diff --git a/changelog.d/0000-transit-terrain-height-cache.md b/changelog.d/0000-transit-terrain-height-cache.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f846f015d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/0000-transit-terrain-height-cache.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+- Fix the page freezing for seconds at a time with Transit on over a terrain
+  globe, most visibly while zooming over a large fleet. Every reread asked the
+  terrain for the height of every trail fix of every vehicle in view; heights
+  are now kept per point, read again only while the camera moves or tiles
+  load, and read within a time budget that puts vehicle positions first
+  (mazy1998).
diff --git a/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md b/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
index bdfefe043..67c567edd 100644
--- a/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
+++ b/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
@@ -5578,6 +5578,23 @@ Noir samples also exclude its deliberately vignetted outer field, using shader
 settings and screen position rather than observed brightness. Selected-trail
 diagnostics report every condition even when selection fails.
 
+On a terrain globe Transit reads each vehicle's and trail point's height from
+the loaded surface (`globe.getHeight`, a ray cast against the drawn tile's
+mesh) and keeps the answer per point, about a metre apart
+(`src/layers/transit/height.js`, constants in `policy.js`). While the camera
+moves or tiles load a kept height is read again after 2 s; a height read once
+both have been still for 5 s is kept until either changes. Reads are budgeted
+at 16 ms per 200 ms window, 12 ms of it for re-reads, longest-kept first. A
+vehicle's own position is always read; the path its marker is drawn along
+comes next; the undrawn trail history of unselected vehicles may use a quarter
+of each budget. Past the budget a kept point keeps its last height, a new
+point takes the last height read in its ~111 m floor cell or waits, and the
+reread cycle continues until none waits. Before this, every reread asked the
+terrain for every trail fix of every vehicle in view, which blocked the page
+for up to 19 s at a time over a 650-vehicle fleet while zooming. Verified
+against Boston's MBTA feed on a keyless terrain globe only; no steeper city
+has a keyless feed to check against.
+
 Transit brackets use the normal-composite overlay surface: a 1.25 px mode-colour
 stroke over 3.25 px dark backing. Other contact themes retain their existing
 behavior. The selected trail uses a 3 px core over 5 px backing, mode-coloured
diff --git a/src/layers/transit/height.js b/src/layers/transit/height.js
index 027dc7d41..6a7c7d8f4 100644
--- a/src/layers/transit/height.js
+++ b/src/layers/transit/height.js
@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ import {
   FLOOR_WARM_PER_POLL,
   TRANSIT_POLL_MS,
   HEIGHT_SAMPLE_MAX_ALTITUDE_M,
+  TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX,
+  TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS,
+  TERRAIN_NEED,
+  TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS,
+  TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS,
+  TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS,
+  TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS,
   withinViewBounds,
 } from './policy.js';
 
@@ -47,35 +54,182 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
     return cameraAltitude() <= HEIGHT_SAMPLE_MAX_ALTITUDE_M;
   }
 
+  // --- Loaded-terrain heights ---
+  // `globe.getHeight` casts a ray against the mesh of the tile drawn under the
+  // point. The fleet asks for every fix of every trail on each reread, so the
+  // answers are kept per point and re-read on a time budget; see policy.js.
+  const terrainPoint = new Cesium.Cartographic();
+  /** Point key → `{ h, at }`: the height read there and when. */
+  const terrainHeights = new Map();
+  /** Floor-cell key → the last height read anywhere in that cell. */
+  const terrainCells = new Map();
+  let terrainWindowAt = -Infinity;
+  let terrainReadMs = 0;
+  let terrainRefreshMs = 0;
+  // Per need (history, path): the oldest read among the points this window
+  // left for later, and the bound the next window re-reads up to.
+  const terrainDeferredAt = [Infinity, Infinity];
+  const terrainRefreshUpTo = [Infinity, Infinity];
+  /** Points a pass left unread or due a re-read; see rereadFloors. */
+  let terrainWaiting = 0;
+  /** When the camera last moved or the globe was last loading tiles. */
+  let terrainChangedAt = -Infinity;
+  let cameraLon = NaN,
+    cameraLat = NaN,
+    cameraHeight = NaN;
+  const terrainStats = { reads: 0, reused: 0, deferred: 0, borrowed: 0 };
+
+  /** A number unique to a point on a `scale`-per-degree grid. */
+  function gridKey(lat, lon, scale) {
+    return (
+      (Math.round(lat * scale) + 90 * scale) * (360 * scale + 1) +
+      Math.round(lon * scale) +
+      180 * scale
+    );
+  }
+
+  function clearTerrainHeights() {
+    terrainHeights.clear();
+    terrainCells.clear();
+    terrainWindowAt = -Infinity;
+    terrainReadMs = terrainRefreshMs = 0;
+    terrainDeferredAt.fill(Infinity);
+    terrainRefreshUpTo.fill(Infinity);
+    terrainWaiting = 0;
+    terrainChangedAt = -Infinity;
+    cameraLon = cameraLat = cameraHeight = NaN;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * The loaded terrain's height at a point, or undefined when it is not
+   * known yet. A point read within the reuse time answers from memory, and
+   * so does one read after the camera and the globe's tiles had settled: the
+   * surface under it cannot have changed since. Past
+   * the window's budget a held point keeps its last height and a new point
+   * borrows its floor cell's. `need` (TERRAIN_NEED) ranks the request: a
+   * vehicle's own position is read regardless, since a marker without a
+   * height is not drawn; the path a marker is drawn along comes next; a trail
+   * nobody is looking at takes what is left. Requests come in the same order
+   * every pass, so re-reads go to the longest-held points first: otherwise
+   * the first few would be re-read forever and the rest never.
+   */
+  function terrainHeight(globe, lat, lon, need) {
+    const now = performance.now();
+    if (now - terrainWindowAt >= TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS) {
+      for (let i = 0; i < terrainDeferredAt.length; i++) {
+        terrainRefreshUpTo[i] = terrainDeferredAt[i];
+        terrainDeferredAt[i] = Infinity;
+      }
+      terrainWindowAt = now;
+      terrainReadMs = terrainRefreshMs = 0;
+      // The globe redraws a point from another tile only after the camera
+      // moves or a tile arrives.
+      const camera = state._viewer?.camera?.positionCartographic;
+      if (
+        globe.tilesLoaded === false ||
+        camera?.longitude !== cameraLon ||
+        camera?.latitude !== cameraLat ||
+        camera?.height !== cameraHeight
+      ) {
+        terrainChangedAt = now;
+        cameraLon = camera?.longitude;
+        cameraLat = camera?.latitude;
+        cameraHeight = camera?.height;
+      }
+    }
+    const key = gridKey(lat, lon, 1e5);
+    const held = terrainHeights.get(key);
+    if (
+      held &&
+      (now - held.at < TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS ||
+        held.at >= terrainChangedAt + TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS)
+    ) {
+      terrainStats.reused++;
+      return held.h;
+    }
+    const cellKey = gridKey(lat, lon, 1e3);
+    const marker = need === TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER;
+    // History may use a quarter of each budget; the path the rest.
+    const share = need === TERRAIN_NEED.HISTORY ? 0.25 : 1;
+    const affordable =
+      marker && !held
+        ? true
+        : terrainReadMs < TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS * (marker ? 1 : share) &&
+          (!held ||
+            marker ||
+            (terrainRefreshMs < TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS * share &&
+              held.at <= terrainRefreshUpTo[need]));
+    if (!affordable) {
+      terrainStats.deferred++;
+      if (held) {
+        if (!marker && held.at < terrainDeferredAt[need])
+          terrainDeferredAt[need] = held.at;
+        terrainWaiting++;
+        return held.h;
+      }
+      const borrowed = terrainCells.get(cellKey);
+      if (borrowed !== undefined) {
+        terrainStats.borrowed++;
+        return borrowed;
+      }
+      terrainWaiting++;
+      return undefined;
+    }
+    Cesium.Cartographic.fromDegrees(lon, lat, 0, terrainPoint);
+    const rendered = globe.getHeight(terrainPoint);
+    const spent = performance.now() - now;
+    terrainReadMs += spent;
+    if (held) terrainRefreshMs += spent;
+    terrainStats.reads++;
+    // A tile that left the globe keeps the height it gave.
+    if (!Number.isFinite(rendered)) return held?.h;
+    if (held) {
+      held.h = rendered;
+      held.at = now;
+    } else {
+      if (terrainHeights.size >= TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX) {
+        let drop = TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX >> 2;
+        for (const old of terrainHeights.keys()) {
+          terrainHeights.delete(old);
+          if (--drop <= 0) break;
+        }
+        terrainCells.clear();
+      }
+      terrainHeights.set(key, { h: rendered, at: now });
+    }
+    terrainCells.set(cellKey, rendered);
+    return rendered;
+  }
+
   /**
    * The floor under a vehicle, and the best fallback if its own cell is cold.
    * @param {number} lat
    * @param {number} lon
+   * @param {?object} [entry] The vehicle, for a fixture floor.
+   * @param {number} [need] How much the answer matters; see TERRAIN_NEED.
    * @returns {{cell: string, height: number|null, prior: number|null}}
    */
-  const terrainPoint = new Cesium.Cartographic();
-  function requestHeight(lat, lon, entry = null) {
+  function requestHeight(lat, lon, entry = null, need = TERRAIN_NEED.PATH) {
     const coarse = coarseFloorCoord(lat, lon);
     const cell = `${coarse.lat},${coarse.lon}`;
     const fixtureFloor =
       entry?.qaFloorM ?? state._qaFixtureFloors?.get(entry?.key);
     if (Number.isFinite(fixtureFloor))
       return { cell, height: fixtureFloor, prior: null };
-    // On a terrain globe, use the loaded surface under the marker. This is
-    // synchronous cache work and does not launch a terrain request.
+    // On a terrain globe, use the loaded surface under the marker. This reads
+    // tiles already loaded and does not launch a terrain request.
     const globe = state._viewer?.scene?.globe;
     if (globe?.show === true) {
-      Cesium.Cartographic.fromDegrees(lon, lat, 0, terrainPoint);
-      const rendered = globe.getHeight?.(terrainPoint);
-      const flat =
+      if (
         state._viewer?.terrainProvider instanceof
-        Cesium.EllipsoidTerrainProvider;
-      if (Number.isFinite(rendered) || flat)
-        return {
-          cell,
-          height: (flat ? 0 : rendered) + GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M,
-          prior: null,
-        };
+        Cesium.EllipsoidTerrainProvider
+      )
+        return { cell, height: GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M, prior: null };
+      const rendered = globe.getHeight
+        ? terrainHeight(globe, lat, lon, need)
+        : undefined;
+      if (Number.isFinite(rendered))
+        return { cell, height: rendered + GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M, prior: null };
     }
     const floor = cachedGroundFloor(lat, lon);
     if (Number.isFinite(floor)) {
@@ -107,6 +261,7 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
   function rereadFloors() {
     state._floorTimer = null;
     if (!state._enabled) return;
+    terrainWaiting = 0;
     const onGround = nearGround(),
       candidates = [];
     const entries = [...state._vehicles.values()].filter(
@@ -120,6 +275,13 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
         Number(b.key === state._selectedKey) -
         Number(a.key === state._selectedKey),
     );
+    // Every vehicle's own position before any trail: the first trails of a
+    // pass must not spend the budget the last markers are waiting on.
+    for (const entry of entries) {
+      const newest = entry.fixes.at(-1);
+      if (newest)
+        requestHeight(newest.lat, newest.lon, entry, TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER);
+    }
     for (const entry of entries) {
       const cells = new Map();
       const collect = (point, answer) => {
@@ -141,7 +303,12 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
       };
       parts.trails.prepareEntry(entry, collect);
       const newest = entry.fixes.at(-1);
-      const answer = requestHeight(newest.lat, newest.lon, entry);
+      const answer = requestHeight(
+        newest.lat,
+        newest.lon,
+        entry,
+        TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER,
+      );
       entry.heightCell = answer.cell;
       // The selected vehicle's path also offers its history, newest segment
       // first; the vehicle's own cell is read where its newest fix is.
@@ -227,7 +394,12 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
     for (const entry of entries) parts.trails.prepareEntry(entry);
     parts.rendering.requestVisibility();
     governorRequestRender('transit-floor');
-    if (state._floorAttempts++ < FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS)
+    // A pass that ran out of terrain budget before reaching every point
+    // comes back for the rest. Each pass reads its budget, and points stop
+    // falling due once the terrain settles, so this ends.
+    const waiting = terrainWaiting;
+    terrainWaiting = 0;
+    if (state._floorAttempts++ < FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS || waiting > 0)
       state._floorTimer = setTimeout(rereadFloors, FLOOR_REREAD_MS);
   }
 
@@ -258,6 +430,7 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
     }
     state._floorAttempts = 0;
     state._heightDirty.clear();
+    clearTerrainHeights();
   }
 
   return {
@@ -267,5 +440,7 @@ export function createHeight({ state, services, parts }) {
     anchorFloors,
     rereadFloors,
     clear,
+    /** Terrain read counters since the layer was created, for checks. */
+    terrainStats: () => ({ ...terrainStats, held: terrainHeights.size }),
   };
 }
diff --git a/src/layers/transit/height.test.mjs b/src/layers/transit/height.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c9bff2ef0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/layers/transit/height.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,356 @@
+import test from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import * as Cesium from 'cesium';
+import { createHeight } from './height.js';
+import {
+  FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS,
+  FLOOR_REREAD_MS,
+  TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX,
+  TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS,
+  TERRAIN_NEED,
+  TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS,
+  TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS,
+  TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS,
+  TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS,
+} from './policy.js';
+
+const LIFT = 1.5;
+
+/**
+ * A height part over a terrain globe whose every read costs `costMs` of a
+ * clock the test owns. `surface(lat, lon)` is the terrain; `reads` lists the
+ * points actually read.
+ */
+function terrain(t, { costMs = 0, surface = () => 100, provider = {} } = {}) {
+  const clock = { now: 1_000_000 };
+  t.mock.method(performance, 'now', () => clock.now);
+  const reads = [];
+  const world = { surface, costMs };
+  const globe = {
+    show: true,
+    getHeight(point) {
+      const lat = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(point.latitude);
+      const lon = Cesium.Math.toDegrees(point.longitude);
+      reads.push(`${lat.toFixed(5)},${lon.toFixed(5)}`);
+      clock.now += world.costMs;
+      return world.surface(lat, lon);
+    },
+  };
+  const state = {
+    _enabled: true,
+    _selectedKey: null,
+    _vehicles: new Map(),
+    _visible: new Set(),
+    _floorCursor: 0,
+    _floorAttempts: 0,
+    _floorTimer: null,
+    _heightDirty: new Set(),
+    _viewer: {
+      camera: { positionCartographic: { height: 500 } },
+      scene: { globe },
+      terrainProvider: provider,
+    },
+  };
+  const parts = {
+    trails: { prepareEntry() {} },
+    rendering: { requestVisibility() {} },
+  };
+  const height = createHeight({
+    state,
+    services: {
+      render: { governorRequestRender() {} },
+      ground: {
+        coarseFloorCoord: (lat, lon) => ({
+          lat: Number(lat.toFixed(3)),
+          lon: Number(lon.toFixed(3)),
+        }),
+        cachedGroundFloor: () => null,
+        neighborFloorM: () => null,
+        warmGroundFloor() {},
+        GROUND_FLOOR_LIFT_M: LIFT,
+      },
+    },
+    parts,
+  });
+  t.after(() => height.clear());
+  const nextWindow = () => {
+    clock.now += TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS;
+  };
+  return { height, state, parts, globe, world, clock, reads, nextWindow };
+}
+
+test('a point is read from the terrain once and reused until its reuse time passes', (t) => {
+  const { height, reads, clock, world } = terrain(t);
+  const first = height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  assert.deepEqual(first, { cell: '42.36,-71.06', height: 100 + LIFT, prior: null });
+  for (let i = 0; i < 500; i++) height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 1, '501 requests, one terrain read');
+
+  // A point a metre away is its own point; the same cell does not stand in
+  // for it while the budget allows a read.
+  world.surface = (lat) => (lat > 42.36 ? 140 : 100);
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36002, -71.06).height, 140 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+
+  // The surface under the first point changed (the globe drew a finer tile).
+  world.surface = () => 120;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS - 1;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 100 + LIFT);
+  clock.now += 1;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 120 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 3);
+  assert.deepEqual(height.terrainStats(), {
+    reads: 3,
+    reused: 501,
+    deferred: 0,
+    borrowed: 0,
+    held: 2,
+  });
+});
+
+test('terrain that is not loaded yet is not remembered as an answer', (t) => {
+  const { height, reads, world } = terrain(t, { surface: () => undefined });
+  assert.deepEqual(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06), {
+    cell: '42.36,-71.06',
+    height: null,
+    prior: null,
+  });
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, null);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2, 'each request asks again');
+  world.surface = () => 12;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 12 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(height.terrainStats().held, 1);
+});
+
+test('a tile that leaves the globe keeps the height it gave', (t) => {
+  const { height, clock, world } = terrain(t, { surface: () => 30 });
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 30 + LIFT);
+  world.surface = () => undefined;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS * 20;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height, 30 + LIFT);
+});
+
+test('new points stop being read once a window has spent its budget', (t) => {
+  const costMs = 5;
+  const { height, reads, nextWindow } = terrain(t, {
+    costMs,
+    surface: (lat, lon) => Math.round(lon * -1000),
+  });
+  const affordable = Math.ceil(TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS / costMs);
+  // One point per floor cell (0.001° apart), more than the window affords.
+  const answers = [];
+  for (let i = 0; i < affordable + 3; i++)
+    answers.push(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06 - i * 0.001).height);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, affordable);
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    answers.slice(affordable),
+    [null, null, null],
+    'a point in a cell never read waits',
+  );
+  assert.ok(reads.length * costMs < TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS + costMs, 'the overrun is one read at most');
+
+  // A new point in a cell that was read borrows that cell's height.
+  const borrowed = height.requestHeight(42.36004, -71.06);
+  assert.equal(borrowed.height, 71060 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, affordable, 'borrowing reads nothing');
+  assert.equal(height.terrainStats().borrowed, 1);
+
+  // The next window reads the points that waited, and the borrower its own.
+  nextWindow();
+  for (let i = affordable; i < affordable + 3; i++)
+    assert.equal(
+      height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06 - i * 0.001).height,
+      Math.round((-71.06 - i * 0.001) * -1000) + LIFT,
+    );
+  assert.equal(reads.length, affordable + 3);
+});
+
+test("a vehicle's own position is read even when the window is spent", (t) => {
+  const { height, reads } = terrain(t, { costMs: TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS });
+  height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.37, -71.07).height, null, 'a trail point waits');
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.38, -71.08, null, TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER).height, 100 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+});
+
+test('undrawn trail history leaves most of the budget to the paths markers are drawn along', (t) => {
+  const costMs = 1;
+  const { height, reads } = terrain(t, { costMs });
+  // New points, one per floor cell: history first, as a pass offers them.
+  let lon = -71;
+  const ask = (need) => height.requestHeight(42, (lon -= 0.001), null, need).height;
+  const history = Array.from({ length: 30 }, () => ask(TERRAIN_NEED.HISTORY));
+  const read = history.filter((h) => h !== null).length;
+  assert.equal(read, TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS / 4, 'history stops at a quarter of the budget');
+  const path = Array.from({ length: 30 }, () => ask(TERRAIN_NEED.PATH));
+  assert.equal(path.filter((h) => h !== null).length, TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS - read, 'the path takes the rest');
+  assert.equal(ask(TERRAIN_NEED.HISTORY), null);
+  assert.equal(ask(TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER), 100 + LIFT, 'a marker is still read');
+  assert.equal(reads.length, TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS + 1);
+});
+
+test('held points keep their last height while re-reads are over budget, and the longest-held are re-read first so none starves', (t) => {
+  const costMs = TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS / 2;
+  const { height, reads, clock, world, nextWindow } = terrain(t, { surface: () => 50 });
+  const points = Array.from({ length: 40 }, (_, i) => [42.36, -71.06 - i * 0.001]);
+  for (const [lat, lon] of points) height.requestHeight(lat, lon);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 40);
+
+  world.costMs = costMs;
+  world.surface = () => 80;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS;
+  reads.length = 0;
+  const pass = () => points.map(([lat, lon]) => height.requestHeight(lat, lon).height);
+  const first = pass();
+  const perWindow = Math.ceil(TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS / costMs);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, perWindow, 'one window re-reads its budget and no more');
+  assert.deepEqual(first.slice(0, perWindow), Array(perWindow).fill(80 + LIFT));
+  assert.deepEqual(first.slice(perWindow), Array(40 - perWindow).fill(50 + LIFT), 'the rest keep their last height');
+
+  // Pass after pass, a window apart: the budget moves down the list instead
+  // of returning to the first points, whose reuse time runs out again long
+  // before the last ones have had a turn (40 points, ${perWindow} a window).
+  const turns = new Map();
+  for (const point of reads) turns.set(point, 1);
+  const cycle = Math.ceil(40 / perWindow);
+  for (let passes = 1; passes < cycle; passes++) {
+    nextWindow();
+    reads.length = 0;
+    pass();
+    for (const point of reads) turns.set(point, (turns.get(point) || 0) + 1);
+  }
+  assert.equal(turns.size, 40, 'every point was re-read in one cycle');
+  assert.ok([...turns.values()].every((count) => count === 1), 'and none twice before the others once');
+  assert.ok(cycle * TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS > TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS, 'the cycle is longer than the reuse time, so the first points were stale again');
+  assert.deepEqual(pass().slice(-1), [80 + LIFT]);
+});
+
+test('once the camera and the tiles have settled a height is kept until either changes', (t) => {
+  const { height, state, globe, reads, clock, world } = terrain(t, { surface: () => 10 });
+  const read = () => height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06).height;
+  assert.equal(read(), 10 + LIFT);
+  // Still settling: the point falls due and is read again.
+  world.surface = () => 20;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS;
+  assert.equal(read(), 20 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+  // Read after the settle time: kept, however long the view stays put.
+  world.surface = () => 99;
+  for (let i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
+    clock.now += 60_000;
+    assert.equal(read(), 20 + LIFT);
+  }
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+
+  // The camera moves: the globe may draw the point from a finer tile.
+  state._viewer.camera.positionCartographic = { longitude: 0, latitude: 0, height: 250 };
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS;
+  assert.equal(read(), 99 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 3);
+
+  // Settled again, then a tile starts loading with the camera still.
+  world.surface = () => 101;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS;
+  assert.equal(read(), 101 + LIFT);
+  clock.now += 60_000;
+  assert.equal(read(), 101 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 4);
+  world.surface = () => 105;
+  globe.tilesLoaded = false;
+  clock.now += TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS;
+  assert.equal(read(), 105 + LIFT);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 5);
+});
+
+test('a flat globe answers without reading terrain', (t) => {
+  const { height, reads } = terrain(t, {
+    provider: new Cesium.EllipsoidTerrainProvider(),
+  });
+  assert.deepEqual(height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06), {
+    cell: '42.36,-71.06',
+    height: LIFT,
+    prior: null,
+  });
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 0);
+});
+
+test('a hidden globe reads no terrain and clear() forgets what was read', (t) => {
+  const { height, reads, globe } = terrain(t);
+  height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  height.clear();
+  assert.equal(height.terrainStats().held, 0);
+  height.requestHeight(42.36, -71.06);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2, 'a cleared layer reads again');
+  globe.show = false;
+  assert.equal(height.requestHeight(42.5, -71.5).height, null);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 2);
+});
+
+test('the points kept stay bounded', (t) => {
+  const { height } = terrain(t);
+  const total = TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX + 5_000;
+  for (let i = 0; i < total; i++)
+    height.requestHeight(10 + Math.floor(i / 1000) * 0.001, 20 + (i % 1000) * 0.0001);
+  const { held, reads } = height.terrainStats();
+  assert.equal(reads, total);
+  assert.ok(held <= TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX, `${held} held`);
+  assert.ok(held >= TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX * 0.7, `${held} held`);
+});
+
+test('a fleet rereading every trail fix reads each point once, not once per request', (t) => {
+  const { height, state, parts, reads } = terrain(t);
+  t.mock.timers.enable({ apis: ['setTimeout'] });
+  // 600 vehicles with 40 fixes each, 25 m apart along a street.
+  const fleet = Array.from({ length: 600 }, (_, v) => ({
+    key: `bus-${v}`,
+    fixes: Array.from({ length: 40 }, (_, i) => ({
+      lat: 42 + v * 0.002,
+      lon: -71 + i * 0.0003,
+    })),
+  }));
+  for (const entry of fleet) {
+    state._vehicles.set(entry.key, entry);
+    state._visible.add(entry);
+  }
+  let requests = 0;
+  parts.trails.prepareEntry = (entry, collect) => {
+    for (const fix of entry.fixes) {
+      requests++;
+      const answer = height.requestHeight(fix.lat, fix.lon, entry);
+      if (collect) collect(fix, answer);
+    }
+  };
+  height.anchorFloors();
+  for (let i = 0; i < FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS; i++) t.mock.timers.tick(FLOOR_REREAD_MS);
+  assert.equal(requests, 600 * 40 * 2 * (FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS + 1));
+  assert.equal(new Set(reads).size, 600 * 40);
+  assert.equal(reads.length, 600 * 40, `${requests} requests, ${reads.length} terrain reads`);
+  assert.ok(fleet.every((entry) => entry.heightM === 100 + LIFT && entry.heightResolved));
+});
+
+test('a reread cycle outlasts its attempts while trail points still wait for a read, then stops', (t) => {
+  const costMs = 4;
+  const { height, state, parts, reads, clock } = terrain(t, { costMs });
+  t.mock.timers.enable({ apis: ['setTimeout'] });
+  const entry = {
+    key: 'bus',
+    // One fix per floor cell, so nothing can be borrowed.
+    fixes: Array.from({ length: 60 }, (_, i) => ({ lat: 42, lon: -71 + i * 0.001 })),
+  };
+  state._vehicles.set(entry.key, entry);
+  state._visible.add(entry);
+  parts.trails.prepareEntry = (e) => {
+    for (const fix of e.fixes) height.requestHeight(fix.lat, fix.lon, e);
+  };
+  height.anchorFloors();
+  let passes = 1;
+  while (state._floorTimer && passes < 200) {
+    clock.now += FLOOR_REREAD_MS;
+    t.mock.timers.tick(FLOOR_REREAD_MS);
+    passes++;
+  }
+  assert.equal(new Set(reads).size, 60, 'every fix was read in the end');
+  assert.ok(passes > FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS + 1, `${passes} passes: the cycle kept going for the unread fixes`);
+  assert.ok(passes < 120, `${passes} passes: and stopped once none waited`);
+  assert.equal(state._floorTimer, null);
+});
diff --git a/src/layers/transit/ingestion.js b/src/layers/transit/ingestion.js
index afce6a4aa..036b75974 100644
--- a/src/layers/transit/ingestion.js
+++ b/src/layers/transit/ingestion.js
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
   isStaleVehicleFix,
   transitVehicleKey,
   vehicleReportTimeMs,
+  TERRAIN_NEED,
 } from './policy.js';
 import {
   transitModeFor,
@@ -272,7 +273,12 @@ export function createIngestion({ state, services, parts, source }) {
         // DEM one, or a change of map regime, moves a parked vehicle too. A
         // cell still cold takes the lowest neighbour as a prior, as before.
         const priorHeightM = entry.heightM;
-        const height = parts.height.requestHeight(record.lat, record.lon);
+        const height = parts.height.requestHeight(
+          record.lat,
+          record.lon,
+          null,
+          TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER,
+        );
         if (height.height !== null) {
           entry.heightCell = height.cell;
           entry.heightM = height.height;
@@ -309,7 +315,12 @@ export function createIngestion({ state, services, parts, source }) {
           }
           continue;
         }
-        const height = parts.height.requestHeight(record.lat, record.lon);
+        const height = parts.height.requestHeight(
+          record.lat,
+          record.lon,
+          null,
+          TERRAIN_NEED.MARKER,
+        );
         // Keep the local prior separate from resolved historical floors.
         // A neighbouring cell is not a guaranteed lower bound.
         const prior = height.height === null ? height.prior : height.height;
diff --git a/src/layers/transit/policy.js b/src/layers/transit/policy.js
index eabe5df4a..de9e831ab 100644
--- a/src/layers/transit/policy.js
+++ b/src/layers/transit/policy.js
@@ -77,6 +77,43 @@ export const FLOOR_WARM_PER_POLL = 300;
 export const FLOOR_REREAD_MS = 900;
 /** Re-reads before a poll's cycle gives up and waits for the next poll. */
 export const FLOOR_REREAD_ATTEMPTS = 6;
+/**
+ * Terrain heights read from the globe's loaded surface are kept per point
+ * (1e-5°, about a metre): one read is a ray cast against the mesh of the tile
+ * drawn there, not a table lookup, and a fleet asks for every trail fix on
+ * every reread. While the camera moves or tiles load, a kept height is reused
+ * this long before the point is read again.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_HEIGHT_FRESH_MS = 2_000;
+/**
+ * A height read once the camera has been still and the globe's tiles loaded
+ * for this long is kept until either changes: the globe draws a point from
+ * another tile only after one of them does.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_SETTLE_MS = 5_000;
+/** Terrain read budgets are counted over windows of this length. */
+export const TERRAIN_READ_WINDOW_MS = 200;
+/**
+ * Milliseconds of terrain reads in one window. Past it a point never read
+ * takes the last height read in its ~111 m floor cell, or waits for a later
+ * pass; a vehicle's own position is read regardless.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_READ_BUDGET_MS = 16;
+/**
+ * The share of that budget re-reads of kept points may use, the longest-kept
+ * first, leaving the rest for points never read.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_REFRESH_BUDGET_MS = 12;
+/**
+ * How much a terrain height matters to what is drawn, lowest first. HISTORY is
+ * a past fix of a vehicle that is not selected (its trail is not drawn) and
+ * may use a quarter of each budget; PATH is the stretch a marker is drawn
+ * along, or any fix of the selected vehicle; MARKER is a vehicle's own
+ * position, read even when the window's budget is spent.
+ */
+export const TERRAIN_NEED = Object.freeze({ HISTORY: 0, PATH: 1, MARKER: 2 });
+/** Points kept; the oldest quarter is dropped past it. */
+export const TERRAIN_HEIGHT_CACHE_MAX = 60_000;
 
 // --- Rendering ---
 /** On-screen glyph size in CSS px at the near end of the distance ramp. */
diff --git a/src/layers/transit/trails.js b/src/layers/transit/trails.js
index 47973c1a2..8b315d9fb 100644
--- a/src/layers/transit/trails.js
+++ b/src/layers/transit/trails.js
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
 } from '../../data/contactPlayback.js';
 import { createContactTrailRenderer } from '../../data/contactTrailRenderer.js';
 import { fixDistanceM } from './movement.js';
+import { TERRAIN_NEED } from './policy.js';
 import { transitStyleProfile } from '../../data/transitPresetStyle.js';
 
 const MODE_COLOR = {
@@ -72,8 +73,13 @@ export function createTrails({ state, services, parts, source }) {
       b = {};
     let vertices = 0,
       signature = '';
-    const floor = (point) => {
-      const answer = parts.height.requestHeight(point.lat, point.lon, entry);
+    const floor = (point, need = TERRAIN_NEED.PATH) => {
+      const answer = parts.height.requestHeight(
+        point.lat,
+        point.lon,
+        entry,
+        need,
+      );
       if (collect) collect(point, answer);
       return answer.height;
     };
@@ -99,12 +105,6 @@ export function createTrails({ state, services, parts, source }) {
           lon: a.lon + ((b.lon - a.lon) * i) / n,
         });
     }
-    for (let i = 0; i < entry.track.count; i++) {
-      readFix(entry.track, i, a);
-      const h = floor(a);
-      if (h !== null) correctHeight(entry.track, a.seq, h);
-    }
-    const order = [];
     const activeIndex = Math.max(
       0,
       Math.min(
@@ -112,6 +112,18 @@ export function createTrails({ state, services, parts, source }) {
         entry.sample.fromSeq - entry.track.baseSeq,
       ),
     );
+    for (let i = 0; i < entry.track.count; i++) {
+      readFix(entry.track, i, a);
+      // Fixes behind an unselected vehicle are kept but not drawn.
+      const h = floor(
+        a,
+        entry === selected || i >= activeIndex
+          ? TERRAIN_NEED.PATH
+          : TERRAIN_NEED.HISTORY,
+      );
+      if (h !== null) correctHeight(entry.track, a.seq, h);
+    }
+    const order = [];
     for (let i = activeIndex; i + 1 < entry.track.count; i++) order.push(i);
     if (entry === selected)
       for (let i = activeIndex - 1; i >= 0; i--) order.push(i);