Rail replacement bus service
Arail replacement bus serviceusesbusesto replace apassenger trainservice on a temporary or permanent basis. The train service that is replaced may be of any type such aslight rail,tram,streetcar,commuter rail,regional railorheavy rail,intercitypassenger service. The rail service may be replaced if the line is closed because ofrail maintenance,a breakdown of atrain,arail accidentor astrike actionor to simply provide additional capacity or if the rail service is deemed noteconomicallyviable.
Terms for a rail replacement bus service includebustitution(aportmanteauof the words "bus" and "substitution", orbustitute)[1]andbus bridge.[2]Substitution of rail services by buses can be unpopular and subject to criticism and so the termbustitutionis often used pejoratively.[3][4]
Examples
[edit]Australia
[edit]
InAustralia,a permanent or temporary rail replacement service change is often referred to asbustitution.[5]
In November 1941, theWestern Australian Government Railwaysintroduced its first rail replacement service, which operated a service fromPerthtoKojonupviaBoddington.[6]By 1949, there were 28 buses,[7]and by 1959, there were more than 50.[8]
TheSydney MetroNorthwest line used human-driven single-deck buses late at night from Wednesdays to Sundays and operated a red Metro bus-like service with a frequency of approximately every 10 minutes until November 2019. That measure was in place since the line was deemed "ready" 10 months ahead of schedule.[9]
On theQueensland Railnetwork, to relieve congestion on the single trackSunshine Coast line,the rail service is supplemented by a bus service operated byKangaroo Bus Lineson weekdays betweenCabooltureandNambouras route 649.[10]NSW TrainLink,TranswaandV/Lineall introduced extensive networks inNew South Wales,Western AustraliaandVictoriain the 1970s and the 1980s that replaced regional trains.
Canada
[edit]Via Rail,the operator of the national passenger rail network, uses the term "bustitution" to refer to rail replacement with buses.[1]
China
[edit]
After thetrain collisiononChangping line,Beijing SubwaybetweenXi'erqi stationandLife Science Park stationon 14 December 2023, train services betweenZhuxinzhuangand Xi'erqi were temporarily suspended on the following day. Beijing Public Transport provided free shuttle bus services between Zhuxinzhuang and Xi'erqi.[11]
Czech Republic
[edit]
Substitute bus transport (Czech:náhradní autobusová doprava) is governed by the Road Traffic Act (111/1994 Coll.), which allows the operator of a national, regional, tram,trolleybusorspecial lineto operate substitute transport for up to 90 days in the case of interrupted or temporarily-restricted traffic on the line without the requirement to apply for a bus line license and have approval of the line's schedule. The law also mandates vehicles used for substitute transport to be marked as such.
In municipal public transport, substitute transport often takes on the number of the line that it replaces, prefixed by the letter X, and the original line is detoured. In cities with trolleybus systems, rail replacement buses also occasionally used for substitute transport and is then called substitute trolleybus transport (Czech:náhradní trolejbusová doprava).
Ireland
[edit]As in theUnited Kingdom,buses have replaced rail services on closed lines. The most recent example can be found inCounty Wexford.where upon the suspension of rail services betweenRosslare EuroportandWaterfordin 2010,Bus Éireannroute 370 was introduced. However, the bus takes considerably longer than the train journey and fails to serveWaterford railway station.[12]
Japan
[edit]
Busses have replaced rail in Japan when rail service must be suspended because of disaster, accident, economics, or engineering works. Notably, in some cases. those rail lines are closed permanently, and some of the formerrail rights-of-wayare converted into bus rights-of-way to provide grade-separatedbus rapid transitservice.[13]
New Zealand
[edit]Whentrain servicesoperated byTransdevinAucklandtrain services are sometimes replaced by a bus, the resulting service is calledRail Bus.[14]Historically,New Zealand Railways Road Servicesreplaced many train routes with buses.[citation needed]
Sweden
[edit]While the reconstruction ofSlussen,the western terminal ofSaltsjöbanan,is in progress, trains on line 25 run only toHenriksdal,one station short ofSlussen,with the segment betweenSlussenandHenriksdalserved by a replacement bus 25B that is timed to match the train times atHenriksdal.
Sometimes, buses can be seen running on line 7, theSpårväg Citytram line, even when trams are running normally.
In the night after 01:00, there is no service on the Stockholm Metro and the commuter rail, and night buses run along the line instead.
United Kingdom
[edit]
During theBritish Railways Board's railway rationalisation in the 1960s, known as theBeeching cuts,bus substitution was an official policy for replacing train services on closed lines. The policy was largely unsuccessful, however, as the bus services were usually far slower than the train services that they replaced, and many passengers gave up on public transport altogether.[15]A report published in 2018 identified successful, and surviving, examples of this policy as the presentExcelroute operated byFirst Eastern Countiesbetween Norwich and Peterborough,[16]and theBrighton & HoveRegency Routebetween Brighton and Tunbridge Wells, which partly replaces a route closed by Beeching.[17]
Rail replacement bus services have been used to operateparliamentary trainservices.
- WhenNorth London Railwaysservices betweenWatford JunctionandCroxley Greenwere withdrawn in March 1996, to avoid the legal complications and costs of actual closure, train services were replaced by buses. The service was withdrawn when the branch was formally closed in September 2003.[18]
- After the withdrawal ofCentral Trainsservices betweenStaffordandStoke-on-Trent,to facilitate theWest Coast Main Lineupgrade at the request of theStrategic Rail Authorityin May 2003,BakerBusroute X1 was introduced to serveNorton Bridge,Stone,BarlastonandWedgwoodstations.[19][20]When the train service was reintroduced byLondon Midlandin December 2008, only Stone regained a rail service, and the other stations continued to be served by route X1.[21][22]In October 2017, theDepartment for Transport(DfT) declared Norton Bridge station closed but continued the partial funding of the replacement bus service until March 2019.[23][24]As of 2023, Barlaston and Wedgwood stations continue to be served byD&G Busreplacement route 100. The DfT funds the contractual service while it seeks a solution to demands for the restoration of the train service. The bustitution has existed for 19 years, as of 2023.
- After the withdrawal of services byArriva CrossCountrybetweenReadingandBrightonin December 2008, the only passenger services on three short sections of line betweenEaling BroadwayandWandsworth Road,a replacement weekly bus service was introduced.[25][26]The service ceased in June 2013, after a formal closure process had been completed.[27][28]
United States
[edit]
Rail-replacement bus services occurred on a large scale after the dismantling of thestreet railwaysystems of many cities inNorth Americain the mid-20th century.[29][30]Replacement of existing rail services with buses afterWorld War IIis one of the largest reasons that so few US cities haverapid transit systems.
The temporary substitution of buses for trains may be done withAmtrak'sAmtrak Thruwayservice.[31]
TheG Line(formerly the Orange Line) of theLos Angeles Metroruns along a paved closed course on the easement from the originalSouthern Pacific RailroadBurbank line, which was later used by thePacific Electric Railway.It may eventually be converted back tolight railwith Measure M funding, but that is not currently scheduled to happen until around 2050.
Singapore
[edit]An incident occurred inSingaporeon 7 July 2015 after amass shutdownon theNorth–SouthandEast–West linesafter a power system failure. The operatorSMRTand the rivalSBS Transitdid not activate bus bridging but made all buses free islandwide because of the sheer scale of the disruptions.[32][33]The Land Transport Authority made travel free available for any bus services passing MRT stations that were affected during the train disruptions, and during a massive disruption affecting at least two lines, bus travel islandwide was made free.[33]
Urban transit
[edit]Rail-replacement bus services are common amongurban rail transitsystems, mainly because of unexpected service disruptions. For example, one of theeffects of Hurricane Sandy in New Yorkwas that theNew York City Subwayrequired replacement bus service for several subway routes.[34]As the subway runs24/7/365,replacement bus service is also provided when subway lines were closed for regularly-scheduled maintenance and so interruptions in subway service require replacement bus service, even during off-peak hours.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]
- Abandonment (legal) § Abandonment of public transportation systems
- Beeching cuts,an example of bus service replacing rail service
- Bus rapid transit
- Effects of the car on societies
- Rail trail
- Transport economics
References
[edit]- ^ab"Definition of bustitution".Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
- ^'Limited MTA service backj Thursday' onNew York Daily Newswebsite, viewed 9 July 2013
- ^An example appears in a 2009 editorial. See:Parker, Christopher (19 January 2009)."Statement on the bustitution of the Ethan Allen Express".Vermont Rail Action Network. Archived fromthe originalon 27 July 2011.Retrieved20 June2009.
- ^Weyrich, Paul M. and William S. Lind (May 1999)."Does Transit Work? A Conservative Reappraisal"(PDF).American Public Transportation Association.Retrieved7 September2016.
- ^"Bustitution over Xmas".Media Release – Newsletter.1993(1). Action for Public Transport (New South Wales). February 1993.ISSN0155-8234.Retrieved22 June2009.
- ^Royal Commission into the Management, Workings & Control of the Western Australian Government RailwaysGovernment of Western Australia December 1947 page 92
- ^WAGR buses shift 360,000 in a yearThe Sunday Times28 August 1949 page 3
- ^Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2003Western Australian Government Railways Commission
- ^"NSW Budget: $12 billion for metro rail revolution | Sydney Metro".sydneymetro.info.Retrieved6 May2019.
- ^Route 649TransLink
- ^"Bắc Kinh tàu điện ngầm xương bình tuyến hôm nay phân đoạn hoạt động, trạm tàu điện ngầm ngoại khai thông đưa đò đường tàu riêng"(in Chinese).Beijing Daily App.15 December 2023.Retrieved16 December2023.
- ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 8 July 2017.Retrieved18 June2017.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ＪＲ khí tiên chiểu tuyến の đường bộ tích, バス chuyên dùng nói một bộ hoàn thànhNikkei
- ^"How to use a railbus".Auckland Transport,assessed 7 July 2013
- ^Henshaw, David (1994).The Great Railway Conspiracy.Leading Edge Press and Pub.ISBN0-948135-48-4.
- ^Luke, Dylan; Steer, Jim; White, Peter. "3.0 – Case studies: single route Interurban Bus services".Interurban Bus: Time to raise the profile(PDF)(Report). Greengauge21. pp. 21–23.Retrieved21 August2023.
- ^Luke, Dylan; Steer, Jim; White, Peter. "3.0 – Case studies: single route Interurban Bus services".Interurban Bus: Time to raise the profile(PDF)(Report). Greengauge21. p. 23.Retrieved21 August2023.
- ^Croxley Green LNWR Branch Passenger ClosureRail Chronology
- ^"Stations close to trains".BBC News.16 May 2003.Retrieved28 September2018.
- ^"Fewer buses for Barlastan".The Stone & Eccleshall Gazette.13 November 2013.Retrieved28 September2018.
- ^New Timetable Means New Services for StokeNetwork Rail14 December 2008
- ^Stone station is re-openedThe Railway Magazineissue 1294 February 2009 page 64
- ^Summary to the responses to consultation to proposed closure of Norton Bridge Station.Department for Transport 2017
- ^Closure Ratification Notice – Norton Bridge Station Office of Rail & Road 26 October 2017
- ^Swaine, Jon (7 January 2009)."Government runs 'ghost bus' to avoid admitting it scrapped rail service".The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved28 September2018.
- ^Withdrawal of Scheduled Passenger Services Between Wandsworth Road, Kensington (Olympia) & Ealing BroadwayOffice of Rail Regulation10 May 2012
- ^"'Ghost bus' makes final journey ".ITV News.11 June 2013.Retrieved28 September2018.
- ^Last Olympia – Wandsworth RoadToday's Railways UKissue 140 August 2013 page 19
- ^An example fromMilwaukee,Wisconsin,may be seen in a picture caption:"Motor Coaches of The Brew City".Retrieved21 June2009.
- ^"Newark PCC 27 Arrives at the Museum".Shoreline Trolley Museum.14 October 2001.Retrieved21 June2009.
- ^"Thruway Motorcoach Service and Accessibility".Amtrak.Retrieved21 June2009.
- ^"SMRT to be fined a record S$5.4m for July 7 MRT breakdown".Channel NewsAsia.Archived fromthe originalon 28 September 2015.Retrieved18 June2017.
- ^ab"Free bus services during extended MRT disruption".mot.gov.sg.Ministry of Transport, Singapore. Archived fromthe originalon 29 September 2015.Retrieved18 June2017.
- ^"NYC DOT and MTA/NYCT to Establish Dedicated Shuttle Bus Routes Between Brooklyn and Midtown Manhattan as Storm Repairs Continue".New York City Department of Transportation(Press release). 31 October 2012.
External links
[edit]
Media related toRail substitute bus transportat Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition ofbustitutionat Wiktionary
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