Premetro

Type of tramway or light rail

Not to be confused with Light metro or Tram-train.

Trams at Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis station with partially low platforms in Brussels. Low platform section for trams at Duisburg Hauptbahnhof Stadtbahn station. Low platform station for trams in Vienna during transformation. A third rail and emergency stairs from the future high platform have already been installed. Pantano station before conversion.

Premetro (or pre-metro) is a type of light rail designed for eventual conversion to a full rapid transit (also known as a metro).[1][2] These systems typically include infrastructure such as tunnels, viaducts, and dedicated rights-of-way to separate them from other traffic, built to metro standards with wider curves and gentler gradients than conventional light rail lines.[3][4][5] However, they often include sections without full segregation, limiting immediate conversion. Premetros are usually operated with light rail vehicles or trams until an upgrade is implemented.

Several cities have referred to portions of their light rail networks as a pre-metro, including Brussels[6][7] and Antwerp.[8][9] Additionally, Buenos Aires has a line light rail line named Premetro,[10][11] however this operates as a feeder line to the metro network, and was not built with plans for conversion to full rapid transit.[12]

## History

[edit]

An early example of was the Tremont Street subway (1897) in Boston, today part of the MBTA Green Line. This tunnel was intended solely to reduce streetcar congestion on surface streets, not for later conversion to metro service.[13] However between 1901 and 1908, two out of four tracks were used for rapid transit service including high platforms.[14] Several early streetcar tunnels, including the Steinway Tunnel and East Boston Tunnel, were later converted to metro operation. However, the small loading gauge, tight curves, and steep grades of the streetcar tunnels required shorter metro cars than otherwise desirable.[13] In 1950 Stockholm converted a 1920s tram tunnel for its first rapid transit line.[15]

### Second generation

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The modern premetro concept Stadtbahn began in 1960s Germany, as rising traffic congestion due to auto ownership led to the construction of new transit systems. Rather than building costly metro lines immediately, some cities built only the downtown tunnels. They could be used by existing tram lines in the short term, with the intention of full metro conversion later - hence "pre-metro".[16] The idea spread to other European countries in the 1970s, especially Belgium, where such systems were explicitly named premetros.[16] Also one segment of Vienna's U2 metro line (Rathaus-Museumsquartier) is an in 1980 converted underground tramway line, which was constructed in 1966.

## Terminology

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The use of tram vehicles in tunnels originated in the United States in the nineteenth century and was often called "subway–surface line". Later, in the second half of the twentieth century the term "semi-metro" was coined for tram systems with some sections in tunnels and on viaducts. Only when a semi-metro section is designed for later use of heavy rapid transit trains, it falls in the premetro category. The large scale report "Light Rail Transit: A State of the Art Review" describes on page 9 the relationship of premetro systems to broader terms as follows:

> Certain design features distinguish these systems from semi-metro or conventional light rail transit systems[1]

The same distinction is made in glossaries.[2][17] During the period when tram vehicles are used, the specific line falls into the light rail category.[18][19]

## Examples

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Main article: List of premetro systems

### Previously converted lines

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* Line 2 (Rio de Janeiro) in Brazil[20]
* Two stations of the line Roma – Fiuggi – Frosinone were converted to metro standards to become part of the Rome Line C.
* Vienna Pre-metro in Austria

### Lines being converted

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* Brussels Pre-metro[21] in Belgium

### Lines without plans to be converted

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* Antwerp Pre-metro[22][23] in Belgium
* Kryvyi Rih Metrotram in Ukraine

## See also

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* Medium-capacity rail system
* Train categories in Europe

## References

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1. ^ a b De Leuw, Cather & Company (1976). Light Rail Transit: A State of the Art Review, Executive Summary. p. 47. Retrieved 30 August 2023. "This step-by-step planning approach to building rail rapid transit is known as pre-metro, implying the intention to ultimately construct a fully grade separated route to be used by rail rapid transit or metro trains."
2. ^ a b Program, Transit Cooperative Research (2013). "11 Glossary and symbols". Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual. Transportation Research Board. p. 53\. ISBN 978-0-309-28344-1. "pre-metro — a light rail transit system designed with provisions for easy conversion to heavy rail (rail rapid transit)."
3. ^ Mattila, Matti (5 August 2012). Wizzit Magazine 3/2011. Annorlunda Mediatuotanto Oy. p. 19\. ISBN 978-1-4478-2842-6. Retrieved 9 August 2024. "Premetros also allow a gradual upgrade of existing tramways to rapid transit, thus spreading the investments costs over time."
4. ^ John Hoyle (16 May 1975). "Letters to the editor -- The tram is the answer". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 January 2014. "Cities such as Frankfurt and Cologne in West Germany have further developed their tramway system by introducing a concept known as "premetro." In this system trams or light rail vehicles make extensive use of tunnels, reserve track and by utilizing folding steps these vehicles can operate through high or low stopping places."
5. ^ Jenkin, P. (1988). Urban Railways and the Civil Engineer. Thomas Telford. ISBN 978-0-7277-1337-7. Retrieved 9 August 2024. "Pre-Metro is an extreme case of light rail, on segregated right of way, and designed to upgrading to metro when passenger demand increases sufficiently."
6. ^ "History - STIB - MIVB". www.stib-mivb.be. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
7. ^ Times, The Brussels. "Schaerbeek pre-metro station gets facelift – others to follow in 2025". www.brusselstimes.com. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
8. ^ "History". www.delijn.be. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
9. ^ News, Flanders (11 February 2022). "Discover the plans for four new Antwerp pre-metro stations". vrtnws.be. Retrieved 27 March 2025. `{{cite web}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
10. ^ "Premetro ≫ Recorrido, estaciones, combinaciones, y horarios". SUBTE (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2025.
11. ^ "City government expands payment options for Subte metro service". Buenos Aires Times. 29 November 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
12. ^ "Premetro a Puente de la Noria, en el olvido por el Metrobus del Sur". enelSubte (in Spanish). 16 August 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
13. ^ a b Cudahy, Brian J. (1972). Change at Park Street Under. Stephen Greene Press. pp. 10-11, 31-33. ISBN 0828901732. LCCN 72081531.
14. ^ "Boston Elevated Railway Company, Main Line Elevated Structure (HAER)". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved 7 August 2024. "the outer tracks of the Tremont Street Tunnel which was adapted to elevated train use in 1901 by the construction of higher platforms"
15. ^ Geoffrey, Skelsey (2018). Brussels Metro to Grow As Pre-metro Shrinks. London Underground Railway Society. p. 3.
16. ^ a b Ian Yearsley (21 December 1972). "Trams are coming back". New Scientist. Reed Business Information Ltd. Retrieved 14 January 2014. "But instead of building the entire expensive systems immediately, the Germans hit on the idea of building only the city centre tunnels at first. Intended in the long run to be extended to full undergrounds, in the short term they could be used by trams which would continue to run on the surface outside city centres. The idea spread to other European countries, especially Belgium, where it became known as pre-metro. Today Brussels, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and many other cities are filling their central business districts with construction sites to move the trains underground."
17. ^ "PREMETRO [1 record]" (in French). TERMIUM Plus®. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2024. "Un semi-métro peut constituer une étape intermédiaire vers la constitution d'un véritable métro lorsqu'il est envisagé d'étendre par phases successives le site propre intégral à la totalité de la ligne ou du réseau. Les ouvrages sont alors dimensionnés au gabarit du futur métro et on parle du pré-métro."
18. ^ Transportation Research Board National Research Council (1989). Urban Public Transportation Glossary. Retrieved 16 February 2023. "pre-metro: a light rail transit system designed with provisions for easy conversion to rail rapid transit"
19. ^ Vuchic, Vukan R. (2007). Urban transit systems and technology. Hoboken, N.J: J. Wiley & Sons. p. 580\. doi:10.1002/9780470168066.fmatter. ISBN 9780471758235. Retrieved 7 October 2023. "PREMETRO—An LRT system designed with provisions for easy conversion into RRT (metro)."
20. ^ Araujo, Ricardo Melo (December 2017). Plano conceitual de transporte de passageiros sobre trilhos na Região Metropolitana de Curitiba (in Portuguese). Curitiba. p. 36. Retrieved 30 October 2024.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
21. ^ Geoffroy Fabre (19 March 2014). "Une station fantôme au secours du futur Métro Nord de la STIB". RTBF. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
22. ^ "Discover the plans for four new Antwerp pre-metro stations". vrtnws.be. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
23. ^ "Antwerpen Tram & Premetro". UrbanRail.net. 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014. "Antwerpen rail network is a typical premetro network."

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