Through train

A through train[1] (also through service,[2] run-through service/train[3]) is a concept of rail transport (including commuter rail, subway systems, and mass transit) that involves a train travelling between railway lines, networks or operators on a regularly specified schedule (not random). This is usually accomplished through compatible infrastructure—identical track gauge and durability issues (although variable gauge trains do exist, they tend to be expensive), rolling stock dimensions, curve speed and signaling compatibility, train station dimensions (to avoid damage to rolling stock), tunnels and bridge dimensions and maximum weight, and power requirements. The exact terminology (and definition) vary as usage; in the case of National Rail of the UK, a through train is one which may be used by a passenger to make their entire journey without changing trains.[1]

China

Chinese cities operate several through-train services (simplified Chinese: 直通运行; traditional Chinese: 直通運行; pinyin: zhítōng yùnxíng):

  • Passenger: Some trains from China's Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway cross the border and run onto the Hong Kong MTR East Rail to Hung Hom, but these trains do not stop along its stations, because border clearance is only done in Hung Hom. MTR also operate trains from Hung Hom onwards across the border on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway.
  • Freight-only: Chongqing-Duisburg, Germany; once a month.

Several subway systems have through operation between lines. Although this is usually a service crossing between a somewhat arbitrary boundary between two lines.

France

Paris Réseau express régional:

  • RER A trains serving the Cergy and Poissy branches run on SNCF (western part) and RATP (eastern part) tracks.
  • RER B runs on SNCF (northern part) and RATP (southern part) tracks.

In both cases, trains run contiguously, thus providing a one-seat ride across both SNCF and RATP networks. To achieve smooth network crossing, RATP and SNCF jointly designed and ordered specific MI 79 rolling stock (where MI stands for matériel d'interconnexion, French for "cross-network rolling stock.") Change of drivers was compulsory at network boundaries until 2008 when one-driver cross-network runs were introduced.

Germany

In Germany, such services are called Durchbindung.

Japan
Main article: List of through trains in Japan
A Tokyu Corporation train on the Tobu Isesaki Line. Through service between different suburban rail lines are common in greater Tokyo.

Through services (直通運転, chokutsū unten) are regularly scheduled train services owned by an operator which runs over tracks which it does not own. Many urban railways in Japan operate such services to increase ridership, increase convenience and simplicity, and reduce time to destinations by eliminating transfers through seamless connection. One example is a Narita-to-Haneda Airport Express service, which runs on four companies' tracks-Keikyu, Toei, Keisei, and Hokuso Railway. Despite fewer new lines in recent years as the system is mature, more through services are proliferating to reduce cross metropolitan area connection time, at least in theory.

A 2016 MLIT study has shown that minor train delays are quite commonplace in Greater Tokyo during rush hour, at odds with Japan's image of train punctuality. The reason for this is that the subway lines in particular are subject to heavier loads, and thus more delay as riders rush in at the last minute, and forcing final door closings to be delayed. The proliferation of through-services has only magnified the problem, as it acts as a double-edged sword, though convenient in not having to switch trains, central Tokyo delays increasingly cause a ripple effect to through services on suburban lines.[5]

South Korea

Subway trains of Seoul Subway Line 1, Line 3 and Line 4 run through to Korail suburban lines.

Russia

Russia operates regular scheduled through services with other countries:

United States

Trains operating on the Metro-North Railroad in Westchester, New York run through to New York City tracks and switch from electric to diesel.

See also

References
  1. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/NRCOC_old_2011.pdf
  2. http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr63/pdf/14-21_web.pdf
  3. http://www.necfuture.com/alternatives/
  4. "缓解客流压力，北京地铁4号线、大兴线调整运营措施-新华网". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
  5. https://www.railway-technology.com/features/rush-hour-delays-tokyos-commuter-railways-feeling-strain/
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