- published: 11 Oct 2015
- views: 5745
[[File:Jerusalem New Light Rail on Jaffa st. - July 11th, 2011 - Israel.jpg|thumb|right|Jerusalem Light Rail in Jaffa Road, Jerusalem.
[[File:Mockingbird Station 3.jpg|thumb|alt=An escalator descends from the street to an island platform station with a white and yellow train present along a landscaped track.|right|DART Light Rail (Dallas, Texas) Mockingbird Station]]
Light rail or light rail transit (LRT) is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems. The term is typically used to refer to rail systems with rapid transit-style features that usually use electric rail cars operating mostly in private rights-of-way separated from other traffic but sometimes, if necessary, mixed with other traffic in city streets. If this is the case, then under the law of many countries such systems are legally tramways, although the vehicles which run on them are sometimes designated "supertrams". Modern light rail technology is flexible and adaptable, and whether any given system is considered a true rapid transit system or not depends on its characteristics.