STREETCARS Vs LRT

The Basics

Edmonton had streetcars from 1908 to 1951. Its high-floor LRT system opened in 1978, and it opened a low-floor LRT line in 2023.


So, what are the differences?

Streetcars

Streetcars are often considered a mode of transit from a bygone era, but this is not entirely true. Although electric streetcars did have a heyday stretching roughly from the 1890s to the 1950s, and many cities now have heritage lines, cities continue to operate and build modern streetcar lines. Toronto was the only city in Canada to modernize its streetcar system instead of removing it.


Many modern streetcar lines use new rolling stock that are not very different from urban LRT rolling stock. However, they are distinct from high-floor and low-floor LRT (discussed below) in how they are constructed and run.


Streetcar lines typically share the road with other vehicles, their stops are at intervals of 200 meters (roughly every two blocks), and their rolling stock is rarely coupled together to form trains.

High-floor LRT

Edmonton's Capital Line and Metro Line are examples of high-floor LRT design. They are characterized by high-floor rolling stock that requires specialized platforms for the loading and unloading of passengers. These lines require greater infrastructural investments (e.g. big stations) than streetcars or low-floor LRT lines. Because of this, stops are typically spaced further apart than streetcar or low-floor LRT stops. Stations are often 600 meters apart.


Low-floor LRT

The Valley Line is Edmonton's only low-floor LRT line. Low-Floor LRT is very different from high-floor LRT because it fits better into neighbourhoods. Low-floor stops do not need to be elaborate stations. They can be as simple (and inexpensive) as a raised curb and standard bus shelter.


It can be difficult to spot the differences between modern streetcar services, and low-floor LRT. Low-floor LRT stops are usually spaced further apart than streetcar stops, but closer together than high-floor LRT stations. Low-floor LRT lines will typically have reserved right-of-ways, priority at intersections, and not operate in mixed traffic. Low-floor LRT cars are also more likely than streetcars to be coupled together for more capacity. Essentially, low-floor LRT lines have the potential to operate faster, and move more passengers, than streetcar lines.

Conclusion

In the end, the differences between streetcars and high-floor LRT lines are drastic, but the differences between streetcar lines and low-floor LRT are more subtle. Some systems may even be a hybrid of both options.

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