A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow lower costs of operation, at the price of lower vehicle capacity.
36-593: 53°57′47″N 0°19′48″W / 53.963°N 0.330°W / 53.963; -0.330 The North Holderness Light Railway was a proposed light railway , which was to have been constructed between Beverley and North Frodingham , in the East Riding of Yorkshire , England. The scheme was given parliamentary approval in July 1897 (under the Light Railways Act ) for a line extending to 9.5 miles (15.3 km). It
72-540: A break-of-gauge with other states. The cost savings were due to light rails, low axleloads and low speeds as much as due to the gauge. Tasmania , Western Australia and South Australia followed suit with the narrow gauge to reduce costs, though South Australia ended up with an inefficient two-gauge system which negated some of the supposed cost savings of the narrow gauge. New South Wales resisted calls to introduce narrow gauge, but did adopt pioneer lines with 30 kg/m (60.5 lb/yd) rails to reduce costs without
108-410: A narrow gauge railway. Most narrow gauge railways operate as light railways, but not all light railways need be narrow gauge. After Spooner 's development of steam haulage for narrow gauge railways, the prevailing view was that the gauge should be tailored according to the traffic: "The nearer the machine is apportioned to the work it has to do the cheaper will that work be done." From the 1890s, it
144-503: A streetcar network. The distinct term light rail was introduced in the 1970s to describe a form of urban rail public transportation that has a lower capacity and lower speed than a heavy rail or metro system, but which generally operates in exclusive rights-of-way , in contrast with streetcar systems which operate in shared road traffic with automobiles. Urban sprawl combined with higher fuel prices has caused an increase in popularity of these light rail systems in recent decades. In
180-401: A number of stages before it can become law. In theory, this allows the bill's provisions to be debated in detail, and for amendments to the original bill to also be introduced, debated, and agreed to. In bicameral parliaments, a bill that has been approved by the chamber into which it was introduced then sends the bill to the other chamber. Broadly speaking, each chamber must separately agree to
216-460: A private member's bill). In Australia, the bill passes through the following stages: In Canada, the bill passes through the following stages: The committee considers each clause of the bill, and may make amendments to it. Significant amendments may be made at the committee stage. In some cases, whole groups of clauses are inserted or removed. However, if the Government holds a majority, almost all
252-572: A specific chamber. For example, bills imposing a tax , or involving public expenditure , are introduced into the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Canada's House of Commons , Lok Sabha of India and Ireland's Dáil as a matter of law. Conversely, bills proposed by the Law Commission and consolidation bills traditionally start in the House of Lords . Once introduced, a bill must go through
288-683: A vague description; the purpose of the act is for building railways easily with less stringent standards and at low cost. The light railway concept in Japan is therefore similar to the UK and other countries. Many light railways were built for passengers or as military , industrial or forest railways in Japan, and in Japan's colonies in Taiwan , Korea , Manchuria , Sakhalin and Micronesia . Some light railways were destroyed during World War II , especially in Okinawa . By
324-454: Is a cheap railway and a second class of railway." These terms are not pejorative, they simply recognise that the standards of main-line heavy railways are not needed in all situations. Their great advantage under UK law was that they avoided the need for an expensive act of parliament before each new line; they only required a much simpler Light Railway Order within the terms of the Act. The term
360-454: Is also used more generally of any lightly built railway with limited traffic, often controlled locally and running unusual or older rolling stock . A light railway is properly distinct from a tramway which operates under differing rules and may share a road. The term "light railway" is generally used in a positive manner. Perhaps the most well-known caricature of a light railway is the film The Titfield Thunderbolt , made in 1953 as many of
396-589: Is presented to the Governor General , who gives it royal assent . Although the Governor General can refuse to assent a bill, this power has never been exercised. Bills being reviewed by Parliament are assigned numbers: 2 to 200 for government bills, 201 to 1000 for private member's bills , and 1001 up for private bills . They are preceded by C- if they originate in the House of Commons, or S- if they originate in
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#1732851893784432-544: The Holderness area. Stations were proposed at Tickton , Routh , Long Riston , Leven , Brandesburton and North Frodingham. The route can be seen on tiled maps of the North Eastern Railway network still extant at: Light railway The precise meaning of the term "light railway" varies by geography and context. In countries where a single standard gauge is dominant, the term light railway does not imply
468-563: The United Kingdom "light railway" refers in its strictest sense to a railway built or operated under the 1896 Light Railways Act . That Act, though, gives only a vague description; a better one is found from John Charles MacKay in the same year: "A light railway is one constructed with lighter rails and structures, running at a slower speed, with poorer accommodation for passengers and less facility for freight. It can be worked with less stringent standards of signalling and safety practice. It
504-422: The executive branch . A draft act of parliament is known as a bill . In other words, a bill is a proposed law that needs to be discussed in the parliament before it can become a law. In territories with a Westminster system , most bills that have any possibility of becoming law are introduced into parliament by the government. This will usually happen following the publication of a " white paper ", setting out
540-433: The 1930s they were being driven out of business by the motor car. Although World War II resulted in a brief increase in the importance of these railways, very few lasted beyond the early 1950s. Those that survive today are generally heritage railways . Queensland adopted a narrow gauge of 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) in order to make construction of lines lighter and thus cheaper, though this initiated
576-536: The 1970s, most light railways in Japan had been driven out of business by the motor car. Some of the remaining lines survive in passenger service, and others have been restored as heritage railways . Taiwanese push car railways used handcars on 762mm gauge rails to transport sugarcanes of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation to the mainline railways of the Taiwan Railway Administration or
612-648: The Irish Parliament, the Oireachtas , bills pass through the following stages. Bills may be initiated in either the Dáil or the Seanad, and must pass both houses. In New Zealand, the bill passes through the following stages: A draft piece of legislation is called a bill ; when this is passed by Parliament it becomes an act and part of statute law. There are two types of bill and act, public and private . Public acts apply to
648-631: The Senate. For example, Bill C-250 was a private member's bill introduced in the House. Bills C-1 and S-1 are pro forma bills, and are introduced at the beginning of each session in order to assert the right of each Chamber to manage its own affairs. They are introduced and read a first time, and then are dropped from the Order Paper . In the Parliament of India , every bill passes through following stages before it becomes an Act of Parliament of India : In
684-412: The amendments which are agreed to in committee will have been tabled by the Government to correct deficiencies in the bill or to enact changes to policy made since the bill was introduced (or, in some cases, to import material which was not ready when the bill was presented). The debate on each stage is actually debate on a specific motion. For the first reading, there is no debate. For the second reading,
720-423: The calendar year, with the first act passed being chapter 1, and so on. In the United Kingdom, legislation has referenced by year and chapter number since 1963 ( Acts of Parliament Numbering and Citation Act 1962 ). Each act is numbered consecutively based on the date it received royal assent, for example the 43rd act passed in 1980 would be 1980 chapter 43. The full reference includes the (short) title and would be
756-489: The excavations to the dams that were constructed. Light railways have been used in several wars, especially before the advent of the combustion engine and motor car. These have often connect depots some distance behind the front line with the front lines themselves. Some armies have Divisions of Engineers trained to operate trains. Sometimes they operate a branch line of their own so that they can practise track and bridge building (and demolition) without disturbing trains on
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#1732851893784792-468: The following stages: There are special procedures for emergency bills, member's bills (similar to private member's bills in the UK Parliament), committee bills, and private bills. In Singapore, the bill passes through these certain stages before becoming into an Act of Parliament. Acts passed by the Parliament of England did not originally have titles, and could only be formally cited by reference to
828-433: The issues and the way in which the proposed new law is intended to deal with them. A bill may also be introduced into parliament without formal government backing; this is known as a private member's bill . In territories with a multicameral parliament, most bills may be first introduced in any chamber. However, certain types of legislation are required, either by constitutional convention or by law, to be introduced into
864-462: The light railways and other small branch lines were being closed. Despite the great public affection for these railways, very few were financially successful. Colonel H.F. Stephens was pivotal in the light railway world, and tried many techniques to make light railways pay, introducing some of the earliest railcars and also experimenting with a rail lorry built out of an old Model T Ford . Nevertheless, most light railways never made much money, and by
900-515: The like. There is little through traffic with mainline railways so that break-of-gauge is not a problem. The Iron Knob Railway was legally a "tramway", but operated 2,000-ton iron ore trams which were heavier than most railways. Also in Japan , originally, "light railway" refers to a railway built or operated under the Light Railways Act enforced in 1909. The act in Japan also though gives only
936-445: The main line. Act of parliament An act of parliament , as a form of primary legislation , is a text of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council ). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament begin as a bill , which the legislature votes on. Depending on the structure of government, this text may then be subject to assent or approval from
972-550: The motion is "That this bill be now read a second time and be referred to [name of committee]" and for third reading "That this bill be now read a third time and pass." In the Committee stage, each clause is called and motions for amendments to these clauses, or that the clause stand part of the bill are made. In the Report stage, the debate is on the motions for specific amendments. Once a bill has passed both Houses in an identical form, it
1008-418: The need for breaks-of-gauge. There were a significant number of small and isolated mining and timber railway built to a variety of gauges and improvised standards. There are still a large number of sugar cane tramways built to a common 610 mm ( 2 ft ) gauge, and sharing research and development into advanced features such as concrete sleepers, tamping machines, remotely controlled brake vans, and
1044-426: The parliamentary session in which they were passed, with each individual act being identified by year and chapter number. Descriptive titles began to be added to the enrolled acts by the official clerks, as a reference aid; over time, titles came to be included within the text of each bill. Since the mid-nineteenth century, it has also become common practice for acts to have a short title , as a convenient alternative to
1080-560: The processing plants of the Taiwan Sugar Cooperation for further production to turn the sugarcane to fine sugar. Many industrial railways were built to light railway standards. These may be of light and small construction, although the wagons carrying molten-steel in a steelworks can be several hundred tonnes in weight. The Panama Canal construction used a heavy network of 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) temporary railways in its construction to move vast quantities of soil from
1116-473: The same version of the bill. Finally, the approved bill receives assent; in most territories this is merely a formality and is often a function exercised by the head of state . In some countries, such as in France, Belgium, Luxembourg , Spain and Portugal, the term for a bill differs depending on whether it is initiated by the government (when it is known as a "draft"), or by the parliament (a "proposition", i.e.,
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1152-469: The sometimes lengthy main titles. The Short Titles Act 1892 , and its replacement the Short Titles Act 1896 , gave short titles to many acts which previously lacked them. The numerical citation of acts has also changed over time. The original method was based on the regnal year (or years) in which the relevant parliamentary session met. This has been replaced in most territories by simple reference to
1188-553: The whole of the UK or a number of its constituent countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Private acts are local and personal in their effect, giving special powers to bodies such as local authorities or making exceptions to the law in particular geographic areas. In the United Kingdom Parliament, each bill passes through the following stages: In the Scottish Parliament, bills pass through
1224-544: Was abandoned in 1903 by the North Eastern Railway (NER) and replaced with a bus service though consideration had been given to build the line to a narrower gauge than standard gauge on account of some of the marshy land that the line would have to cross. The line would have begun from a junction with the Hull to Scarborough Line , slightly to the north of Beverley railway station , and served villages and agricultural land in
1260-483: Was over-emphasised compared to the amount of warehousing and handling needed anyway. The Irish railway system in particular became a good example of a broad gauge main line system with many independent narrow gauge , 3 ft ( 914 mm ), light railway feeder branch lines . In the United States , "light railway" generally refers to an urban or interurban rail system, which historically would correspond to
1296-443: Was recognised that cost savings could also be made in the construction and operation of a standard gauge railway: "light axle-loads and low speeds, not gauge, are the first condition of cheap construction and economical working. Gauge is quite a secondary factor." Break of gauge now became an important factor, and there was much concern over whether this would become an additional cost for the transshipment of goods, or whether this
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