List of United States commuter rail systems

Last updated

The following is a list of commuter rail systems in the United States, ranked by ridership. All figures come from the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) Ridership Reports Statistics for the fourth quarter of 2023, [1] unless otherwise indicated.

Contents

List

RankSystemMajor cities
served		Annual
ridership
(2024) [1] 		Average
ridership
weekdays, Q4 2024 [2] 		Route
miles 		Average
ridership
per mile
weekdays, Q4 2024 [2] 		Year
Opened		LinesStations
1 Long Island Rail Road New York 83,777,900276,800321 [3] 8621834 [4] 11 [4] 124 [4]
2 Metro-North Railroad New York / Stamford / New Haven 67,778,000254,900385 [5] 6111983 [6] 5 [5] [note 1] 122 [5]
3 NJ Transit Rail Operations New York / Newark / Trenton / Philadelphia 59,447,200140,666 [note 2] 530 [7] 2651983 [8] 11 [9] [note 1] 164 [9]
4 Metra Chicago 34,877,600166,000487.5 [10] 346198411 [10] 241 [10]
5 MBTA Commuter Rail Boston / Worcester / Providence 30,343,900102,100388 [11] 282197313 [11] 127 [11]
6 SEPTA Regional Rail Philadelphia / Trenton / Wilmington 22,742,20084,700280 [12] 278198313 [12] 153
7 Denver RTD:
A, B, N and G Lines		 Denver 8,331,20032,00054.09 [13] 5182016422
8 Caltrain San Francisco / San Jose 7,201,60025,80077 [14] 3211863132 [14]
9 Metrolink Los Angeles / San Bernardino / Anaheim / Riverside / Irvine 5,647,70020,300545.7 [15] 3519927 [16] 62 [16]
10 Tri-Rail Miami / Fort Lauderdale 4,952,50016,00080.0 [17] 19319872 [17] 19 [17]
11 MARC Train Baltimore / Washington, D.C. 4,187,10014,000187741984343
12 FrontRunner Salt Lake City 4,128,70013,600881702008116
13 Sounder commuter rail Seattle / Tacoma 1,875,4006,90083 [18] 88200029
14 South Shore Line Chicago / South Bend 1,766,6005,80090 [19] 701908118
15 Virginia Railway Express Washington, D.C. 1,605,3006,00090 [20] 7019922 [20] 18 [20]
16 eBART Contra Costa County, California 1,286,4004,80010.1446201813
17 Keystone Service Philadelphia / Harrisburg 1,269,0053,200 [note 3] 104.6311972112
18 Trinity Railway Express Dallas / Fort Worth 1,265,5004,400341211996110
19 SunRail Orlando 1,215,4005,10049 [21] 942014117
20 Capitol Corridor San Jose / Oakland / Sacramento 1,032,6321,847 [note 3] 168111991115
21 Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit San Rafael / Santa Rosa 973,7003,40045762017112 [22]
22 Coaster San Diego / Oceanside 871,2002,40041 [23] 731995 [23] 1 [23] 8 [23]
23 TEXRail Fort Worth 809,3002,7002781201919
24 Rail Runner Express Albuquerque / Santa Fe 773,9002,30097292006113
25 Altamont Corridor Express San Jose / Stockton 763,8002,90086 [24] 3619981 [24] 10 [24]
26 Downeaster Boston / Brunswick, Maine 591,9481,219 [note 3] 14882001112
27 CapMetro Rail Austin 562,6001,80032 [25] 50201019 [25]
28 A-Train Denton, Texas 273,0001,0002148201116
29 Shore Line East New Haven 176,97960059101990113
30 Northstar Line Minneapolis 127,4004004013200917
31 WeGo Star Nashville 125,9005003216200617
32 WES Commuter Rail Beaverton, Oregon 118,9005001520200915

Systems excluded from ridership table

SystemLargest city(s) servedOpenedRoute lengthReason(s) for exclusion from Ridership table
Hartford Line Hartford / New Haven / Springfield 201863APTA does not provide ridership figures for this system.
Arrow San Bernardino 20229This system is currently too new for APTA to provide ridership figures.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 There are 3 lines operated directly by Metro North, the Harlem Line, Hudson Line, and New Haven Line. The Port Jervis Line is operated under contract by NJ Transit, which also owns the Pascack Valley Line that extends into New York. The New Haven Line has 3 branch lines, the New Canaan Branch, Danbury Branch, and Waterbury Branch.
  2. ↑ This is the Average Daily Ridership figure, not an "Average Weekday Ridership" figure – it is averaged from the 2023 First Quarter Ridership figure for this system.
  3. 1 2 3 Q4 2022

References

  1. 1 2 "Public Transportation Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association (APTA). February 19, 2025. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  2. 1 2 "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 20, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  3. ↑ "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Years Ended December 31, 2012 and 2011" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). June 21, 2013. p. 146. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  4. 1 2 3 "Long Island Rail Road - General Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  5. 1 2 3 "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Years Ended December 31, 2012 and 2011" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). June 21, 2013. p. 147. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  6. ↑ "MTA Metro-North Railroad - MNR About MNR". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  7. ↑ "New Jersey State Rail Plan" (PDF). State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation. April 2015. p. ES-5. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  8. ↑ "NJ Transit - About Us - History & Structure". NJ Transit. 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  9. 1 2 "NJ Transit Facts at a Glance Fiscal Year 2015" (PDF). NJ Transit. March 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  10. 1 2 3 "Operations and Ridership Data". Metra. 2016. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  11. 1 2 3 "MBTA STATE OF THE SERVICE Commuter Rail" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). 2014. p. 3. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  12. 1 2 "SEPTA - Media Guide" (PDF). SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority). 2013. p. 7. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  13. ↑ "RTD - Facts & Figures". Regional Transportation District. April 4, 2020. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
  14. 1 2 "Caltrain Modernization Quarterly Update" (PDF). Caltrain. February 2016. p. 2. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  15. ↑ "Metrolink Celebrates 30th Anniversary by Gifting Customers and Introducing New Logo". Metrolink Celebrates 30th Anniversary by Gifting Customers and Introducing New Logo (Press release). October 26, 2022. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  16. 1 2 3 "Transportation Division - Moving Around - Tri-Rail". City of Fort Lauderdale . Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  17. ↑ "2015 Financial Plan" (PDF). Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit). June 2015. p. 3. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  18. ↑ Jay Jones (July 8, 2012). "Dunes Country choo-choo". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2016-05-27. Along the 90-mile route, sightseeing and recreational opportunities are plentiful...
  19. 1 2 3 "VRE Strategic Plan Executive Summary" (PDF). Virginia Railway Express. May 2004. p. v. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
  20. ↑ "SunRail Celebrates Phase 2 Groundbreaking". SunRail. April 22, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  21. ↑ "Stations".
  22. 1 2 3 4 "COASTER Fact Sheet" (PDF). North County Transit District. January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  23. 1 2 3 Dan Leavitt (July 23, 2015). "ACEforward IMPROVING THE ALTAMONT CORRIDOR EXPRESS" (PDF). San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. p. 1. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  24. 1 2 "Data and Statistics - Fast Facts". Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
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