[gweed123]

I'd say the UP Express is more like Heathrow Connect actually. Heathrow Express runs nonstop between Paddington and the airport, while Heathrow Connect has stops (like the UP Express).

That's a good point. Either way, the distinction between the "premium" services and the Tube service is still pretty clear. Toronto doesn't have the Tube service yet, which is why the premium service looks out of place.

 

[Napoleon]

PS: For Berlin's new airport (replacing both Tegel and Schönefeld), integration with the S-Bahn was built into the plan from Day 1, with both the S9 and S45 routes serving it, as well as a plethora of Regional routes. Pearson won't be seeing that kind of service for decades.

Germany does such a beautiful job integrating airports into transit. Frankfurt especially stands out as many ICE from around the country stop directly at the airport. Unfortunately for Berlin, they've had some rather uncharacteristic delays in opening Brandenburg. Tegel is not exactly nice at this point.

 

[Markus]

@Napoleon

I've always understood "Schnellbahn" to be a colloquial phrase. Not an official one. Stadtbahn is what I always thought to be the official name of all the S-bahn lines in the different German and Austrian cities.

@gweed123

U-bahn is under ground because it stands for Untergrundbahn, literally underground railway.

Just wanted to clarify:
U-Bahn is a subway in Germany
Tram or Straßenbahn is a streetcar
S-Bahn is like what RER is going to be (rapid transit connecting the city with outlying small towns while still having inner city stops but less frequent stops than U-Bahn)
Stadtbahn is a phrase that cities coined that typically didn't have a real U-Bahn and have kind of a mix of an U-Bahn and a Tram system like Bielefeld or Stuttgart. So lines run above and below ground.

Markus