Shuttle train
A shuttle train is a train that runs back and forth over a short route.[1][2] Shuttle trains are used in various ways in different parts of the world. They can be used to carry passengers, freight (including accompanied cars/buses/trucks), or both.
For passenger trains they are generally one of two types:
- a branch line or other short distance line, generally with frequent services, where trains travel back & forth over the short line; or
- a supplementary service to cater for high passenger numbers on a short portion of a railway line, either during rush hours or other specified times such as before or after major events (concerts, sports, etc).
Airport shuttle trains
[edit]An airport shuttle train runs between an airport terminal and one or more other locations such as another airport terminal, railway station or carpark - often a combination of these locations. These are generally in the form of a driverless people mover/automated guideway transit (AGT).
United States
[edit]Oakland, California: Oakland Airport Connector is an AGT system which connects Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport terminal to Coliseum station, an interchange station on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) rapid transit system. It operates every 6 minutes.[3]
New Jersey: AirTrain Newark is a 3-mile (4.8 km) automated people mover at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) which connects the airport terminals with car parks and Newark Liberty International Airport Station where passengers can interchange for Amtrak and NJ Transit rail services. It operates every 3-5 minutes 5:00AM—11:00PM and every 15 minutes at other times.[4]
Italy
[edit]Pisa: A shuttle train connects Galileo Galilei Airport with Pisa Central railway station. It operates daily and takes five minutes.[5][needs update]
United Kingdom
[edit]London: The Gatwick Airport Shuttle Transit is a people mover used to transfer passengers between the North and South Terminals at London Gatwick Airport. It runs every few minutes 24 hours a day, and the journey takes two minutes.[6]
Commuter shuttle trains
[edit]A shuttle train may be used to carry commuters, especially if at least one of the shuttle train's stations is an interchange station.
Japan
[edit]Tokyo: The Tobu Daishi Line is a 1.0 km (0.62 mi) railway line consisting of two stations. Trains operate every 10 minutes[7] with Nishiarai Station being an interchange station to the Tobu Skytree Line.
Nagoya: During the morning rush hour, a supplementary shuttle train on the Aichi Loop Line operates between Mikawa-Toyota Station and Shin-Toyota Station (3 stations, operating 07:30—09:00am every 15 minutes), to cater for large number of commuters interchanging from the Meitetsu railway lines at Toyotashi Station (adjacent to Shin-Toyota Station) travelling to the various Toyota manufacturing plants and commercial offices in the vicinity of Mikawa-Toyota Station.[8]
United States
[edit]New York: There are three shuttle services in the New York City Subway, as well as several other non-shuttle services cut back to shuttle portions during overnights. However, of these services, only the 42nd Street Shuttle is a true shuttle[clarification needed] that stops only at two locations. Five shuttle services were formerly run in the subway.
Chicago: The Yellow Line on the Chicago "L" originally ran as a nonstop shuttle from Dempster Street in Skokie to Howard Street in Chicago, offering connections to the Red and Purple Lines. In 2012, an infill station opened on Oakton Street, no longer making the Yellow Line a true shuttle[clarification needed].
New Jersey: NJ Transit's Princeton Branch, or "dinky", is a shuttle line.
Austria
[edit]The National Intermodal Network Austria, operated by Rail Cargo Austria, uses a hub-and-spoke system of shuttle trains to provide overnight links between the highest volume intermodal freight terminals in Austria. The hub of the network is located at Wels.[9]
Bangladesh
[edit]The Chattogram University shuttle train is operated by Bangladesh Railway eastern division and monitored by university authority.[10] Trains leave Chattogram railway station and Sholoshohor railway station, and city-bound trains leave Chattogram University railway station.
Hong Kong
[edit]The MTR Disneyland Resort line is a themed shuttle line linking the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort with the rest of the network. Another shuttle train runs between the Tseung Kwan O and LOHAS Park stations, on a spur serving a new residential development.
Spain
[edit]The R line, part of the Madrid subway, is a shuttle line connecting Ópera station (lines 2 and 5) with Príncipe Pío station (lines 6 and 10), which is also connected to Renfe commuter rail lines.
Switzerland
[edit]The Zermatt shuttle connects the mountaineering and ski resort of Zermatt (which has no road access) with nearby Täsch, where people travelling to and from Zermatt by motor vehicles are required to park their cars. For the better part of most days, the service operates every 20 min and takes 12 min.[11][12]
United Kingdom
[edit]The Waterloo and City Line on the London Underground runs between Waterloo and Bank in the city.
The Slough to Windsor & Eton Line runs between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central.
The Butetown Branch Line runs between Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay.
The Stourbridge Town Branch Line runs between Stourbridge Junction and Stourbridge Town
China
[edit]The Line 6 of the Suzhou Metro running a shuttle service between Nanxiebu to Sangtiandao.
Car shuttle trains
[edit]A car shuttle train is used to transport accompanied automobiles, and usually also other types of road vehicles, for a relatively short distance. Car shuttle trains usually operate on lines passing through a rail tunnel and connecting two places not easily accessible to each other by road. On car shuttle train services, the occupants of the road vehicles being carried on the train usually stay with their vehicle throughout the rail journey.
Freight shuttle trains
[edit]Unit trains that are dedicated to move on a regular basis between origin and destination are known as shuttle trains by the Union Pacific Railroad[13] and the BNSF Railway[14]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "shuttle train". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ "Shuttle". Collins English Dictionary. Collins. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ "Airport Connections (SFO & OAK) | Bay Area Rapid Transit". www.bart.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-23.
- ^ "Aviation". www.newarkairport.com. Retrieved 2025-09-23.
- ^ "Connections between Pisa Centrale and Galileo Galilei airport". Trenitalia. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
- ^ "Terminal shuttle". Gatwick Airport. Gatwick Airport Limited. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ "西新井駅 大師前方面 時刻表｜東武大師線【駅探】". ekitan.com (in Japanese). 2025-09-01. Retrieved 2025-09-23.
- ^ "新豊田駅 岡崎方面 時刻表｜愛知環状鉄道【駅探】". ekitan.com (in Japanese). 2025-08-25. Retrieved 2025-09-23.
- ^ "NINA - National Intermodal Network Austria". Rail Cargo Austria. Austrian Federal Railways. Archived from the original on 21 August 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ "About Central Library". 2015-07-03. Archived from the original on 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "Zermatt Shuttle". Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ "Täsch". Zermatt Matterhorn. Zermatt Tourismus. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ UP:Grain Shuttle Train Program. Union Pacific web site viewed October 25, 2022
- ^ BNSF:Dedicated Train Service. BNSF Railway web site viewed October 25, 2022