Inter-city rail
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Inter-city rail services are train services which cover larger distances than commuter trains.
In continental Europe, the long distance trains are operated as the InterCity brand. The term InterCity originated with the British Rail's InterCity sector, but the term went out of official use following privatisation.
The principal network of inter-city trains in mainland Europe is called EuroCity, distinguished from the InterCity network by its better support for international travels, even though IC trains also traverse borders.
High-speed railways have particularly few stops. The German high-speed train line was named InterCity Express indicating evolution from older InterCity trains.
In the United States, the inter-city trains are operated by Amtrak over a network which is much less dense than the European one.
In Great Britain, the inter-city rail links are operated by a number of private companies. In Ireland, the inter-city rail network is maintained by Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways.
Australia
In Australia, the national inter-city network which connects all mainland Australian capital cities except for Canberra and Brisbane is operated by Great Southern Railway. Other inter-city trains that traverse shorter distances are operated by V/Line, CountryLink, Queensland Rail and TransWA. Australian "inter-city" railways are not true inter-city services, given their usual leisurely speed and primary role, which is to transport people between regional areas and the nearest capital city or for the tourist market. As a result, Australian networks refer to these services as "country" trains, with the term "intercity" used informally to describe long-distance commuter rail, e.g. by CityRail. Australians usually fly direct using airlines for true "inter-city travel", given the massive distance involved in rail travel in Australia, what are usually slow speeds, poor rail corridor alignments and the lack of dedication to providing quality rail services by both the Commonwealth and State governments. The fastest trains in regular service are the tilting trains used by Queensland Rail, which have a top speed of 160km/h and and average of only 80km/h.
In Australia, electrified interurban commuter railway systems are used to connect urban areas separated by long distances and use heavy rail equipment:
- In Sydney CityRail operates an extensive interurban network of four main routes from Sydney. These run to Newcastle and the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, the Southern Highlands and the South Coast.
- In Brisbane CityTrain operates a smaller interurban commuter network of three lines which connect Brisbane to the Gold Coast in the south, the Sunshine Coast in the north and Rosewood in the west.
On these systems, services either run as limited stops expresses in the suburban area (e.g. Blue Mountains services) or as shuttles terminating where the suburban lines end (e,g. Rosewood services).
- In Perth a new electric interurban rail line running down the middle of the Kwinana Freeway will serve Mandurah by 2006.
A large scale non-electric project of four regional lines is also planned for Victoria. Current commuter journeys outside the suburban area are usually locomotive-hauled, due to Victoria's lack of electrification outside of Melbourne, but these accept Metlink tickets.
See also
- Railway stations in the Netherlands#Categories (spelling: "intercity")