portion running through Center City and University City, and is sometimes referred to as the "El". The Manila LRT Line 1 in Manila, Philippines, is an elevated railway, made operational in 1984 and the country's first urban rail transit since Manila tram service ended in 1944, during the Japanese occupation of the city. The BTS Skytrain is an elevated rapid transit system in Bangkok, Thailand, which was officially opened on 5 December 1999 by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. It now consists of 34 stations and 2 lines. Sydney Metro Monorail was an elevated monorail through the CBD of Sydney from the bicentenary in 1988 until its dismantlement in 2013. Heavy rail The term heavy rail has different meanings in different parts of the world. Europe Austria, Germany, Switzerland The German complementary term is Vollbahn and the opposite Kleinbahn. These terms were defined to distinguish different axle loads and connected construction rules. Today the term Vollbahn is not common and Kleinbahn is used for narrow-gauge lines. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, heavy rail refers to conventional railways forming part of the national network, including commuter, intercity, high-speed rail, regional rail and freight services, as distinct from metro, light rail and tram lines, people movers, and similar. North America In North America, the American Public Transportation Association defines a heavy-rail system as an electric railway with the capacity to handle a heavy volume of traffic. The term is often used to distinguish it from light rail systems, which usually handle a smaller volume of passengers. In North America, heavy rail can also refer to rapid transit, when referring to systems with heavier passenger loadings than light rail systems, but distinct from commuter rail and intercity rail systems. It is characterized by high-speed, passenger rail cars running in separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded. Such passenger rail cars are almost always electrically driven, with power either drawn from an overhead line or an electrified third rail. Asia In the Philippines, the North–South Commuter Railway has been described by Philippine National Railways general manager Junn Magno as a heavy rail metro line. Although the use of heavy rail also refers to rapid transit as with American parlance, it is characterized as electrified passenger rail services that use 8- or 10-car trains. International Heavy rail term according International Union of Railways (UIC) refers to both freight rail and