Regional rail

Regional rail usually provides rail services between towns and cities, rather than purely linking major population hubs in the way inter-city rail does. Examples include the former BR's Regional Railways, France's TER (Transport express régional) and Germany's DB Regio services. Alternative names are local train or stopping train.

Regional rail does not exist in this sense in the USA, so the term "Regional Rail" has become synonymous with commuter rail.

Characteristics

A British Class 158 at York station

Regional trains are usually optimized for passenger comfort, with 2+2 seating and room for luggage, although they seldom have all the amenities of inter-city trains. The general range of regional trains can be anything up to 200 km (125 miles), with operating speeds from 55 to 175 km/h (30 to 110 mph). Regional rail trains are usually composed of diesel multiple units or, less often, electric multiple units.

The main difference between regional rail and commuter rail is that the latter is focused on moving people between where they live and where they work on a daily basis. Regional rail operates outside major cities. Unlike Inter-city, it stops at most or all stations. It provides a service between smaller communities along the line, and also connections with long-distance services. Regional rail operates throughout the day but often at low frequency (once per hour or only a few times a day), whereas commuter rail provides a high-frequency service within a conurbation.

Regional rail services are much less likely to be profitable, and hence require government subsidy. This is justified on the grounds on social or environmental grounds, as well as the fact that regional rail services often act as feeders for profitable inter-city lines.

Since their invention, the distinction between regional and long-distance rail has also been the use of multiple unit propulsion, with longer distance trains tending to be locomotive hauled (although development of trains such as the British Rail Class 390 have blurred this distincion). Shorter regional rail services will still usually be operated exclusively by multiple units where they exist, which have a shorter range and operate at lower average speeds than services on Inter-city rail networks. Not using a locomotive also provides greater passenger capacity in the commuter role at peak periods.

Regional rail in different countries

Country	Railway company	Name	English / comments
Austria	ÖBB	Regionalzug	"Regional train". Calls at every stop. They mostly only convey 2nd class.
Belgium	SNCB	lokale trein/train local	"Local train"
Czech Republic	ČD	Osobní vlak	"Passenger train"
Germany	DB	Regionalbahn	"Regional train". This category is used for trains calling at every stop. Previously they were named Nahverkehrszug and even before Personenzug.
Netherlands	NS	Stoptrein/Sprinter	"Stopping train". Stops at all stations, the basic local train service.
Norway	NSB	regiontog	"Regional train". This term used by Norges Statsbaner for medium- and long distance trains; those that do not stop at all stations.
Poland	PKP	Pociąg osobowy	"Passenger train"
Sweden	SJ	Regionaltåg	"Regional train".
Switzerland	SBB-CFF-FFS and others	Regionalzug (German), Train régional (French), Treno regionale (Italian)	"Regional Train". Replaces the former terms Personenzug (German, translates as passenger train) and train omnibus (French) to have a more precise description and basically the same word in all three national languages. Starting in December 2004 the abbreviation Regio was introduced for all languages. Trains named Regio call at every stop.

See also

• Train categories in Europe
• Commuter rail
• InterCity
• Rail terminology
• Passenger rail terminology
• Public transport