets, similar to operations of large interurban companies in the US during their heyday.

While most interurbans in Japan have been upgraded beyond recognition to high-capacity urban railways, a handful have remained relatively untouched, with street running and using 'lighter-rail' stock. They retain a distinct character similar to classic American interurbans.

These include:
*The [[Keihan Keishin Line]], operating between [[Kyoto]] and [[Otsu]], with through services to the [[Tōzai Line (Kyoto)|Tozai Line]] on the Kyoto side and street running on the Otsu side. It originally was entirely street running into Kyoto but was partly replaced by the opening of the Tozai Subway Line into which trains through operate.
*The [[Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line]] a primary north south line operating in Otsu with some street running sections in the city center where it connects with the Keishin Line. 
*The [[Eizan Electric Railway]] originally an interurban that through operated into the {{ill|Kyoto City Tram|ja|京都市電}} network but was isolated after the closure of the Kyoto City Tram. It operates light, one or two car consists.
* The [[Enoshima Electric Railway]], a {{convert|10|km|adj=mid}} line with elevated and on-street trackage, and operated with light, two-car articulated trains.
* The [[Fukui Railway Fukubu Line]], which operates a variety of express and local services using light rail cars acquired from [[Nagoya Railroad]]'s defunct interurban network in [[Gifu]], over a line with an extended on-street section.
* The [[Kumamoto Electric Railway]], which operates ex-[[Tokyo subway]] stock on a line which includes a short on-street section.
* The [[Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line]] still operates articulated tramcars on private right-of-way, a holdover from its former inter-operation with the defunct [[Nishitetsu]] [[Kitakyushu]] street tram network.

=== Netherlands ===
[[File:Randstadrail Nootdorp 2.jpg|right|thumb|A [[Randstadrail]] Line E 'Sneltram' on the way to Rotterdam from The Hague ]]
The only surviving interurban line is also the oldest regional tramway in the Netherlands a line from The Hague to Delft. Which opened as horse-tramway in 1866. Nowadays the line operates as Line 1 of [[Trams in The Hague|The Hague Tramway]].<ref name=vantHoogerhuijsUnknown /> Line E, run by [[Randstadrail]], was an interurban line connecting Rotterdam to The Hague and in the past also to Scheveningen. It now interoperates with the [[Rotterdam Metro]].

===Poland===
A large interurban network called the [[Silesian Interurbans]] still exists today connecting the urban areas of the [[Upper Silesia]]. It is one of the largest interurban networks in Europe.<ref>{{harvnb|Schwandl|2017}}{{page needed|date=June 2024}}</ref>

In Łódź region, [[Trams in Łódź|an interurban tram system]] connects Łódź, Pabianice, Zgierz and Konstantynów Łódzki, and formerly also Ozorków, Lutomiersk, Aleksandrów Łódzki, Rzgów and Tuszyn.

=== Switzerland ===
[[File:BDWM BDe 8-8 Ortsdurchfahrt Dietikon.jpg|thumb|A BDe 8/8 unit streetrunning in [[Dietikon]] on the [[Bremgarten–Dietikon railway line]]]]
[[File:090925 Monthey IMG 3921.JPG|thumb|[[Aigle–Ollon–Monthey–Champéry railway line]]]]
Switzerland operated a huge number of interurbans, many of which have been upgraded into a number of different modes with a few remaining interurban features left. Several still have interurban characteristics such as unprotected alignments next to the road right of ways and/or street running.<ref name=vantHoogerhuijsUnknown /> Today former interurban lines have been upgraded to operate as:

* Extensions of local tram system such as [[Trams in Bern|Bern Tramway]] Line 6 to [[Worb]] and [[Baselland Transport]] [[Line 10 (BLT)|Line 10]] formed from combining two narrow-gauge interurbans.
* Local private railway networks such as [[Aargau Verkehr]], [[Aare Seeland mobil]], [[Transports Publics du Chablais]], [[Rhaetian Railway]], and [[Chemins de fer du Jura]] or as individual railways like the [[Lausanne–Bercher line]] and [[Waldenburg railway]]. These lines commonly retain some street running sections and unprotected roadside alignments.
* [[Tram-train]]s such as the [[Forch railway]] which is part of the [[Zürich S-Bahn]] operating on the [[Trams in Zürich|Zürich Tram System]] in the city center or the [[St. Gallen–Trogen railway|St. Gallen–Trogen]] and [[Frauenfeld–Wil railway|Frauenfeld–Wil]] railways as part of the [[St. Gallen S-Bahn]].

=== United States ===
[[File:WB Springville, IN Aug 1980xRP - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|thumb|right|A Pullman Company electric interurban unit heading west toward Michigan City on the [[South Shore Line]] in 1980]]
Only three continuously operating passenger interurbans in the US remain with most having been abandoned by the 1950s.

The [[South Shore Line]] is now owned by the state of Indiana and uses mainline-sized [[electric multiple units]]. Its last section of street running, in [[Michigan City, Indiana]], was finally closed in 2022 for conversion to a grade-separated double-track line.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/double-track-construction-sent-to-end-south-shore-street-running/ | title=Double-track construction set to end South Shore street running | date=25 February 2022 |magazine=Trains}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://railfan.com/south-shore-street-running-ends-this-weekend/ | title=South Shore Street Running Ends This Weekend | date=February 24, 2022 |magazine=Railfan & Railroad}}</ref>

[[SEPTA]] operates two former Philadelphia Suburban lines: the [[Norristown High Speed Line]] (Route 100) as an interurban [[heavy rail]] line and the [[Media–Sharon Hill Line]] (Routes 101 and 102) as a [[light rail]] line.

In [[Skokie, Illinois]], the Skokie Valley portion of the North Shore Line from [[Dempster–Skokie station|Dempster Street]] to [[Howard station (CTA)|Howard Street]] was acquired by the [[Chicago Transit Authority]] in 1963 and now runs as the [[Yellow Line (CTA)|Yellow Line]]. The Yellow Line initially operated with [[third rail]] from Howard Street to the [[Skokie Shops]] and switched to [[Overhead line|overhead wire]] for the remainder of the journey to Dempster Street, until 2004 when the overhead wire was replaced with third rail.

Several former interurban rights of way have been reused for modern light rail lines, including the [[A Line (Los Angeles Metro)|A]] and [[E Line (Los Angeles Metro)|E]] lines of the [[Los Angeles Metro Rail]] system, large sections of the [[W Line (RTD)|W]] line, part of the Denver [[Regional Transportation District|RTD light rail]], and one section of the [[Baltimore Light RailLink]] system. Several museums and heritage railways, including the [[Western Railway Museum]], [[Seashore Trolley Museum]], [[Fox River Trolley Museum]], and the [[Illinois Railway Museum]] operate restored equipment on former interurban lines. The [[Iowa Traction Railway]] still operates freight service today using interurban equipment and infrastructure. The [[River Line (NJ Transit)|River Line]] in New Jersey is also considered an interurban.

==Infrastructure and design==

=== Right of way ===
{{main article|Right-of-way (railroad)}}
[[File:Opening van de tramlijn Leiden - Scheveningen-29847.ogv|thumb|Filmed in 1924, the opening of the Leiden&nbsp;– Scheveningen interurban in the Netherlands]]
Interurbans typically ran along or on a public right-of-way. In towns, interurbans [[street running|ran in the street]], sharing track with existing street railroads.{{sfn|Middleton|1961|p=21}} While street running limited acquisition costs, it also required sharp turns and made interurban operations susceptible to traffic congestion.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Unlike conventional railroads, it was rare for an interurban to construct long unencumbered stretches of private right-of-way.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bradley|1991}}{{page needed|date=July 2015}}</ref> The torque characteristics of electric operation allowed interurbans to operate on steeper [[Grade (slope)|grades]] than conventional [[steam locomotive]]s.{{sfn|Rowsome|Maguire|1956|p=67}}

===Trackage===
{{main article|Track (rail transport)}}
Compared to conventional steam railroad trackage, interurban rail was light and [[Track ballast|ballasted]] lightly, if at all.{{sfn|Middleton|1961|p=21}} Most interurbans in North America were built to [[standard gauge]] ({{RailGauge|56.5 in|disp=or}}), but there were exceptions. In Europe [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]] interurbans were more common. In Japan the national mainlines were built to {{RailGauge|3ft6in}} narrow gauge however due to influence from for US interurban operations the first interurban companies in Japan built trackage to [[standard gauge]]. This remains the case today with [[Keikyu]] and [[Hanshin Electric Railway|Hanshin]], forerunners of Japan's interurbans, still using standard gauge today. Later companies regauged or outright built lines to {{RailGauge|3ft6in}} narrow gauge for better interoperability and consistency with the Japanese mainline standards. Interurbans often used the [[Tramway track|tracks]] of existing [[Tram|street railways]] through city and town streets, and if these street railways were not built to standard, the interurbans had to use the non-standard gauges as well or face the expense of building their own separate trackage through urban areas. Some municipalities deliberately mandated non-standard gauges to prevent freight operations on public streets. In Pennsylvania, many interurbans were constructed using the wide "[[Pennsylvania trolley gauge]]" of {{RailGauge|5ft2.5in}}. In Los Angeles, the [[Pacific Electric Railway]], using standard {{RailGauge|sg}} gauge track, and the [[Los Angeles Railway]], the city's streetcar system, using {{RailGauge|3ft6in}} narrow gauge, shared [[dual gauge|dual-gauge]] track in downtown Los Angeles with one rail common to each.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|pp=51–52}}

=== Electrification ===
{{main article|Railway electrification}}
Most interurban railways in North America were constructed using the same low-voltage 500 to 600&nbsp;[[Volt|V]] [[direct current|DC]] trolley power in use by the [[Tram|street railways]] to which they connected.{{sfn|Hilton|Due|1960|pp=53–65}} This enabled interurban cars to use the same overhead trolley power on town street car tracks with no electrical change on the cars to accommodate a different voltage. However, higher voltages became necessary to reduce power loss on long-distance transmission lines and routes, though [[Traction substation|substation]]s were established to boost voltage.{{sfn|Middleton|1961|p=425}} In 1905 [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|Westinghouse]] introduced a 6600&nbsp;V 25&nbsp;Hz [[alternating current]] (AC) system which a number of railroads adopted. This required fewer substations than DC, but came with higher maintenance costs.{{sfn|Grant|2016|pp=5–6}} The necessary on-board 6600 AC voltage reduction plus AC to DC rectification on each powered car to run DC traction motors added to greater car construction expense plus the operational dangers that such on-board high voltages created.<ref name=HiltonUnknown />

More common were high-voltage DC systems&nbsp;– usually 1200&nbsp;V DC, introduced in 1908 by Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Company for their ''Dixie Flyer'' and ''Hoosier Flyer'' services.{{sfn|Middleton|1961|p=155}}{{failed verification|date=April 2017}} In the streets, where high-speed service was not feasible, the cars ran at half speed at 600&nbsp;V or got a voltage changeover device.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} such as on the Sacramento Northern. A 2400&nbsp;V DC third-rail system was installed on the [[Michigan United Railways]]'s Western Division between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids in 1915, but was abandoned because of the electrocution potential safety hazard.{{sfn|Middleton|1961|p=162}} Even 5000&nbsp;V DC was tested.{{sfn|Middleton|1961|p=425}}

Most interurban cars and freight locomotives collected current from an [[overhead line|overhead trolley wire]]. The cars contacted this wire through the use of a [[trolley pole]] or a [[Pantograph (transport)|pantograph]]. Other designs collected current from a [[third rail]]. Some interurbans used both: in open country, the third rail was used and in town, a trolley pole was raised. An example of this was the [[Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railroad]] where a trolley pole was used in both [[Aurora, Illinois|Aurora]] and [[Elgin, Illinois]]. Third rail was cheaper to maintain and more conductive, but it was more expensive to construct initially and it did not eliminate the need for AC transformers, AC transmission lines, and AC/DC conversion systems. In addition, third rail posed a serious danger to trespassers and animals and was difficult to keep clear of ice.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

== Trains and equipment==

=== Rolling stock ===
{{Stack|float=right
|[[File:Fwwv504.jpg|thumb|right| A pre-1910, all-wood heavy interurban car of the [[Fort Wayne and Wabash Valley Traction Company]], preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum]]
|[[File:Cas101.jpg|thumb|right|A preserved box motor from Iowa]]
}}
From 1890 to 1910, roughly, American interurban cars were made of wood and often were very large, weighing up to {{convert|40|ST|LT t|1}} and measuring as long as {{convert|60|ft|2}}. These featured the classic arch-window look with truss-rods and [[cow-catcher]]s. Three of the best known early companies were [[Jewett Car Company|Jewett]], [[Niles Car and Manufacturing Company|Niles]], and [[G. C. Kuhlman Car Company|Kuhlman]], all of Ohio.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} These interurbans required a two men crew, an operator and a conductor. By 1910, most new interurban cars were constructed of steel, weighing up to {{convert|60|ST|LT t|1}}.{{sfn|Keenan|1974|loc=appendix: ''Equipment Roster''}}{{verify source|date=July 2015}} As competition increased for passengers and costs needed to be reduced in the 1920s, interurban companies and manufacturers attempted to reduce car weight and wind resistance in order to reduce power consumption. The new designs also required only a one-man crew with the operator collecting tickets and making change. The [[Bogie|trucks]] were improved{{how|date=July 2015}} to provide a better ride, acceleration, and top speed but with reduced power consumption.<ref>Design of the aluminum body, compact GE traction motored trucks "Red Devils": {{harvnb|Keenan|1974}}{{page needed|date=June 2024}}</ref> Into the 1930s, better quality and lighter steel and aluminum use reduced weight, and cars were redesigned to ride lower in order to reduce wind resistance.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Car design peaked in the early 1930s with the light weight Cincinnati Car Company-built [[Red Devil (interurban)|Red Devil]] cars of the [[Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad]].{{sfn|Bradley|1991|p=187}}

In addition to passenger cars, interurban companies acquired freight locomotives and line maintenance equipment. A "box motor" was a powered car exclusive for freight that looked like a passenger interurban without windows and had wide side doors for loading freight. A freight motor was geared for power rather than speed and could pull up to six freight cars depending upon the load and [[Grade (slope)|grades]]. Freight cars for interurbans tended to be smaller than those for steam railroads, and they had to have special extended couplers to prevent car corner contact at the very tight grinding turns at city street corners. Maintenance equipment included "line cars" with roof platforms for the trolley wire repair crew, snow plows and snow sweepers with rotating brushes, a car for weed control and to maintain track and ballast. In order to save money, many companies constructed these in their shops using retired or semi-wrecked passenger cars for the frame and the traction motor mounted trucks.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

=== Passenger trains ===
Passenger interurban service grew out of horse-drawn rail cars operating on city streets. As these routes electrified and extended outside of towns interurbans began to compete with steam railroads for intercity traffic.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Interurbans offered more frequent service than steam railroads, with [[headway]]s of up to one hour or even half an hour.{{sfn|Grant|1980|p=55}} Interurbans also made more stops, usually {{convert|1|mi}} apart. As interurban routes tended to be [[Single-track railway|single-track]] this led to extensive use of passing sidings. Single interurban cars would operate with a motorman and conductor, although in later years [[one-man operation]] was common. In open country, the typical interurban proceeded at {{Convert|40|-|45|mph}}. In towns with the middle of the street operation, speeds were slow and dictated by local ordinance. The result was that the average speed of a scheduled trip was low, as much as under {{Convert|20|mph|km/h}}.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

=== Freight trains ===
Many interurbans did substantial freight business. In 1926, the [[Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway (1926–30)|Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway]] moved {{convert|57000|ST|LT t|0}} of freight per month. By 1929, this had risen to {{convert|83000|ST|LT t|0}} per month.{{sfn|Keenan|2001|p=3}} During the 1920s freight revenue helped offset the loss of passenger business to automobiles.{{sfn|Middleton|1961|p=393}} A typical interurban freight train consisted of a powered [[box motor]] pulling one to four freight cars. These often operated at night as local ordinances forbade daytime freight operation on city streets.{{sfn|Keenan|2001|pp=86–87}} Interurban freight in the Midwest was so extensive that Indianapolis constructed a very large freight handling warehouse which all of Indianapolis' seven interurbans companies used.{{sfn|Rowsome|Maguire|1956}}{{page needed|date=July 2015}}

==In literature ==
In [[Raymond Chandler]]'s short story ''The Man who liked Dogs'', the narrator trails a suspect in the Los Angeles area:
:Carolina Street was away off at the edge of the little beach city. The end of it ran into a disused inter-urban right of way, beyond which stretched a waste of Japanese truck farms. There were just two house in the last block ... the rails were rusted in a forest of weeds.{{sfn|Chandler|1964|pp=67-68}}

Similarly in ''Mandarin's Jade'':
:The Hotel Tremaine was far out of Santa Monica, near the junk yards. An inter-urban right of way split the street in half, and just as I got to the block that would have the number I had looked up, a two-car train came racketing by at forty-five miles an hour, making almost as much noise as a transport plane taking off. I speeded<!--sic--> up beside it and passed the block.{{sfn|Chandler|1964|p=231}}

In E.L. Doctorow's ''Ragtime'', a character rides on interurban systems from New York to Boston.

==Preservation==
Numerous museums, heritage railways and societies have preserved equipment. Notable examples include:
{{colbegin}}
* [[California State Railroad Museum]]
* [[Connecticut Trolley Museum]]
* [[East Troy Electric Railroad]] Museum
* [[Electric City Trolley Museum]]
* [[Fox River Trolley Museum]]
* [[Fraser Valley Historical Railway Society]]
* [[Halton County Radial Railway]]
* [[Illinois Railway Museum]]
* [[National Museum of Transportation]]
* [[Orange Empire Railway Museum]]
* [[Oregon Electric Railway Museum]]
* [[Pennsylvania Trolley Museum]]
* [[Rockhill Trolley Museum]]
* [[Seashore Trolley Museum]]
* [[Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum]]
* [[Shore Line Trolley Museum]]
* [[Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway]]
* [[Western Railway Museum]]
{{colend}}

==See also==
* [[List of interurban railways in North America]]
* [[Streetcar suburb]]
* [[Rapid transit]]
* [[Interurban Press]]
* [[Light rail]], a contemporary successor to interurbans
* [[Tram-train]], a similar concept with streetcars sharing mainline intercity tracks for interurban sections
* [[Elektrichka]], a similar system in Russia and post-Soviet states

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
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* {{cite book | author=Bureau of the Census | author-link=United States Census Bureau | title=Street and Electric Railways, 1902: Special Reports | year=1905 | url=https://archive.org/details/streetandelectr00censgoog | location=Washington, D.C. | publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office|GPO]] | oclc=6024669 }}
* {{cite book |first=Raymond |last=Chandler |title=Killer in the Rain |publisher=Penguin |date=1964 |pages=67–68}} Originally published in ''[[Black Mask (magazine)|Black Mask]]''. March 1936.
* {{cite book |last1=Cornolò |first1=Giovanni |title=Fuori porta in tram: le tranvie extraurbane milanesi, 1876-1980 |date=1980 |publisher=Ermanno Albertelli Editore |language=it}}
* {{cite journal | last=Grant | first=H. Roger | title=Arkansas's "Paper Interurbans" | journal=[[The Arkansas Historical Quarterly]] | jstor=40023151 | volume=39 | issue=1 | date=Spring 1980 | pages=53–63 | doi=10.2307/40023151 }}
* {{cite book | last=Grant | first=H. Roger | title=Electric Interurbans and the American People | date=2016 | publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] | location=Bloomington, Indiana | isbn=978-0-253-02272-1 }}
* {{Hilton-Interurban}}
* {{cite book | last=Jensen | first=Oliver | title=American Heritage History of Railroads in America | publisher=Bonanza Books | location=New York | year=1993 | isbn=9780517362365 | oclc=27976092 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Keenan |first=Jack |date=1974 |title=Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad: Ohio's Great Interurban System |place=San Marino, CA |publisher=Golden West Books |isbn=0-8709-5055-X}}
* {{cite web | last=Keenan | first=Jack | title=The Fight for Survival: the C&LE and the Great Depression | year=2001 | url=http://www.indianahistory.org/our-services/books-publications/railroad-symposia-essays-1/The%20Fight%20for%20Survival.pdf | work=Indiana Historical Society | access-date=30 January 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913122502/http://www.indianahistory.org/our-services/books-publications/railroad-symposia-essays-1/The%20Fight%20for%20Survival.pdf | archive-date=13 September 2012 | url-status=dead }}
* {{Middleton-Interurban}}
* {{cite book | last1=Rowsome | first1=Frank M. | first2=Stephen D. | last2=Maguire | title=Trolley Car Treasury | location=New York | publisher=Bonanza Books | year=1956 | oclc=578061777 }}
* {{cite book |last=Royle |first=Edward |title=Modern Britain Third Edition: A Social History 1750–2011 |publisher=A&C Black |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-84966-570-4}}
* {{cite book |title=Tram Atlas Poland |first=Robert |last=Schwandl |date=2017 |publisher=Schwandl, Robert |isbn=978-3-936573-50-3}}
* {{cite book | last=Soida | first=Krzysztof | title=Komunikacja tramwajowa w aglomeracji katowickiej : 100 lat tramwaju elektrycznego |trans-title=Tram communication in the Katowice agglomeration: 100 years of electric tram| publisher=Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Tramwajowej | publication-place=Katowice | date=1998 | isbn=83-85145-13-3 | oclc=750734568 | language=pl}}
* {{cite book |title=Tussen stad en land |first1=Herman |last1=van 't Hoogerhuijs |first2=Marco |last2=Moerland |publisher=De Alk |place=Alkmaar |date=2012 |isbn=9 78-90-6013-334-7 |language=Dutch}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last1=Brough | first1=Lawrence A. | last2=Grabener | first2=James H. | title=From Small Town To Downtown: A History of the Jewett Car Company, 1893–1919 | location=Bloomington, IN | publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] | year=2004 | isbn=0-253-34369-0}}
* {{cite book | last=Demoro | first=Harre W. | title=California's Electric Railways: An Illustrated Review | year=1986 | location=Glendale, CA | publisher=[[Interurban Press]] | isbn=091-6374-742}}
* {{cite book | last=Due | first=John F. | title=The Intercity Electric Railway Industry in Canada | url=https://archive.org/details/intercityelectri0018duej | url-access=registration | location=Toronto | publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] | year=1966 | oclc=238045}}
* {{cite book | last1=Harwood | first1=Herbert H.| last2=Korach | first2=Robert S. | title=Lake Shore Electric Railway Story | location=Bloomington, IN | publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] | year=2000 | isbn=0-253-33797-6}}
* {{cite book | last=Kulp | first=Randolph L. | title=History of Lehigh Valley Transit Company | location=Allentown, PA | publisher=Lehigh Valley Chapter, National Railway Historical Society | year=1966 | oclc=4649131}}
* {{cite book | last=Marlette | first=Jerry | title=Electric Railroads of Indiana | location=Indianapolis | publisher=Hoosier Heritage Press | orig-year=1959 | year=1980 | oclc=7364454}}
* {{cite book | last1=Meyers | first1=Allen | last2=Spivak | first2=Joel | title=Philadelphia Trolleys | series=Images of rail | location=Charleston, SC | publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] | year=2004 | isbn=0-7385-1226-5}}
* {{cite book | last=Middleton | first=William D. | title=Frank Julian Sprague: Electrical Inventor & Engineer | location=Bloomington, IN | publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] | year=2009 | isbn=978-0-253-35383-2}}
* {{cite book | last1=Schramm | first1=Jack E. | last2=Henning | first2=William H. | last3=Andrews | first3=Richard R. | title=When Eastern Michigan Rode the Rails | publisher=[[Interurban Press]] | location=Glendale, CA | year=1988–1994 | isbn=0-91637-465-3}}
* {{cite book | last=Springirth | first=Kenneth C. | title=Suburban Philadelphia Trolleys | publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] | location=Charleston, SC | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-7385-5043-5}}
* {{cite book | last=Trimble | first=Paul C. | title=Sacramento Northern Railway | publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] | series=Images of rail | location=Charleston, SC | year=2005 | isbn=073-8530-522 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.cera-chicago.org/ Central Electric Railfans Association]
* [http://www.pacificelectric.org/ Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society]
* [http://www.eastpenn.org East Penn Traction Association]

{{Public transport}}

[[Category:Interurban railways| ]]
[[Category:1900s in rail transport]]
[[Category:1910s in rail transport]]
[[Category:1920s in rail transport]]
[[Category:1920s in the United States]]
[[Category:1910s in the United States]]
[[Category:1900s in the United States]]

[[fi:Kiskobussi]]