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The expression shuttle train refers to a train that runs back and forth between two points, especially if it offers a frequent service over a short route. Shuttle trains are used in various ways, in various parts of the world. They commonly operate as a fixed consist, and run non-stop between their termini. They can be used to carry passengers, freight, or both.
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Airport shuttle trains
A train may be described as an airport shuttle train if it either shuttles between an airport and some other location, or connects two airport terminals with each other. The latter type of airport shuttle train is usually in the form of a driverless people mover, and is often referred to as such.
Italy
A shuttle train connects Galileo Galilei Airport in Pisa with Pisa Centrale railway station. It operates daily and takes five minutes.
United Kingdom
The Gatwick terminal shuttle is a people mover used to transfer passengers between the North and South Terminals at Gatwick Airport. It runs every few minutes 24 hours a day, and the journey takes two minutes.
Car shuttle trains
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.
Commuter shuttle trains
A shuttle train may be used to carry commuters, especially if at least one of the shuttle train's termini is an interchange station.
Japan
During the morning rush hour, the Aichi Loop Line shuttle train runs over the Aichi Loop Line between Mikawa-Toyota Station and Shin-Toyota Station in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The northeastern end of the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line is single-tracked although the depot line runs in parallel. Trains serving the terminus are shuttles to the penultimate stop, Ayase.
The first section of the Fukutoshin Line of the Tokyo Metro was named the 'New Line', with shuttle trains running express in parallel with the Yurakucho Line, between the Ikebukuro and Kotake-Mukuihara stations.
United States
There are three shuttle services in the New York City Subway, as well as several other non-shuttle services with shuttle portions. Four shuttle services were formerly run in the subway.
NJ Transit's Princeton Branch, or "dinky", is a shuttle line.
Austria
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.
Switzerland
The Zermatt shuttle connects the car-free mountaineering and ski resort of Zermatt with nearby Täsch, where people travelling to and from Zermatt by combustion-engined vehicles are required to park their machines. For the better part of most days, the service operates every 20 min and takes 12 min.
Spain
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).
Hong Kong
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.
United Kingdom
The Waterloo and City Line on the London Underground runs between Waterloo and Bank in the City.
There is a shuttle train between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central.
The Butetown Branch Line runs between Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay Station.