Local vs. Regional Rail Transit
The Main St. Corridor and the University Corridor of lightrail are local transit, as opposed to regional rail transit. Many large cities have both local and regional transit, some differentiators being the speed of the train and the distance between stops, as well as average trip distance. For example, a Houston lightrail user might get on the University line at St. Luke's Church and ride two miles west to have brunch and run errands at the Galleria. A regional rail user would bike, bus, or drive to a park and ride in The Woodlands and take the train all the way to her downtown office. The two are very different.Familiar Comparisons
The City of San Francisco is served by a regional train (BART) that travels at speed either raised off the ground (as pictured) or underground, as opposed to local train service (streetcars and cable cars) that travel much slower in the street.
Los Angeles is served by a regional system (MetroLINK) and local streetcars.
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