A rail coach or rail bus is a light passenger rail vehicle that shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically with a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels on a fixed base rather than bogies. Originally designed and developed in the 1930s, railbuses evolved into larger sizes with similar characteristics to light railcars in appearance, and the terms railcar and railcar are often used interchangeably.
Railbuses, especially designed for use on less-used railway lines, were widely used in European countries such as Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden.
